MerleFest Announces 2009 Lineup
Travis Tritt, Emmylou Harris, Del McCoury Headline festival in Wilkesboro

By Jeff Eason

Every year at this time fans of the Merle Watson Music Festival hold their breath in anticipation, waiting to learn who will headline next spring’s four-day festival. On Tuesday night, WNCW-FM radio host Martin Anderson, Wilkes Community College spokesperson Christie Hutchens and MerleFest organizer John Adair announced the festival’s 2009 lineup.

MerleFest 2009, to be held in Wilkesboro April 23-26, will feature performances by Emmylou Harris, the Del McCoury Band, Travis Tritt, Jerry Douglas, Doc and Richard Watson, BeauSoleil, David Bromberg, Sam Bush, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dailey & Vincent, The Dixie Beeliners, Donna the Buffalo, the Duhks, the Grascals, The Greencards, George Hamilton IV, Wayne Henderson, David Holt, the Kruger Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, the Lovell Sisters, Tift Merritt, Ollabelle, Martha Scanlan, Scythian and the Waybacks, among others.

“MerleFest is known for surprises and special moments,” said festival director Ted Hagaman. “We still have a couple of things in the works, so we encourage MerleFest fans to keep checking our website for updates to our talent lineup.”

The official MerleFest website is at www.merlefest.org.

Other acts appearing on the preliminary MerleFest 2009 lineup include Susana and Timmy Abell, the Alberti Flea Circus, Angel Band, Banknotes, Buffalo Barfield, Bearfoot, Rory Block, Blue Highway, Roy Book Binder, Bob Bovee & Gail Heil, Laura Boosinger, Broken Wire, Cadillac Sky, the Circuit Riders, Clack Mountain String Band, T. Michael Coleman, the John Cowan Band, Pat Donohue, Robert Dotson, the Farewell Drifters, Benton Flippen Band, Full Throttle Bluegrass Band, Rayna & Dan Gellert, the Gravy Boys, Great Big Sea, Mitch Greenhill, Sierra Hull and Highway 111, the InterACTive Theater of Jef, Phil Jamison, Jack Lawrence, Mark Lippard, Jeff Little, the Local Boys, Doug MacLeod, Andy May, Mountain Heart, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, the Nieghbors, the New North Carolina Ramblers, Out on the Ocean, Polecat Creek, Missy Raines and the New Hip, Loretta & Lindsay Rice, Tony Rice, the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Patrick Sauber, Anne & Pete Sibley, Joe Smothers, Spring Creek Bluegrass Band, the Steel Drivers, Rodney Sutton, Patrick Sweany, Tut Taylor, Joe Thompson, Tom, Brad & Alice, Happy Traum, Mac & Jenny Traynham, the WCC Child Development Singers, Pete & Joan Wernick, the Wilkes Acoustic Folk Society, Tony Williamson, and the Zephyr Lightning Bolts.

The MerleFest Box Office will open for 2009 sales on Tuesday, November 11 at 2 p.m. Ticket purchases can be made on the web at www.merlefest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. Ticket prices will remain the same as 2008 tickets.

MerleFest 2009 will feature over 90 acts performing on 15 stages on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro. The event started in 1988 as a tribute to Eddy Merle Watson and the entire Watson Family of western North Carolina. Today it serves as a fundraiser for WCC and has become the largest fundraiser for the school.