Wilksboro, NC — The high cost of travel and a downturn in the economy didn’t seem to slow down attendance to this years MerleFest. According to a press release on Merlefest’s website, this years festival was enjoyed by over 76,000 festival attendees this year. Over the course of four days, the Wilkes Community College campus became the home of a wide variety of traditional-plus fans and players with music featured on a multitude of stages daily.

Preliminary estimates show that MerleFest 2008 overall participation reached 76,708 which is comparable to 2007 participation of 79,412. “We are so proud that MerleFest fans remain committed to the event despite current economic conditions and threatening weather that included a storm delay on Saturday,” says festival director Ted Hagaman. “Since we opened ticket sales in November we have seen single day ticket sales outpace four-day ticket sales.”

Performers at MerleFest 2008 included The Avett Brothers; Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck, Casey Driessen, & Ben Sollee; Sam Bush; The Carolina Chocolate Drops; Jerry Douglas; Levon Helm & The Midnight Ramble on the Road with Special Guests; Solas “Reunion,”with Karan Casey & John Doyle; Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder; Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mtn Boys; Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives; Rhonda Vincent and The Rage; Dan Tyminski Band; Alison Brown Quartet with Joe Craven; Donna The Buffalo; Blue Highway; The Claire Lynch Band; Dirk Powell & Riley Baugus; Tony Rice; Peter Rowan; Ollabelle; Sally Van Meter; Rhonda Vincent & The Rage; Pete Wernick & Flexigrass; Tim O’Brien; The Waifs; The Waybacks; Old Crow Medicine Show, and many more.

Additional information about all aspects of the festival can be found at www.merlefest.org.

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BlueHighway “Through the Window of a Train” (Rounder)

Burlington, MA – Rounder Records is pleased to announce that many of its artists will be performing at MerleFest on April 24–27 in Wilkesboro, NC. MerleFest began in the spring of 1988 and has grown from two flat-bed trailers and 4,000 attendees to 13 stages with more than 81,500 festival participants. This “one time, one night, one man show,” according to MerleFest Executive Director B. Townes, has turned into one of the largest American roots festivals in the country. A complete list of Rounder performances is below. For more information and stage schedules, visit www.merlefest.org.

Blue Highway (Thursday & Friday, April 24 & 25)
One of the most esteemed groups in contemporary bluegrass, Blue Highway excels at every facet of the music, from instrumental dexterity to impeccable vocal interplay to literate, powerful songwriting. Individually, Jason Burleson (banjo, guitar, mandolin), Rob Ickes (Dobro), Shawn Lane (mandolin, fiddle, vocals), Tim Stafford (guitar, vocals), and Wayne Taylor (bass, vocals) are at the forefront of the genre, appearing on innumerable projects as sidemen, songwriters, and solo artists. Their latest album, Through the Window of a Train was released in February and finds the band continuing to grow and mature in all areas. Blue Highway has released eight acclaimed albums, received a Grammy nomination for their album Wondrous Love, topped the Bluegrass Unlimited radio charts, and won an astonishing 13 International Bluegrass Music Association awards (individually and collectively).

Blue Highway “Through the Window of A Train” CD Review on BluegrassJournal.com

Sierra Hull & Highway 111 (Friday & Saturday, April 25 & 26)

Beginning at eight years old, Sierra Hull has become an adored and respected young mandolin picker in bluegrass circles. Since then, the 16-year old Hull has competed in and won numerous mandolin and guitar championships, showcased at The International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass, and was a featured performer on the Great High Mountain Tour, which included an all-star bluegrass lineup (with Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, and others), that performed songs from the soundtracks of O Brother Where Art Thou and Cold Mountain. On May 6, Rounder Records will release Secrets, her national debut album. Secrets was co-produced by Hull and Ron Block (Union Station) and features Block, Dan Tyminski, Barry Bales, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice, Jim VanCleve, Rob Ickes, Chris Jones, Jason Moore, and 17-year-old banjo whiz Cory Walker (who is also in Sierra’s band, Highway 111).

