American Aquarium plans to bring the band’s “Roadtrip To Raleigh” eighth annual event back to the Lincoln Theatre on Feb. 2-4, 2023, the band has announced.
Tickets are selling out fast so get yours at this link.
WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA — MerleFest, presented by Window World, has just added another huge list of performers to its star-studded 2023 lineup, which includes headliners The Avett Brothers and Maren Morris.
Set for April 27-30, 2023, on the campus of Wilkes Community College, MerleFest attendees will have the chance to see boogie-rock masters Little Feat, next-generation guitar slinger Marcus King, living country music legend Tanya Tucker, Miko Marks’ blend of country, blues, southern rock and gospel and many more take to the festival’s multiple weekend stages.
In addition, the following bands and artists have ALSO been added to the MerleFest 2023 lineup: AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Alison Brown, Andy Cohen, Anna Lynch, Bee Taylor, Brothers Comatose, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers, Cole Chaney, Compton & Newberry, Dom Flemons, I Draw Slow, Lightnin’ Wells, The Local Honeys, Nigel Wearne, Stillhouse Junkies, Taylor Rae, Terry Baucom’s Dukes of Drive, Todd Albright, Tommy Prine, Yasmin Williams and The Youngers.
These newly-added artists will join MerleFest’s previously announced lineup: The Avett Brothers, Maren Morris, Black Opry Revue, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Andy May, Banknotes, Carol Rifkin, Charles Welch, Donna the Buffalo, Jack Lawrence, Jeff Little Trio, Jim Lauderdale, Joe Smothers, Kruger Brothers, Laura Boosinger, The Local Boys, Mark Bumgarner, Mitch Greenhill & Mitch’s Kitchen, Pete & Joan Wernick, Presley Barker, Roy Book Binder, Scythian, T. Michael Coleman, The InterACTive Theater of Jef, The Waybacks, Tony Williamson and Wayne Henderson.
2023 marks MerleFest’s 35th festival and will honor Doc Watson’s 100th birthday year. To celebrate the historic milestone event, organizers intend to feature MerleFest’s unique history and present unique collaborations to honor the festival’s founding folk icon. From the flatbed trailer stage at the 1988 Eddy Merle Watson Memorial Festival to today, and looking into the future, MerleFest will continue to draw fans from all over the world to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains each spring to make music, moments and memories together.
Want to be a vendor or volunteer? Sign up at MerleFest.org, which is where you can also buy tickets. Just a friendly reminder: The last day ticket orders will be mailed before the holiday break will be Dec. 20. Shipping tickets will resume on Jan. 3, 2023.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — Fans of the North Carolina duo, Chatham Rabbits, have a chance to hear some new music at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh.
“An Evening with Chatham Rabbits” is part of the group’s album-release tour for “If You See Me Riding By,” their third full-length studio album.
Co-written during the height of the pandemic and honed through the reflection and challenges the crisis demanded, this album is absolutely a piece of pandemic art, according to the RALToday event listing. “If You See Me Riding By” was recorded at both Bedtown Studios (Watchhouse, Libby Rodenbough) and Betty’s (Sylvan Esso, Dead Tongues) with producer Saman Khoujinian.
Tickets start at $19.50 and can be purchased at this link.
Tickets on sale and volunteer opportunities are available
WILKESBORO, N.C. — It’s the most wonderful time of the year … and I’m not talking about the upcoming holidays. Instead, this is the season for finding out who will be performing at next year’s live music festivals and this week’s initial 35th edition of MerleFest‘s lineup announcement for April 27-30, 2023, did not disappoint.
Country music sensation Maren Morris is set to make her MerleFest debut on the campus of Wilkes Community College on Saturday along with the Black Opry Revue who will hit the stage on Friday. And the wildly popular North Carolina natives The Avett Brothers, who first performed at MerleFest in 2004 and are one of the most requested performers in the festival’s history, are set to return on Friday at the festival, which will also honor Doc Watson’s 100th birthday year.
To celebrate the historic milestone event, organizers intend to feature MerleFest’s unique history and present unique collaborations to honor the festival’s founding folk icon. From the flatbed trailer stage at the 1988 Eddy Merle Watson Memorial Festival to today, and looking into the future, MerleFest, which has served as the unofficial kickoff of the annual outdoor festival season, is an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans. Since its inception, the festival has drawn fans from all over the world to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains each spring to make music, moments and memories together.
