From the good folks at MerleFest:
WILKESBORO, N.C. – MerleFest, presented by Window World and slated for April 27-30, 2017, is proud to announce six more additions to the 2017 lineup: The Avett Brothers, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, Chatham County Line Electric Holiday, Mandolin Orange, Steep Canyon Rangers and Sierra Hull.
Fans of MerleFest and other bluegrass festivals are no strangers to the talents of the Del McCoury Band. They are also in for a holiday treat this weekend where they can catch the band performing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Historic Earle Theatre, 142 N. Main St., Mount Airy.
Del McCoury sings lead vocals and plays guitar along with his two sons — Rob McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo. Other band members include Alan Bartman and Jason Carter.
Elected into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2011, Del McCoury is also the recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets are $25, $50, $60 and $65. For more information, call (336) 786-7998 or visit www.surryarts.org .
This just in from the good folks at MerleFest:
“MerleFest, presented by Window World and slated for April 27-30, 2017, has just announced five more artists added to the 2017 lineup: Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Sarah Jarosz, The Steel Wheels, The Kruger Brothers and Mipso. MerleFest 2017 will be the 30th annual homecoming where musicians and music fans return to Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“Many artists who have graced the stages over the past three decades plan to return for the celebration! MerleFest has already announced over 75 artists, including Zac Brown Band with a very special acoustic set, Del McCoury Band, Jim Lauderdale, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Mountain Heart and many more. The rest of the packed lineup for MerleFest 2017 will roll out over the next few months.”
For more information and tickets, visit http://merlefest.org/
Treat yourself (and preferably someone else) to the gift of music this holiday season and make plans to catch two of Virginia’s hottest up-and-coming acts — Will Overman Band and Carbon Leaf — on Saturday, Dec. 17, at The National, 708 E. Broad St., Richmond, Virginia.
The following announcement is from the good folks at MerleFest, which is slated for April 27-30, 2017. Early bird tickets are on sale now here. I am particularly excited to see Mountain Heart, Front Country, Chatham County Line, Scythian and Swift Creek in the lineup. Here’s hoping subsequent lineup announcements include Mipso, Flatt Lonesome, Will Overman Band, Dead Horses, Mandolin Orange, Zoe and Cloyd, Dori Freeman, The Church Sisters, Steep Canyon Rangers, The Infamous Stringdusters, Sarah Siskind, Sierra Hull, Yarn, American Aquarium, Mike Farris, Rhonda Vincent, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Annabelle’s Curse, Town Mountain, Little Hill Trio, The Genuine, The Honeycutters, The Steel Wheels, Elephant Revival, Balsam Range, Mason Via, The Judy Chops, Swampcandy, Chamomile and Whiskey and Billy Strings, among others.
From the release: “2017 will be a celebration of 30 years of MerleFest! The annual homecoming of musicians and music fans returns to the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The star-packed lineup for MerleFest 2017 will be announced over the next few months; today MerleFest made its first announcement for the 2017 lineup, including Zac Brown Band with a very special acoustic set, Del McCoury Band, Jim Lauderdale, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Mountain Heart and many more.”
If you haven’t had the chance to hear Mipso, the unique string band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, perform live, you’re in luck. You can catch them beginning at 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, at the historic Rives Theatre in uptown Martinsville, Virginia. Season passes are accepted, otherwise tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Tickets available locally at Daily Grind, Woodall’s Music and online here.
If you are looking as forward to MerleFest 2017 as I am, I know you will want to mark your calendar for 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. That’s when the initial lineup will be announced and early bird tickets will go on sale at that time as well.
Read the following post on The Huffington Post here.
I first had the pleasure of hearing Chatham County Line play live at MerleFest a few years ago and then again in the summer of 2015 at The Steel Wheel’s Red Wing Roots Music Festival. What initially drew me to this Raleigh, North Carolina-based quartet is that in addition to the unique mix of bluegrass, folk and Americana tunes they harmonize so beautifully on is the fact that they typically crowd around a single, large, silver radio microphone. And that’s not the band’s only nod to the past. Much like Jerry Douglas’s Earls of Leicester, they perform in old-timey tailored suits, harkening back to the Golden Age of the Grand Ole Opry.
The following story was also posted on The Huffington Post blog here.
Jim Lauderdale broke out in 2016. An overnight success? Hardly. It’s taken nearly three decades and about as many albums to receive the recognition that the Americana icon cleary deserves. Continue reading
Two of Virginia’s hottest up-and-coming alt folk rock bands — Annabelle’s Curse and Will Overman Band — will light up the stage at Charlotte’s The Evening Muse in NODA on Saturday, Oct. 22. Tickets for the late-night show that begins at 10:30 (Doors open at 10) are only $5. Trust me when I say you need to catch these bands at this price while you still can because you won’t be disappointed.
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