Fans of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Sturgill Simpson are in for a treat at this weekend’s 75th annual National Folk Festival in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. The free outdoor event features performances and demonstrations on seven outdoor stages by more than 300 of the nation’s craftspeople, dancers and musicians, including country music maverick Dale Watson, who is set to perform his unique mix of Texas swing, rockabilly and honky tonk tunes for the first time in the Piedmont, tonight at 8 on the Wrangler Stage stage, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. on the Belk Stage and a Sunday workshop at 2:15 p.m.
But don’t confuse Watson with country music, at least not by today’s standards. “You can easily guess who my influences are listening to my music,” he said in a recent phone interview. “Today’s country influences come from boy bands. They have more in common with Madonna.”
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