The Claire Lynch Band (Saturday & Sunday, April 26 & 27)

Claire Lynch has long been recognized as a creative influence in bluegrass music – first for her early years with Alabama’s Front Porch String Band (which was labeled as “a musical force to be reckoned with” by John Starling) and later for her superb singing and songwriting. Two of her five albums on Rounder have been nominated for a Grammy® and, among her many other nominations, she won the IBMA Award for “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 1997. Her latest album, Crowd Favorites, was released in October and is a collection of some of the most-requested songs from Claire Lynch’s impressively rich repertoire.

Claire Lynch “Crowd Favorites” CD Review on BluegrassJournal.com

Tony Rice (Friday & Saturday, April 25 & 26)

Tony Rice spans the range of acoustic music, from straight-ahead bluegrass to jazz-influenced new acoustic music, to songwriter-oriented folk. He is perhaps the greatest innovator in acoustic flatpicked guitar since Clarence White. Over the course of his career, he has played alongside J.D. Crowe and the New South, David Grisman (during the formation of “Dawg Music”), led his own groups, collaborated with fellow picker Norman Blake and recorded with his brothers. Rice remains one of bluegrass’ top instrumentalists, bringing originality and vitality to everything he plays.

The Dan Tyminski Band (Sunday, April 27)

Dynamic on stage, down to earth off stage, Dan Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops, and charisma to be counted among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on today’s bluegrass and country music scenes. Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor singing has been a key component of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era. Prior to that, he rose to national prominence as a member of bluegrass favorite, the Lonesome River Band. With Union Station on hiatus for most of 2008, Tyminski has formed a new incarnation of the Dan Tyminski Band, with whom he is releasing his new album Wheels on June 17. This new edition includes longtime Union Station associate Barry Bales (bass), former Union Station and Mountain Heart member Adam Steffey (mandolin), sideman extraordinaire Ron Stewart (banjo, fiddle), and newcomer Justin Moses (fiddle, dobro).

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage (Saturday, April 26)
The reigning queen of bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent, was born with music inside of her. She inherited timeless bluegrass strains from her family and the hills of her Missouri homeland. You can hear them echo every time she sings, or when she runs her hands across a mandolin, guitar, or fiddle. Yet Vincent’s music is a transformation of tradition – a very modern manifestation of her roots in classic bluegrass, refracted through her very real experiences as a bandleader, musician, songwriter, mother, wife, and woman. Rounder released her latest album Good Thing Going in January and it is Vincent’s most personal album to date. With hope, resilience, and gratitude, Vincent presents a set of songs that range from timelessly straight-ahead bluegrass to effervescent swing and heartfelt ballads.

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Submissions for Merlefest’s prestigious “Chris Austin Songwriting contest” are due March 4th. Songs maybe submitted to one of 4 categories including - Country, Bluegrass, Gospel and General.

Along with a plethora of prizes up for grabs, submitters get a chance to have their material reviewed by a panel comprised of songwriters and other Nashville music industry professionals.

According to Merlefest’s website, “entries are open to those whose primary source of income (50 % or more) is not derived from songwriting or publishing.”

For detailed information on the contest you can visit the Merlefest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest on the Merlefest Website. Questions can also be directed to allison.phillips@wilkescc.edu and the contest hotline number is 1-800-799-3838.

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Doc Watson

Tickets go on sale today, November 13 for the 2008 edition of MerleFest. The event will feature artists from a variety of styles and genres to celebrate the music of Doc and Merle Watson for the 21st year. Once again Doc Watson will host the four-day festival, on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC on April 24-27, 2008.

Collaborations and jam sessions have been a major part of the MerleFest experience since the beginning and MerleFest 2008 will continue that tradition. Special collaborations between artists and exciting jam sessions that will fill the stage with talent are being planned throughout the four-days of the festival.

