Initial Lineup and Midnight Jam Announced for MerleFest '18



MerleFest, presented by Window World, is proud to announce the initial lineup for MerleFest 2018, which will be held April 26 - 29. The annual homecoming of musicians and music fans returns to the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The complete lineup for MerleFest 2018 will be announced over the next few months. Today's lineup announcement includes legendary artist Kris Kristofferson, Jamey Johnson, Robert Earl Keen, The Devil Makes Three, Balsam Range and the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble, "Mission Temple Fireworks Revival" featuring Paul Thorn & Band, the Blind Boys of Alabama and the McCrary Sisters, and many more. The 2018 Midnight Jam presented by The Bluegrass Situation on Saturday, April 28th will start at 10:30 p.m. and run well past midnight, with special hostsTown Mountain and Jim Lauderdale. This very popular after-hours hootenanny gathers many performers from the festival for impromptu artistic collaborations and one-of-a-kind superstar jams that have become legendary in the festival’s history.

Kris Kristofferson – Kris Kristofferson is a three-time Grammy winner who has recorded 30 albums, including three with pals Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings as part of the Highwaymen. Kristofferson has spent three decades performing concerts all over the world and achieved remarkable success as a country songwriter at the start of the 1970s. His songs helped redefine country songwriting, and by 1987, it was estimated that more than 450 artists had recorded Kristofferson’s compositions. In 1977, he earned a Golden Globe for Best Actor and has acted in more than 70 films to date. Kristofferson is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and has been recognized with the Songwriter Hall of Fame’s prestigious Johnny Mercer Award, the Johnny Cash Visionary Award, BMI’s Icon Award, the Francis Preston Music Industry Award, the PEN Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Kristofferson is scheduled to play on Thursday.

Jamey Johnson – Truth and tradition. These non-negotiable principles serve as the bedrock of the music of eleven-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson, who is “one of the greatest country singers of our time,” according to The Washington Post. Indeed, the Alabama native has been acknowledged by many as country music’s north star, guiding us down a path of confession and conflict to a place of reflection and redemption. He has received tremendous praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal and other publications, many of which have hailed his albums as masterpieces. His influential album, "That Lonesome Song", was certified platinum for 1 million in sales, and his innovative double album, "The Guitar Song", which debuted at No. 1 on the country album charts, received a gold certification. In 2012, he released a Grammy-nominated project honoring one of his heroes, Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran. He is one of only a few people in the history of country music to win two Song of the Year Awards – for “Give It Away” and “In Color" – from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. He has written singles for George Strait, Trace Adkins, James Otto, Joe Nichols and others. Johnson is scheduled to play on Friday.

“Today, MerleFest is proud to announce more than 75 artists who are part of the festival’s 2018 lineup, commemorating the 31st year of the festival. MerleFest welcomes back five special artists that haveplayed all 31 years: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Joe Smothers, and Jack Lawrence. The initial lineup reflects the musical diversity and quality of performers who are the hallmark of the festival,” says Steve Johnson, MerleFest Artist Relations Manager. MerleFest is known for its unique mix of traditional, roots-oriented music from the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, Americana, blues, country, Celtic, Cajun, cowboy, zydeco, rock and many other styles that the late Doc Watson referred to as “traditional plus.” The initial lineup includes several notable acts; to see the full list, visit the website at MerleFest.org/lineup.

  

Tickets for the festival, as well as the Midnight Jam, are on sale now, and may be purchased at www.MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. MerleFest offers a three-tiered pricing structure and encourages fans to take advantage of the extended early bird discount. Early Bird Tier 1 tickets may be purchased from November 14 to February 18, 2018 and Early Bird Tier 2 tickets from February 19 to April 25. Tickets will be sold using Tier 3 pricing at the gate during the festival. 

Stay tuned for our annual MerleFest spotlights highlighting various artists from this impressive lineup. Buy those tickets now and we'll see ya MerleFest!

Mipso Return Home for NCMA Show - Interview with Libby Rodenbough

Chapel Hill quartet Mipso is in the midst of their 35 date album release tour for Coming Down The Mountain.  According to the Americana-roots band, their fourth studio album explores "ideas of our changing relationship to the idea of home and about being pushed or pulled by forces stronger than us." 

