WILKESBORO, N.C. — It wouldn’t be MerleFest if it didn’t rain. And unfortunately, after two gorgeous spring days of making music and memories at the 28th annual Americana music festival on the Wilkes Community College campus deep in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills, the forecast is calling for just that all day Saturday. But don’t let the weathermen (and women) deter you from heading out to what promises to be another day full of musical surprises and more. Continue reading
Tag Archives: MerleFest
Come out to MerleFest on Friday, April 24, to hear The Marshall Tucker Band, The Earls of Leicester, Sam Bush, Kruger Brothers, Chatham County Line, among many others
WILKESBORO, N.C. – MerleFest organizers have put together yet another great lineup for Friday, April 23, to make more music and memories with performances by The Marshall Tucker Band, Jim Lauderdale and North Mississippi Allstars, The Earls of Leicester, the Del McCoury Band performing songs of Woody Guthrie, Sam Bush Band, Bruce Robinson and Kelly Willis, The Kruger Brothers, Spinney Brothers, Chatham County Line, Mipso, Ballie & The Boys, The Honeycutters, among many others. Continue reading
MerleFest kicks off on Thursday, April 23, with Scythian, LeeAnn Womack, Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Hot Rize and Trampled by Turtles
It appears that music festival season has snuck up on me and maybe you, as well. While AC/DC and Sturgill Simpson played at Coachella last weekend, Phuzz Phest in Winston-Salem, N.C., kicked off the 2015 season with an amazing, three-day lineup that featured an array of bands that attracted even the likes of me. While everything I heard was good (I can appreciate good music even if it’s not always my favorite genre), some of my favorites were the North Carolina acts including Caleb Caudle, The Genuine, Estrangers, Tyler Nail and Mac McCaughan. Continue reading
Rooster Walk 7 adds five more bands to lineup including Donna the Buffalo, PBR
Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival has added five more bands to its already impressive lineup for Rooster Walk 7 set for May 21-14 at Pop’s Farm in Axton, Va. The acts are MerleFest and FloydFest favorites Donna the Buffalo as well as the People’s Blues of Richmond, Stop Light Observations, The Congress and Anthony Rosano & The Conqueroos. Continue reading
Lake Street Dive added to Rooster Walk 7 lineup
Color me impressed. Just a few years ago, one of my friends mentioned that she thought I would enjoy Rooster Walk, an annual grassroots music festival held just outside Martinsville, Va. She knew I was a diehard MerleFest and FloydFest fan and thought I should check out this festival that was family friendly, and much closer to my Madison, N.C., home. At her suggestion, I took a look at the lineup. My first reaction was: “I’ve never heard of any of these bands.” Continue reading
Dwight Yoakam to make first appearance at MerleFest 2015, Steep Canyon Rangers and Shannon Whitworth also added
MerleFest fans: If you have never seen Dwight Yoakam perform live, you are in for a treat at this year’s festival! The good folks over in Wilkesboro just announced that Yoakam will be performing on the Watson stage for the first time. The festival is also welcoming banjo-songstress Shannon Whitworth and perennial faves and N.C. natives Steep Canyon Rangers, who are also schedule to perform at Rooster Walk 7 over Memorial Day weekend in Axton, Va. Continue reading
The Avetts, Earls of Leicester to perform at MerleFest 2015
MerleFest has announced The Avett Brothers, Jim Avett and the Earls of Leicester as part of the April 23-26 music festival’s lineup.
Listen up! My favorite Americana discoveries of 2014
One of the reasons I attend Americana music festivals is for the opportunity to be exposed to new music and musicians I might never have sampled on my own. Following is a list of some my favorite Americana musical discoveries of 2014 at some of my favorite festivals in no particular order and where I first heard them. I hope that you will share your own discoveries.
Seven questions with bluegrass master Tim O’Brien of Hot Rize, Earls of Leicester fame
Tim O’Brien has been called a lot of things throughout his musical career, which spans more than four decades: newgrass, bluegrass, singer, songwriter, mandolin aficionado.
He has been called a lot of things because, well, he does a lot of things. Continue reading
Robert Earl Keen added to MerleFest 2015 lineup
WILKESBORO, N.C. — Robert Earl Keen fans will be thrilled to learn that the Texas American singer-songwriter is joining the lineup for MerleFest, set for April 23-26, 2015. The four-day event, an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans, will once again take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C. Continue reading
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