MerleFest, considered one of the premier music festivals in the country, serves as an annual homecoming for musicians and music fans. Held on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of the late Eddy Merle Watson, son of American music legend Doc Watson. MerleFest is a celebration of ‘traditional plus’ music, 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. The festival hosts numerous artists, performing on 13 stages during the course of the four-day event. The annual event has become the primary fundraiser for the WCC Foundation, funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs. MerleFest 2024 runs from Thursday, April 25- Sunday, April 28.
2024 Artists Include:
• Old Crow Medicine Show
• Turnpike Troubadours
• The Teskey Brothers
• Nickel Creek
• Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
• Larkin Poe
• Lukas Nelson & POTR
• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Dan Tyminski Band
• Béla Fleck My Bluegrass Heart
• Sam Bush
• Jerry Douglas
• The Earls of Leicester
• Sierra Hull
• Brandy Clark
• Shinyribs
• Nick Shoulders
• Willie Watson
• Peter Rowan
• Scythian
• Donna the Buffalo
• Jim Lauderdale
• John Cowan
• Kruger Brothers
• Darin & Brooke Aldridge
• S.G. Goodman
• New Dangerfield
• Chatham County Line
• Chatham Rabbits
• John McEuen
• Willi Carlisle
• Adeem The Artist
• The Last Revel
• Twisted Pine
• The Sensational Barnes Brothers
• The Waybacks
• Nefesh Mountain
• Them Coulee Boys
• Buffalo Nichols
• Evan Honer
• Jake Kohn
• Wyatt Ellis
• Colby T. Helms & the Virginia Creepers
• Palmyra
• Alexa Rose
• Andy May
• Anna Sturdivant
• Arkansauce
• Ashes & Arrows
• B Townes
• Banknotes
• Bayla Davis
• Bob Margolin
• Carol Rifkin
• Carolina Detour
• Charles Welch
• Corey Harris
• The Dirty French Broads
• Donna Ray Norton
• Ettore Buzzini
• Falling Timber
• Flattop
• Florencia & The Feeling
• Goldpine
• Gravity Check Juggling
• The Harris Brothers
• The High & Wides
• Holler Choir
• The InterACTive Theater of Jeff
• Into The Fog
• Jack Lawrence
• Jeff Little Trio
• JigJam
• Joe Smothers
• Josh Goforth
• Ken Crouse
• Kristen Bearfield
• Kyshona
• Laura Boosinger
• Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road
• Liz Lanham
• The Local Boys
• Lucy Allen
• Mark Bumgarner
• Melanie Rice
• Mild Goose Chase
• Missy Raines & Allegheny
• Mitch Greenhill & Mitch’s Kitchen
• Newfound Gap
• Pete and Joan Wernick
• Pixie & The Partygrass Boys
• Presley Barker
• Roan Street Ramblers
• Roy Book Binder
• Saylor Brothers
• Screamin’ Bridge
• The Silent Comedy
• The Sullivan Sisters
• T. Michael Coleman
• The Tan & Sober Gentlemen
• Tony Williamson
• Uwade
• Wayne Henderson
• Zack Brock
Visit the Down The Road on the Blue Ridge Music Trails Podcast Library to hear more about MerleFest and explore many bluegrass and old-time music stories, performers, and traditions across the mountain and foothills counties of Western North Carolina.
