MerleFest is not taking place this year. This festival, which celebrates “traditional plus” music, has been taking place on Wilkes Community College since 1988, as a fundraiser for the college, and in memory of Eddy Merle Watson.
MerleFest has announced that on the dates that the festival would have taken place they will “live” stream the 2012 performances that took place on the Watson and Cabin stages.
You can watch for free! The lineup is here.
Scroll down for a huge list of virtual events coming up.
The 2012 festival was special, not just because it was the festival’s 25th anniversary, but because it was the last time that Doc Watson played the Watson Stage.
Stream on MerleFest’s YouTube channel starting:
- Thursday, April 23rd at 1 p.m.
- Friday, April 24th at 9:30 a.m.
- Saturday, April 25th at 9:30 a.m.
- Sunday, April 26th at 9:30 a.m.
Thursday, April 23rd:
- The Deep Dark Woods
- Jubal’s Kin
- Lost Bayou Ramblers
- Bluegrass Jam Camp
- The Boxcars
- The Bill Young Tribute featuring The Banknotes
- Donna the Buffalo with Jim Lauderdale
- The Steel Wheels
- Dailey & Vincent
- Wylie Gustafson, Jim Lauderdale & Claire Lynch
- Vince Gill
Friday, April 24th:
- Fruteland Jackson
- Jonathan Scales Fourchestra
- Michael Roach
- Wylie & the Wild West
- The Local Boys
- Peter Rowan & The Free Mexican Airforce
- Pete & Joan Wernick
- Steep Canyon Rangers
- Patrick Simmons, Darrell Scott, & John Cowan
- Chris Austin Songwriting Contest Winners
- Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, the original lineup
- Instrument contest winners with Pete Wernick, Sam Bush, Stefan Grossman, Los Lobos
Saturday, April 25th:
- Johnson’s Crossroad
- Jeffery Broussard & The Creole Cowboys
- Fruteland Jackson
- Assembly of Dust
- Steve & Ruth Smith
- Claire Lynch Band
- The Honeycutters
- Tony Rice Unit
- The Kruger Brothers
- Snyder Family Band
- Doc Watson & Friends
- Tribute to Merle, featuring Doc Watson and friends
- The Gibson Brothers
- Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile
- The Greencards
- Tedeschi Trucks Band
Sunday, April 26th:
- The Benedict College Gospel Choir
- Red June
- Scythian
- Sierra Hull & Highway 111
- Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
- Dougie MacLean
- Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
- Tribute to Merle
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More virtual events
Check out our big list of upcoming virtual events, or look at a few of them here:Virtual
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