Ahead of their special homecoming show at The North Carolina Museum of Art on May 6 with River Whyless, I chatted with fiddler Libby Rodenbough about touring, MerleFest and appreciating the little things.  


TTB:  How does Coming Down the Mountain differ in sound from Old Time Reverie?  

LR:  A couple of people have asked us if we see this album as a departure because we added drums. I think that's the typical response of adding electric instruments to a string band, but I think for the band it feels like a part of our trajectory. We're song writers mostly and we like to create music that supports the songs we write. With this album it felt like the instrumentation that could support these songs was a little different.  Also, we were trying to keep ourselves entertained and it was fun for us to try some new sounds in the studio and see how we could make them our own.

TTB:  Tell me about the creative process for this album.

LR:  We got together in a friend's barn near Saxapahaw where they grow fields of rye, which was really beautiful.  We plugged in our amps for the first time and tried songs a different way. 

TTB:  What is the writing process for developing new songs?  

Usually what happens is we write things on our own; sometimes they're finished songs, sometimes they're just ideas or just a chorus.  Then we get together and flush them out as a foursome.  We're all interested in writing a part of it, so even if one of us writes a song there's usually input from others before we record.

TTB:  What was it like working with Brad Cook of Megafaun?

LR:  It was so fun!  He is such a force of positive energy.  He is philosophically tied to not over-thinking things, which is good for us and for any artist in the studio because that's so easy to do.  He wanted us to basically go into the studio and be a band; to just play like a band and not worry too much about every little detail and kind of trust that the spirit of the song would be what was most important.  

TTB:  You are in the midst of a 35 date tour with some festival stops.  What are the biggest challenges of being on tour?

LR:  Diet, exercise, and routine.  If you're a person who enjoys routine, which I think all of us do to some extent, then being on the road is a real challenge. Touring has made me appreciate routine in a way that I might not have otherwise.  

TTB:  On the flip side, what are your favorite parts of touring?

LR:  I love imagining my life in every little town that we go through.  I love walking into a town with fresh eyes and trying to put together a little story in my head of what it's like to be there, what the people do everyday and what types of food and music they like. Obviously there are a lot of similarities and everyone is a product of an internet age, but also there's still a lot of distinction between places and that's something that could easily be overlooked if you weren't traveling to a lot of little towns like we are.  

TTB:  What are some of the highlights from your time as a Mipso member?  

LR:  It all runs together in some way.  I think there are a lot of small moments that don't get recorded as some kind of lightning strike in my memory, but there's this warmth that I feel from the accumulation of all of these small moments.  I think the stuff that's most meaningful to me is the smaller and quieter moments: the little word of appreciation from someone you admire or seeing a little kid who is starting violin lessons light up when he watches you play, that's pretty special.  

TTB:  You just played at MerleFest over the weekend.  How does MerleFest differ from other festivals?

LR:  It is a world-class festival that simultaneously feels like a state fair.  It feels extremely local, but the programming is excellent.  It has a total home-grown feeling. This festival was started by Doc Watson and I think that the spirit of the founding continues and a lot of festivals can't say that.  It's also great because of the spirit of Doc Watson it's not too exclusive with what constitutes traditional music, they always say it's traditional plus and that allows it to be as encompassing as anyone wants it to be.  

TTB:  What's next for Mipso?

LR:  There will definitely be more new music  We never really stop writing and as soon as we release things I'm usually antsy for the next thing we're going to make.  

TTB:  The upcoming show at the North Carolina Museum of Art also has Asheville's River Whyless on the bill.  Have you ever played with them before?

LR:  No, we've never played with them. We've heard so much about them and we've admired their music for a long time; it's really exciting to get to play with them. It's probably one of the most exciting bills we've ever been a part of.  

TTB:  What else would you like to tell your fans?

LR:  That we are really excited about the show at the NC Museum of Art.  We've played so many shows in the Triangle that people might think we're accustomed to it, but this is a new benchmark for us. Playing this huge outdoor amphitheater at the Museum of Art and playing with River Whyless, we've been eagerly anticipating this for so long now.  It's a really big deal to us. 

Tickets are moving quickly for this memorable night under the stars with two of North Carolina's finest Americana-folk bands.  Head on over to the North Carolina Museum of Art's website to secure your spot.  Take a listen to the album's title track, 'Coming Down the Mountain': 

MerleFest's Chris Austin Songwriting Contest Finalists Announced

The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by MerleFest, announces finalists for the 2016 contest. MerleFest 2016, presented by Window World, takes place from April 28-May 1, on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C.

