Twenty Twenty-Three is shaping up to be an extra special year in the roots, americana, and bluegrass world as the music community celebrates what would have been Doc Watson's 100th birthday. It is hard to imagine that the ground has not frozen over yet, nor thawed out, but yet we already have our sights on 2023. How glorious it is to have something to look forward to on the cold winter nights that lay ahead.

MerleFest just shared its initial lineup for the 2023 edition of their festival - the 35th edition of MerleFest. In addition to reaching such a prolific festival milestone, MerleFest will also honor and celebrate North Carolina's beloved son - Doc Watson.

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of the son of the late American music legend Doc Watson, renowned guitarist Eddy Merle Watson. Merle Watson was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in October 2019.  MerleFest is a celebration of "traditional plus" music, a unique mix of traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including old-time, classic country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and blues. Over the years it has expanded to include Americana, classic rock, and other emerging music.

Video Courtesy Of: PBS NewsHour

Many of us in the Washington, DC Metro Area have heard of MerleFest and always ponder making the journey to Wilkesboro, North Carolina. There is that intangible sense that "we should pack up the car/tent/camper and make our way down to MerleFest," which is recognized as one of the premier music festivals in the country and also one of the first festivals in the calendar year.

MerleFest is the perfect excuse to cruise straight down picturesque I-81 alongside the Shenandoah Valley and Blueridge Mountains. Although this drive will take you six hours from Washington, DC, the journey is worth the trip. The highway is sprinkled with picturesque landscapes, comes within an earshot of Devils Backbone Brewing's Basecamp  (we recommend stopping there for a tasty meal), and every mile is dotted with spring flowers, including the ever-present Eastern Redbud trees along the highway. MerleFest has camping options for your car, tents, and RVs, but there are also ample hotel accommodations in Wilkesboro. Road trip aside, people flock to MerleFest because of the sheer depth of talented artists grace the thirteen stages during the four-day event. To understand the magnitude of world-famous artists that perform at MerleFest, please look no further than the past lineups.

Speaking of lineups, MerleFest 2023 is set to be another spectacular edition of the festival. The initial lineup announcement includes North Carolina's favorite sons, The Avett Brothers, country mega-star and Highwoman Maren Morris, and the genre-weaving cultural collective Black Opry Revue. In addition to new artists, award-winning MerleFestveterans Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Peter Rowan are returning again to the stages of MerleFest.  Please check out the full 2023 lineup here.

MerleFest started as a small festival set upon a flatbed trailer as a fundraiser to help the community college back in 1988, and today MerleFest typically draws 75,000 to 80,000 festival-goers throughout the four-day festival. From that flatbed trailer stage at the 1988 Eddy Merle Watson Memorial Festival to today, and looking into the future, MerleFest will continue to draw fans from all over the world to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains each spring to make music, moments, and memories together.

Keep an eye out for more lineup announcements from MerleFest. If you have the itch to follow the roads south and hear some truly spectacular music, we think that you will not regret making the trip to Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in April 2023.

Today is the day we look beyond winter and think about our first long road trip of 2023 to enjoy a music festival once again. Seventy-five to eighty thousand people would agree with us.  Music, moments, and memories of world-class music with thousands of passionate music lovers are on the horizon for us all! 

Tickets are available now. Please find the links for tickets below.   If you have questions, then MerleFest has answers - go to their expansive Frequently Asked Question page to see if they can answer any of the questions you may have.

To learn more about MerleFest, please see the following web resources:

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