MerleFest has announced the lineup for its 35th annual event, slated for April 27-30 of next year. Held on the campus of Wilkes Community College in North Carolina, next year’s fest will feature The Avett Brothers, Maren Morris, and Black Opry Revue.
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Prodigal songs of North Carolina, The Avett Brothers are familiar faces on the MerleFest billing. They have remarked in the past that being included in their first MerleFest billing jump-started their career. They perform Friday night. One of the leading voices in country music, Morris performs Saturday at the fest while “genre-weaving cultural collective” Black Opry Revue perform on Sunday.
Elsewhere on the lineup are MerleFest veterans Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Peter Rowan, alongside 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.
In addition to celebrating the festival’s 35th year, the event will honor what would have been Doc Watson’s 100th birthday. Organizers have teased “unique collaborations” that will showcase the festival’s unique history and Watson’s enduring legacy in folk music.
Tickets for MerleFest 2023 are available now. Find information about general admission passes, patio seating, camping, parking, and more, HERE.
MerleFest began in 1988 as a fundraiser for the Garden of Senses at Wilkes Community College to memorialize Watson’s late son, Eddy Merle Watson. The first lineup featured Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, and Emmylou Harris.
Photo Courtesy of IVPR