Writers of the following 12 songs, selected from over 744 entries, will compete on the Austin Stage in Alumni Hall at MerleFest on Friday, April 29:

Bluegrass
Cindy Giejda (Farmingdale, N.J.) – “Jail Break”
Courtney Rorrer (Madison, N.C.) and Asa Gravley (Beckley, West Va.) – “Midnight Tears”
Aaron Bibelhauser (Louisville, Ky.) – “Blue Collar Dreams”

Gospel/Inspirational
Austin Stanley (Nashville, Tenn.) – “The Face of God”
Marcy Each (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – “On the Cross Built for Me”
Corey Smith and Allen Smith (Fayetteville, N.C.) – “The Road”

Country
Sarah Morris (Shoreview, Minn.) – “I Go Back”
Meris Gantt of Handlebar Betty (Blowing Rock, N.C) – “House of Cards”
Buddy Guido (Mohawk, N.Y.), Paul Kelly (Santa Fe, N.M.) and Willie Scheollkopf (Buffalo, N.Y.) – “This Livin’ May Be Killing Me”

General
David Morris (Gaithersburg, Md.) and Chris Dockins (Burke, Va.) – “Weeds”
Sarah Sample (Sheridan, Wyo.) – “A Heart That Falls Apart”
Adam Bonomo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) – “Redshifted”

Now in its 24th year, the contest is an extraordinary opportunity for aspiring writers to have their original songs heard and judged by a panel of music industry professionals, under the direction of volunteer contest chairperson, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale. The first place winners will receive $600 cash from MerleFest and a performance slot on the Cabin Stage on Friday night. All finalists will get to take part in a songwriting mentoring session with Jim Lauderdale and the on-site judges for the final round of this year’s Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. Those judges are critically acclaimed bluegrass multi-instrumentalist Milan Miller; 2013 CASC winner and founding member of acclaimed Americana trio Red June John Cloyd Miller: and singer-songwriter Sarah Potenza, best known for her recent success on NBC’s “The Voice” and second place win in the 2014 CASC.

The first round of the CASC competition takes place in Nashville, Tenn., and is narrowed down to 12 finalists representing four categories: bluegrass, country, general and gospel/inspirational. The first-round judges were Australian country and bluegrass musician/songwriter Kristy Cox; alt-country singer/songwriter Michaela Ann; songwriter/string music and classic country artist Caleb Klauder; Americana songwriter/performer/publisher Brink Brinkman; Joe Lurgio,  Bluegrass Underground/Tenbooks Media; Ashlee-Jean Trott of Music City Roots; and Whitney Holmes of the Americana Music Association.

Judging is based on a song¹s originality, lyrics, melody and overall commercial potential. The contest is open to those whose primary source of income (50 percent or more) is not derived from songwriting or publishing.

Net proceeds from the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest help support the Wilkes Community College Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. Since its inception the scholarship has awarded over $34,600 to 84 deserving students.

For more details about the contest, visit www.MerleFest.org/ChrisAustinSongwritingContest.


Tickets may be purchased at www.merlefest.org/purchase or by calling 1-800-343-7857. A three-tiered pricing structure is offered for MerleFest 2016. The Early Bird Tier 1 ticket discount is available through February 15, 2016. An Early Bird Tier 2 ticket discount will run from February 16, 2016, through April 27, 2016. The third price tier will be gate pricing.

MerleFest Adds John Oates to Lineup and Announces Midnight Jam Host

The countdown to MerleFest continues and we are only 36 short days away. Don't miss this four day celebration of American roots music, head over to the official MerleFest website and purchase your tickets today. 

MerleFest, presented by Window World and slated for April 28-May 1, 2016, is pleased to announce that John Oates, a legend of American music, will be joining the official 2016 festival lineup as the final addition. With over 100 artists featured, including John Prine, Old Crow Medicine Show, Jason Isbell, Dave Rawlings Machine, Brandi Carlile, The Wood Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, Tim O’Brien, Tommy Emmanuel, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Peter Rowan, Alison Brown, Doug Seegers and more, MerleFest 2016 is living up to its reputation as the nation’s annual homecoming of music lovers! Also announced, Donna the Buffalo will host the much-anticipated Midnight Jam at the Walker Center, and the Jam will be sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation.

