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Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass

Tag Archives: MerleFest


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UPDATE: Bailey Blues and Bluegrass free music festival featuring Mike Farris on Friday, Oct. 7, is still on despite rain

THIS JUST IN: “The Bailey Blues and Bluegrass event is still on for this evening at 6 Friday, Oct. 7. Hoping for a light mist or drizzle and making the best of the situation. Bring your favorite rain coat, umbrella and boots to be on the safe side.”

The Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Virginia, celebrates and preserves a long history of Blue Ridge Mountain Music that was brought over to America from Europe and West Africa.

The legacy continues with Bailey Blues & Bluegrass, a free music festival brought to you by Wake Forest Innovation Quarter in partnership with the Blue Ridge Music Center. The festival makes it fall 2016 debut at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, at Bailey Park in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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On Huffington Post: Five reasons you don’t want to miss 2016’s Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion on Sept. 16-18

This also ran on The Huffington Post blog here.

Head down The Crooked Road for the 2016 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion on Sept. 16-18, 2016, in Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee.

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Scythian, Junior Sisk to headline fifth annual Carolina Bible Camp Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, Sept. 10

Carolina Bible Camp & Retreat Center will host its Fifth Annual CBC Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, Sept. 10, featuring MerleFest fan favorites Scythian and Junior Sisk and Rambler’s Choice.

Danylo Fedoryka says, “This will be our first Bible Camp show. We met the organizers at MerleFest and to us it seems that what they’re trying to do create is a continuation of that MerleFest spirit — great bluegrass in a real family friendly environment. And we just can’t enough of North Carolina, so we are excited to be back.”

The day-long festival located at 1988 Jericho Church Road, Mocksville, North Carolina, promises to feature great music, food, and fellowship – not to mention a few surprises, according to Festival Director Lisa Brewer.

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On Huffington Post: MerleFest fans in for a treat when Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings perform under the stars at SECCA on Thursday, Aug. 25

This post also appears on The Huffington Post here.

The first time I heard folk, alt-country Americana singer-songwriter Gillian Welch perform live was at MerleFest in 2004 on the heels of the popularity of the Grammy-award winning movie soundtrack for “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,”  on which she was an associate producer with the illustrious T-Bone Burnett and performed on two songs. It’s a performance that has stayed with me through the years.

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Infamous Stringdusters’ 7th annual The Festy Experience to feature Sam Bush, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lee Ann Womack, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Nicki Bluhm, Jim Lauderdale and many more on Oct. 7-9

The “King of Telluride” has been taking the East Coast by storm in recent years. Sam Bush has been a staple at Merlefest since its inception, but the mandolin virtuoso is no stranger to FloydFest and this spring played Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival for the first time.

Now, on the heels of his newest album release, “Storyman,” he’s headed to The Festy Experience, The Infamous Stringdusters music festival that benefits the Can’d Aid Foundation, set for Oct. 7-9 at the Lockn Festival property in Nelson County, Virginia, located between Charlottesville and Lynchburg.

In addition to Bush, Charlottesville resident Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lee Ann Womack, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Steep Canyon Rangers, the North Mississippi All Stars and Anders Osborne (aka North Mississippi Osborne), are among the acts at the top of the bill for The Festy.

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The King Bees bring the blues to Green Heron Ale House on Saturday, July 22

The first time my husband and I tried to find the Green Heron Ale House, I’ll admit it, we got lost. Tucked away in the bowels of rural Stokes County, North Carolina, just outside of Danbury, the rustic brew pub and live music joint is located in the shadow of Hanging Rock State Park on the banks of the meandering Dan River. And while it’s not easy to find, it is worth the trip.

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On Huffington Post: Mason Via is headed ‘Up, Up, Up’ to perform at FloydFest for the first time

This story also appeared on The Huffington Post here.
Mason Via is transcending musical genres with his unique brand of what has been described as Appalachian funky folk, soulful acoustic, rhythm and bluesgrass and groovy Americana.  His debut album, “Up, Up, Up,” is an eclectic mix of Appalachian string instrumentation, world percussion and soulful vocals mixed with powerful songwriting.
But it’s his country roots that come through the loudest and clearest when he hits the stage. No surprise really when you learn that the Danbury, North Carolina, native grew up in the shadow of Hanging Rock State Park in rural Stokes County on the banks of the Dan River.
“Living in correspondence with nature is one of the main points of my music,” Via, pronounced like “sky,” explains on a new micro-documentary, “Back to the Rock,” on his website.

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Scythian to perform at The Forum on Friday, June 17, in Arlington, Virginia

Fans may be surprised to learn that the founding members of Scythian, a Washington, D.C.-based Celtic rock band, didn’t like Irish music originally.

But when brothers Alexander and Danylo Fedoryka were in college at the  Franciscan University of Stuebenville, Ohio, Alex became obsessed with an Irish fiddler. Alex, who was a classically trained musician, said, “What is that? Whatever that is, I’ve got to do it.”

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Zoe & Cloyd to perform at Reynolda House Summertime Social on June 9

According to our friends at Reynolda House Museum of American Art, it’s not officially summer until you’ve toasted with friends in Reynolda’s Winston-Salem, North Carolina, back yard. Bring a blanket and enjoy food trucks, drinks from local vendors, lawn games, excellent music and an after-hours opportunity to visit “Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light” beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 9.

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Will Overman Band brings back Southern Fried Rock with self-titled debut album release

Southern fried rock. For me, KTel defined it in a 1980 album with songs from The Marshall Tucker Band and Blackfoot, among many others.

I still have the vinyl, which I nearly wore out.

Will Overman and his band, with the exception of uber-talented drummer Chris Helms — think Sebastian Bach in the Gilmore Girls’ Hep Alien band — weren’t born until a few decades after my KTel find.

The debut album by Will Overman Band, released June 4, is the epitome of that Southern fried rock. The kind of music I played incessantly on the first stereo turntable I bought with my first paycheck — hard-earned during the long, hot summer of ’79 picking berries on an experimental farm in Washington state.

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