Although many of the uninitiated seem to think so, understandably, MerleFest is not about country music great Merle Haggard. (But you can bet your banjo there’s a ton of Haggard fans there!)
MerleFest was founded as the Eddy Merle Watson Memorial Festival.
Merle Watson was the inordinately talented son of bluegrass pioneer Doc Watson. Merle died tragically in a farming accident in 1985.
“In the early dark hours of October 23, 1985, just days before ‘Frets Magazine’ named him the best finger-picking guitarist of the year in folk, blues, or country music, Eddy Merle Watson rolled his farm tractor on a steep hillside near his home, ending the life of one of the world’s great musicians in a tragedy worthy of the blues ballads he loved. Some people knew Merle Watson well, some were acquainted with him as a consequence of brief interactions of one sort or another, some had only the privilege of seeing him perform his musical wizardry on stage or listening to one or more of his many recordings, but everyone loved and respected him. Merle touched lives world wide as is evidenced by over 700 cards, letters, and other written condolences received by his family, Doc, Rosa Lee, and Nancy, after Merle’s fatally tragic accident. These expressions of sympathy were in addition to the hundreds of phone calls and personal visits to the Watson’s Deep Gap, North Carolina home. This tremendous outpouring of support was not engendered by a love of Merle’s music alone, but also by the way his charisma and kindness transcended his fundamental shyness and silence on stage to reveal themselves in his exquisite fingerwork and gentle smile…
“A year after Merle’s death, Bill Young, Doc’s close friend and picking buddy, Frederick W. ‘B.’ Townes, the Dean of Resource Development at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC, and Ala Sue Wyke approached him with the idea of doing a benefit concert at the college to raise money for a memorial garden in honor of his deceased son, Merle. Rosa Lee and Doc’s daughter, Nancy, suggested they invite a number of Merle’s friends to play as well, some of whom were among the country’s best acoustic musicians. This dialog germinated the first Merle Watson Memorial Festival in the spring of 1988. Artists played on stage in Wilkes Community College’s John A. Walker Center and on the back of two flatbed trucks to a crowd of 4,000 people. This initially modest event, now known as MerleFest, has subsequently become one of the most critically acclaimed acoustic music festivals in the world. MerleFest ’95 included over 100 artists and bands, some already legendary and some well on their way, performing on nine stages for nearly 40,000 people, raising funds for the Eddy Merle Watson Garden for the Senses, and providing an economic boost to the Wilkes County economy approaching $1.5 million. —Merlefest.org
Here’s the mission of MerleFest: “MerleFest is committed to producing a high quality diversified American roots based musical experience that attracts a broad audience and reunites guests, supporters and performers in an annual celebration of Americana music…”
MerleFest is held each year on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
THE NEXT MERLEFEST TAKES PLACE APRIL 25 – 28, 2024