Tag Archive for: #merlefest

The Local Skinny! Tasker Fleming on MerleFest 2025

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The campus of Wilkes Community College once again transforms into a sprawling concert venue later this month when MerleFest 2025 cranks up for four days of pure musical fun.

MerleFest 2025 begins Thursday, Apr. 24 and continues through Sunday, Apr. 27.

Tasker Fleming, host of the Front Porch Bluegrass Show that airs from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays on WIZS said that folks who attend MerleFest will surely get their money’s worth – different musical groups will take to stages large and small, indoors and out, during the course of each day.

One local group, The Barefoot Movement, is scheduled for four performances on Friday, Apr. 25. They’re just one of the dozens of performers – from Bonnie Raitt and the Avett Brothers to Asleep at the Wheel and Peter Rowan – included in this year’s lineup.

singers, players and pickers

And if the musical variety weren’t enough, there will be vendors galore selling all kinds of items from food to musical instruments for the thousands of attendees expected.

When Fleming attended the music festival a couple of years ago, he said one thing that struck him was the relaxed atmosphere that existed between the musicians and the audience.

“When they get off the stage, they hang around and talk to you,” he said. “You won’t get that at a normal concert.”

Visit https://merlefest.org/ to learn more.

 

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TownTalk: MerleFest Takes Place April 25 Through 28

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About 100 artists and bands will take to the stage – 12 stages, actually – during the four-day run of MerleFest next month in Wilkes County and organizers anticipate more than 70,000 fans of bluegrass and traditional music will be there to listen and take in all the sights.

Festival Director Wes Whitson said he’d love to see attendance “north of 75,000” and said he and his team work throughout the year to secure acts from far and near to entertain audiences of all ages throughout the four days. MerleFest 2024 takes place on the campus of Wilkes Community College April 25-28.

MerleFest began in 1988 as a fundraiser to help improve the gardens at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, Whitson told WIZS co-host Bill Harris. Legendary musician Doc Watson started the festival in memory of his musician son Merle, who died in 1985.

Since then, the festival has grown and evolved, but Whitson said its roots still lie in being a fundraiser for the community college, providing money for scholarships, training and much more.

Among the acts taking the stage this year are Old Crow Medicine Show, Nickel Creek, Turnpike Troubadours, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Lukas Nelson & POTR, Steep Canyon Rangers – just to name a few.

Visit https://merlefest.org/ for details about ticket prices, lineups, schedules and all things MerleFest. Or, Whitson said, the box office is open on weekdays, so feel free to call 800.343.7857. There’s also a MerleFest app.

From all indications so far, MerleFest fans approve of the musicians they’ll be listening to this year. “Our fans have really shown support for our lineup,” Whitson said. They conducted research will polls to make sure they were choosing artists that fans wanted to hear.

“I think that paid off,” he said, adding that they’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback.

Concert-goers come from all over to the small county in western North Carolina, and they bring their pocketbooks with them. Whitson said MerleFest infuses $10 and $12 million dollars into the local economy during the days leading up to – and including – the festival.

MerleFest’s artist relations team is continually looking and listening for local talent and scout around in local and larger venues all year to identify potential musicians to invite. “We seek and find and invite,” Whitson said. “We’re definitely paying attention and following the ‘buzz’ around.”

In its earlier days, organizers could start making plans in the summer for the following spring’s concert. But those days are over, Whitson said.

“It is a yearlong planning event – we work full time on this all year long…to make sure we’re putting out the best, safest, quality event. That takes a lot of time.”

He gives much credit to his festival team and extended network of partners – from the production company to the tent supplier to artist relations teams, “everybody pitches in and does a great job,” Whitson said.

“I’m surrounded by good people…we love doing it and it’s a lot of fun.”

 

WIZS will be giving away free tickets to MerleFest in the coming weeks – stay tuned for details!

 

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TownTalk: Pickin’ And Grinnin’ At MerleFest

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The musicians who play at MerleFest cut across many genres, but when they take the stage at the annual music festival up in Wilkes County, North Carolina next month, they will all fall into the category that Doc Watson called “traditional ‘plus.’”

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the festival, which grew from a fundraiser for Wilkes Community College to an iconic event that attracts big-time audiences and big-time musicians. Musicians and music-lovers will travel to Wilkesboro for the festival, which takes place April 27-30.

Wes Whitson joined Bill Harris on Wednesday’s TownTalk to talk about the upcoming festival and how things have been going during his first year of directing the event.

“I’m having a ton of fun here behind the scenes,” Whitson said.

“We always like to bring something for everybody at MerleFest,” he said, adding that legendary musician Doc Watson’s idea of “traditional ‘plus’” is always top of mind when making decisions on which musicians to book.

The event’s website describes the music that MerleFest is known for as “a unique mix of music based on the traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, and expanded to include Americana, country, blues, rock and many other styles.”

So whether you like Tanya Tucker or Nickel Creek, Little Feat or the Avett Brothers, you’re in for a treat this year. These are just a few of the performers scheduled for the 2023 edition of MerleFest.

“Doc (Watson) would have been 100 this year,” Whitson noted, and predicts that there will be several renditions of Doc’s tunes filling the air on one of the dozen stages at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro.

Visit merlefest.org or call 800.343.7857 for details on tickets, day passes and to see the complete lineup of more than 90 artists who are scheduled to perform.

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TownTalk: MerleFest Brings Music And Families Together

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It started as a simple attempt to raise money to build a unique garden on a community college campus in western North Carolina three decades ago, but it has evolved into a favorite event for music lovers all over the region.