John Oates is one-half of pop music’s legendary group Hall & Oates. Since the formation of their partnership in the early 70’s, Hall & Oates have gone on to record 21 albums which have sold over 80 million units, making them the most successful duo in rock history. They have scored 10 number one records, over 20 top 40 hits and have toured the world for decades. In addition to their numerous American Music and MTV awards, in 2005 they were inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame and in May of 2008 were presented the prestigious BMI Icon Award for their outstanding career achievement in song writing. Since 1999, John has recorded five solo albums: “Phunk Shui,” “1000 Miles of Life,” “Mississippi Mile” and a live album called “The Bluesville Sessions.” His latest project is called: “A Good Road to Follow,” which began as a series of digital singles featuring collaborations with legendary as well as new rising stars. 

MerleFest is also pleased to announce that renowned Americana band Donna the Buffalo will host the Midnight Jam, sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation. This popular Saturday after-hours hootenanny gathers together many performers from the festival for impromptu artistic collaborations and one-of-a-kind superstar jams that have become legendary in the festival’s history. 

The Midnight Jam takes place at the Walker Center; a separate ticket is required and available for purchase by four-day ticket holders and Saturday-only ticket holders. Artists confirmed to play the Midnight Jam include Donna the Buffalo, Tommy Emmanuel, Peter Rowan, Mipso, Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, Wood & Wire, Billy Strings, Becky Buller, South Carolina Broadcasters, Jim Lauderdale, Lindsay Lou and The Flatbellys and Joe Smothers. Additional artists may be added. Stay tuned for MerleFest updates!

PineCone Presents I Draw Slow

The PineCone - Piedmont Council of Traditional Music has brought some of the best music to the Triangle in recent months and Raleigh will play host to yet another outstanding act later this month.  The Triangle's deep appreciation for bluegrass and Americana music has been on display with The Kruger Brothers and Mipso recently playing to sold out crowds and it is with great excitement to announce that I Draw Slow will be this month's featured artist at Fletcher Theater in the Duke Energy Center.

On Friday, February 26, the Ireland-based group will be making their way back to Raleigh for the first time since playing the IBMA Music Festival in the fall of 2014. Upon listening, it doesn't take long to pick up on the Irish influence, but it is the blending of modern Americana and traditional bluegrass that fosters their truly original sound.  After getting started in 2008, the five members of I Draw Slow (Dave Holden, Louise Holden, Adrian Hart, Colin Derham, and Konrad Liddy) have been fortunate to perform all over the world and in March 2014 released their third album, White Wave Chapel.  If their electric performance at the IBMA festival is any indication of what is to come, you'll be glad that you got your tickets for a night with I Draw Slow.  Tickets are still available and can be purchased through TicketMaster.  Tickets can also be purchased by calling PineCone's box office at 919-664-8302 or visiting the Duke Energy Center box office in downtown Raleigh.  Be sure to check back following the performance for an in-depth interview with the band and a recap of the night at Fletcher Theater.

MerleFest Adds Three Powerful Names to Lineup

MerleFest, presented by Window World and slated for April 28-May 1, 2016, is proud to announce three powerful new additions to the 2016 lineup: breakout Americana star Jason Isbell, legendary Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel and inspiring gospel songster Mike Farris and The Roseland Rhythm Revue. 

These three new artists join over 100 other artists already announced, including John Prine, Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine, Brandi Carlile, The Wood Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Peter Rowan, Alison Brown, Doug Seegers and more! 

The four-day event, the largest roots and Americana music festival in the nation, takes place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the heart of Appalachia. MerleFest continues the legacy of Doc Watson and is a benefit for the college. This homecoming of roots music artists and fans draws nearly 80,000 participants every year. 

The deadline to take advantage of the Early Bird Tier 1 ticket discount is coming up on February 15. A three-tiered pricing structure is offered for MerleFest 2016. The Early Bird Tier 2 ticket discount will run from February 16, 2015, through April 22, 2015, and the third price tier will be gate pricing. Fans are encouraged to take advantage of the Tier 1 discount now. Tickets for MerleFest 2016 are now on sale and may be purchased at www.MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857.