Melefest 2011 on Bluegrass Today

For the first time, Bluegrass Today will have a correspondent on site at Merlefest, next weekend’s mega music festival in Wilkesboro, NC.

The event includes performances over four days from perhaps the most widely divergent roster of musical acts you can find at an outdoor festival. Bluegrass acts like Balsam Range, Josh Williams, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and The Del McCoury Band will share the bill with alt grassers Infamous Stringdusters, Tony Rice Unit, Sam Bush and Sarah Jarosz.

Merlefest always features blues and Americana acts, sometimes from major names like Robert Plant, who will appear with his new Band Of Joy, and The Doobie Brothers, with their new bass player, John Cowan. Of course, Doc Watson makes a couple of appearances, and will surely do so as long as he is able given that the fest got its start as a tribute to his beloved son, Merle, after his untimely death in 1985.

Georgia Lowrance will spend all four days on the ground at Wilkes Community College, and will send daily updates and photos through the weekend.

Georgia is a massage therapist in Florida, and works as a free lance music journalist and photographer. She is also collaborating now on a book about touring musicians and their health habits, designed to help professional musicians learn to be healthy on the road.

Share this:

About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.