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Doc Watson

MerleFest 2008, will feature artists from a variety of styles and genres to celebrate the music of Doc and Merle Watson for the 21st year. Once again Doc Watson will host the four-day festival, on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC on April 24-27, 2008. Tickets will go on sale November 13.

Doc and Merle’s son Richard Watson will be joined by The Avett Brothers; Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet featuring Bela Fleck, Casey Driessen, & Ben Sollee; Sam Bush; The Carolina Chocolate Drops; Jerry Douglas; Levon Helm & The Midnight Ramble on the Road with Special Guests; Tim O’Brien; The Waifs; The Waybacks; Old Crow Medicine Show; Solas “Reunion,”with Karan Casey & John Doyle; Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby with Kentucky Thunder; Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mtn Boys; Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives; Dan Tyminski Band; Alison Brown Quartet with Joe Craven; Donna The Buffalo; Blue Highway; The Claire Lynch Band; Dirk Powell & Riley Baugus; Tony Rice; Peter Rowan; Ollabelle; Sally Van Meter; Rhonda Vincent & The Rage; Pete Wernick & Flexigrass.

“When Merle and I started out we called our music ‘traditional-plus,’ meaning the traditional music of the Appalachian region plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play. Since the beginning, the people of the college and I have agreed that the music of MerleFest is ‘traditional-plus’ and this year’s line-up shows what that is all about.”Doc Watson

When asked what he is most looking forward to at MerleFest 2008, Doc responds, “I always look forward to reuniting with the boys from Frosty Morn, Merle’s band, because our performances are always special. This year, I am excited to play some of the Docabilly album tunes. I know that some of the musicians who helped me on it will be there.” The music legend is also looking forward to another unique collaboration, “Some of the leading bluegrass women are putting together the Merle’s Girls set we did a few years back and that is something I always enjoy.”

The crowd at Merlefest enjoying a performance on the Watson Stage.

Collaborations and jam sessions have been a major part of the MerleFest experience since the beginning and MerleFest 2008 will continue that tradition. Special collaborations between artists and exciting jam sessions that will fill the stage with talent are being planned throughout the four-days of the festival.

MerleFest will also feature performances by Bearfoot; The John Cowan Band; David Holt; The Infamous Stringdusters; Jorma Kaukonen; Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands; The Lovell Sisters; Nashville Bluegrass Band; Tift Merritt; The Waifs; The Wilders; Susana & Timmy Abell; Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan; Banknotes; Roy Book Binder; Laura Boosinger; Bob Carlin & Cheick Hamala Diabate; The Captain’s Crew; Carl & Kelli Jones; The Circuit Riders; T. Michael Coleman; Robert Dotson; Mike Dowling; Ruthie Foster; Future Traditions; Terry Garland; Buddy Greene; Mitch Greenhill; George Hamilton IV and George Hamilton V; Bob Hill; Hot Buttered Rum; Clint Howard Band; Sierra Hull & Highway 111; The InterACTive Theater of Jef; Phil Jamison; The Key City Boys; Jim Lauderdale; Jack Lawrence; Mark Lippard; Jeff Little; The Local Boys; Bill Mathis; Cliff Miller; Paul Oscher; The Pine Leaf Boys; Polecat Creek; Tom Sauber; Shana Banana; ShoeFly; Ryan Shupe & The RubberBand; Joe Smothers; Rafe Stefanini and Clelia Stefanini; Rodney Sutton; Tish Hinojosa; Tut Taylor; Joe Thompson; Happy Traum; Bil VornDick; Charles Welch; Whitetop Mountain Band; Wilkes Acoustic Folk Society; The Alberti Flea Circus; Buffalo Barfield; Willette Hinton & Family; Tony Williamson.

In addition to music on over a dozen stages, MerleFest offers heritage crafts from regional artisans, a safe and family friendly atmosphere, children’s activities, plenty of pickin’ opportunities, and more! For more information, to buy tickets, or to sign up as a festival volunteer visit www.merlefest.org or call 1-800-343-7857.

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