Also joining the lineup, will be award-winning MerleFest veterans Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Jim Lauderdale and Scythian, in addition to many, many more including:
Andy May
Banknotes
Carol Rifkin
Charles Welch
Donna the Buffalo
Jack Lawrence
Jeff Little Trio
Joe Smothers
Kruger Brothers
Laura Boosinger
The Local Boys
Mark Bumgarner
Mitch Greenhill & Mitch’s Kitchen
Pete & Joan Wernick
Presley Barker
Roy Book Binder
T. Michael Coleman
The InterACTive Theater of Jef
The Waybacks
Tony Williamson
Wayne Henderson
To learn more, purchase tickets or to volunteer visit https://merlefest.org/.
| WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA — MerleFest, presented by Window World, is planning a 35th celebration on April 27-30, 2023, and a 100th heavenly birthday celebration for Doc Watson. MerleFest started in 1988 as a fundraiser for the Garden of the Senses on Wilkes Community College to memorialize world-renowned flat picker Eddy Merle Watson, Doc Watson’s son. In keeping with the MerleFest traditions, 2023 will offer jams honoring MerleFest’s past, present and future. The celebration also aligns with the late Doc Watson’s 100th heavenly birthday. The festival plans to celebrate the life of Doc Watson and the history of MerleFest both visually and musically through vintage videos and artist collaborations. MerleFest, an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans, occurs on the campus of Wilkes Community College. Volunteers may choose to work a specific number of days or the entire four-day festival. In exchange for working a four-hour shift, volunteers will receive free entry into the festival for that day, free volunteer parking and shuttle, and a 10% discount on camping at the River’s Edge Campground. We will begin accepting online applications for its popular volunteer program on Oct. 1. Those who are interested in volunteering can apply online at www.merlefest.org/volunteer. |
| Additional information about MerleFest 2023 can be found at www.merlefest.org. |
Not going to make it to the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) World of Bluegrass this weekend? Perennial IBMA performers and MerleFest fan favorite Celtic rock band Scythian is set to return to The Ramkat on Oct. 1, 2022, with special guests ARBO, a Cajun swamp rock band. Doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8.
From Scythian’s website:
“Our triumphant return to The Ramkat will be an absolute knockout party you won’t want to miss! With it being so late in the touring season, we’re looking at this as our last HURRAH in N.C. before the end of the year, which means that this will be the LAST CHANCE TO SEE US IN N.C. THIS YEAR! We also advise that you get your tickets NOW because all the seating and balcony seating is SOLD OUT! Only GA for the floor and balcony is left, so BE QUICK and we’ll see you there!”
Tickets (what are left anyway) are on sale at TheRamkat.com!
For tickets and more information about this year’s festival, visit https://hopscotchmusicfest.com/.
For tickets and more information, visit https://www.farmaid.org/festival/
In 2019, I was on hand at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual conference and festival for Jerry Douglas’s announcement about the new Earl Scruggs Music Festival to be held over Labor Day Weekend in 2020.
Nearly three years later, festival organizers are thrilled to announce that the inaugural event will be held Sept. 2-4 at Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina.
The star-studded lineup includes Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, The Earls of Leicester, Leftover Salmon, Alison Brown, Town Mountain and festival host Jerry Douglas. In addition, the festival features a choice display of North Carolina talent including Rissi Palmer, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Balsam Range and more (see complete lineup below.)
The festival is partnering with internationally recognized roots music brand The Bluegrass Situation to present a tribute to one of the most iconic Earl Scruggs Revue albums, “Live at Kansas State.” Dexterous bluegrass quintet Fireside Collective (also slated for a Friday night set of original music) will lead an all-star outfit in a revival of the 1972 recording with special guest, ESMF artist-in-residence Douglas, plus a slew of surprise cameos. The landmark event will take place Saturday afternoon (Sept. 3) on the Foggy Mountain Stage. Facilitating world-class showcases across festival stages and musical events in all corners of the country, The Bluegrass Situation is a prime collaborator for Earl Scruggs Music Festival, and organizers look forward to building on the partnership in the years to come.
