How about some bluegrass with your biscuit? Or some banjo picking and a haircut? Take a toe-tapping trip to some of the Blue Ridge's most unusual and colorful "back room" and "front porch" bluegrass venues.

Dairy Queen, Rocky Mount, Va.

Deborah Huso (ENLARGE)
The Dairy Queen in Rocky Mount, Va., drums up off-season business with Thursday morning bluegrass music from September through May.
Todd General Store (ENLARGE)
At Todd General Store in Todd, N.C., you'll find gourmet foods, crafts, toys, furniture, and antiques -- and well-known Friday night jam sessions. Storytelling is on Tuesday evenings.
Deborah Huso (ENLARGE)
Informal jam sessions start on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons at Drexel Barber Shop in Drexel, N.C. Thursday is country western, Friday anything goes and Saturday is traditional bluegrass.
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Rocky Mount Dairy Queen owner Deborah Russell has found a surefire way to drum up off-season business.

Every Thursday morning, 9-10 a.m., from September through May, her DQ on Franklin Street hosts live bluegrass music from the five-member DQ Band. The sounds of guitar, banjo, fiddle, and bass delight about 75 breakfast-eating listeners.

Russell started the weekly tradition about five years ago, and it's been a staple of life for local retirees ever since.

While the crowd is mostly local, Russell says tourists often stop in to hear the tunes. But anyone who wants a good seat better come early — Thursday mornings at the Rocky Mount DQ are standing room only.

Information: Rocky Mount Dairy Queen, 995 Franklin St., Rocky Mount, VA 24151; 540-483-7754. Free admission.

Floyd Country Store, Floyd, Va.

One of the best-known retail spots for hearing bluegrass tunes is the Floyd Country Store, which has hosted a Friday Night Jamboree since 1983.

Every Friday around 6:30 p.m., the music starts, usually with bluegrass gospel, leading into traditional bluegrass and "flatfooting" dancers taking the floor.

Some of the regular performers here include Ralph Hayden and the Barbershop Grass and Clyde Williams Old Time Band.

And don't be surprised to hear some nationally recognized bluegrass artists here during the store's Saturday night concert series like John Cowan and IIIrd Time Out.

While the bands play inside, local "pickers" strum tunes on the sidewalk outside the store on Friday evenings. Often, they'll be invited inside to play after the main bluegrass groups have left the stage. Music continues till store closing at 11:30 p.m.

Information: Floyd Country Store, Rt. 221, Floyd, VA 24091; 540-745-4563, www.floydcountrystore.com. Admission is $3 adults, free for 16 and younger.

Todd General Store, Todd, N.C.

Sometimes the key to keeping old-time general stores open isn't in running them as general stores at all.

When Todd General Store owners Robert and Jenny Mann took over the store operation two years ago, they not only overhauled its inventory to include gourmet foods, crafts, toys, furniture, and antiques, they also continued its well-known Friday night jam sessions and Tuesday evening storytelling.

The storytelling has become so popular that Mann says it's not unusual to have 100 people in attendance. Tourists and locals alike come out again on Friday evenings for old-time Appalachian music and bluegrass played by artists from around the region. Anywhere from a handful to a couple dozen musicians will show up to delight onlookers and listeners with the sounds of fiddles, hammered dulcimers and guitars.

The Friday night jam sessions have become so popular that they now run 10 months out of the year.

Information: Todd General Store, 3866 Railroad Grade Road, Todd, N.C. 28684; 336-877-1067, www.toddgeneralstore.com. Admission is $6 for jam sessions or for storytelling.

Drexel Barber Shop, Drexel, N.C.

Forget elevator music. Next time you need a haircut, head to the Drexel Barber Shop, where haircuts and shaves come standard with live country western or bluegrass tunes in "The Back Room."

Since the 1960s, the Drexel Barber Shop jam sessions have been a fixture of Drexel's Main Street. Shop owner Lawrence Anthony, 81, who plays guitar, started the tradition as a young barber when he and a mandolin-toting chief of police used to pick tunes in between haircuts and dispatches.

"That's how it grew," says Anthony. "Now we often have 15-20 musicians waiting to play."

Informal jam sessions start on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons. Thursday is country western, Friday anything goes, and Saturday is traditional bluegrass.

Crowds here aren't terribly large, but Anthony says visitors are welcome. "We've got plenty of chairs and a couch, too," he says.

Information: Drexel Barber Shop, 100 South Main St., Drexel, NC 28619; 828-432-7255. Free admission.