While first-rate live music remains at the forefront of ESMF programming, organizers have also curated a series of interactive workshops for those who are looking to round out their festival experience. Thought-provoking presentations like “Earl’s Nashville Years,” moderated by journalist and guitarist Tommy Goldsmith and featuring insight from Sam Bush, Béla Fleck and Jerry Douglas, “Meet the Authors” with WMOT producer and writer Craig Havighurst, Tommy Goldsmith, veteran music and arts critic David Menconi and more will take place on the Legends Workshop Stage throughout the weekend.
Weekend and single-day passes to Earl Scruggs Music Festival are on sale now via the festival’s website. A limited number of General Admission and Grandstand Weekend tickets are still available at the current pricing level of $200 and $250, respectively. Patron VIP passes are now sold out. To explore premium options, purchase tickets, and stay up-to-date on all things Earl Scruggs Music Festival, visit earlscruggsmusicfestival.com.
Earl Scruggs Music Festival 2022 Lineup
Hosted by Jerry Douglas
Featuring:
The Earls of Leicester
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Sam Bush Band
Bela Fleck My Bluegrass Heart
Alison Brown
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Leftover Salmon
Balsam Range
Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley
Town Mountain
Chatham County Line
Acoustic Syndicate
Fireside Collective
Dom Flemons
Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Becky Buller Band
Laura Boosinger & Josh Goforth
Lakota John
Chatham Rabbits
Jon Stickley Trio
Fireside Collective
Unspoken Tradition
The Barefoot Movement
Rissi Palmer
Bella White
About Earl Scruggs Music Festival
Established in partnership with WNCW 88.7 at Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC and the Earl Scruggs Center located in Shelby, NC, Earl Scruggs Music Festival will celebrate the legacy of an American music legend who pioneered a unique style of banjo picking, coined “Scruggs style.” His collaborations with Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys, as well as Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain Boys helped to christen the bluegrass genre in the late 1940s. With a standout lineup featuring the best in traditional roots music and progressive fusions, Earl Scruggs Music Festival will illuminate the profound impact that Scruggs had on American culture, while uplifting fresh and noteworthy voices in the genre. A portion of proceeds will support the festival’s beneficiaries, the Earl Scruggs Center and Isothermal Community College, who serve Earl Scruggs’ home region of the Carolina Foothills with cultural programming through multiple channels.
WILKESBORO, N.C. — Stokes County native Will Easter and his band, The Nomads, were declared the winners of the 2022 MerleFest Band Competition.
“I’m still in shock,” Easter said after finding out he and his band had won the contest.
Since MerleFest’s inception, the festival has fostered and provided opportunities to up-an-coming musicians, songwriters, local and regional artists and other undiscovered talent from around the country and this year was no exception.
MerleFest continues that tradition each year by inviting eight groups to not only perform during Saturday’s events but also compete for the chance to perform on the Hillside Stage in front of thousands of festival-goers.
This year’s other band competitors included:
The Blue Ridge Girls
The Burnett Sisters Band & Colin Ray
His & Hers
Jack Marion & The Pearl Snap Prophets
Love & Valor
South Hill Banks
Judged by members of The Local Boys, the band competition winner was announced by host Mark Bumgarner and the lucky group received a coveted spot on the Hillside Stage’s Sunday lineup at 11 a.m. The band played a rousing set to an appreciative crowd. And The Boot named Easter’s set among the best at the festival.
“For some, performing at one of the nation’s largest Americana music festivals is a springboard for their musical careers, while for all the participants it is a once in a lifetime experience,” Bumgarner said. “The level of talent has been incredible and continues to wow the crowds each year.”
“Offering insight into some of the most premier up and coming talent across the nation, this competition is sure to impress,” adds judge and The Local Boys band member John Aaron Soots.
Not only a fan-favorite event, this annual gathering of next-generation bands is near and dear to MerleFest organizers’ hearts as well.
“The band contest is a great opportunity to discover your next favorite up-and-coming band. Every year the talent and quality continue to impress, and audiences get a chance to feel like they’re discovering the next big thing before they hit the Watson Stage,” says MerleFest Artist Relations Manager Lindsay Craven. “We love getting the local and regional talent on our stages and playing for our audience.”
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