Merlefest “23 Recollections and Observations

Welcome back wranglitos to the land of the unforgiven heathen and the forgotten flavor of the bittersweet fruit. This is Merlefest 2023 straight from the campus of Wilkesboro Community College and that’s hometeam bruh. The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson as a fundraiser for Wilkes Community College and to celebrate ‘traditional plus’ music. For the 828 crowd, this is the mountain coming to Mohamed. Only thirty minutes from Boone it makes it an easy trek to some of the best country, rock and Appalachian folk in the Orion cluster. Welcome to Merlefest “23 Recollections and Observations. We will take you that mansion in the sky.

The wranglers split the team up as Bfly, The Iceman and Boston headed to Something in the Water at Virginia Beach while Brian and the unnamed heathen headed to Wilkesboro. Too many festivals and not enough time. Hashtag hippy problems. Yo Rizzo, there are worse things you could do. You could try carrying paraphernalia in Alabama or pulling into an apparent traffic stop that also happens to be a group of Mexican construction workers on the side of the road. These are certainly strange and curious times we are living in. All one can do is stare and wonder.

Headliners included Brothers of a Feather, The Avett Brothers, The Travelin’ McCoury’s and Friends featuring Del McCoury, Little Feat, Marcus King, Tanya Tucker, Tommy Emanuel, Doc Watson’s 100th Birthday Jam, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan’s Bluegrass Band, Donna the Buffalo and a virtual Japanese ton of more fantastic, home grown music.

The music of MerleFest was best explained by Doc himself: “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”. Late-night jams pepper the surrounding terra firma, and chemical bluegrass lingers through the pines.

As usual, there was music every night at Kamp Happiness. It wasn’t the wookling’s fault he bled all over Lucy’s guitar. When loaning instruments to the spunion ilk, the price is heavy and will be paid. You have been judged and found wanting. The first night included decent bluegrass with Mr. Beautiful while the rest of the weekend sponsored mediocre hippy jams and a litany of broken G strings. You know the drill.

It rained everywhere in the eastern U.S. Friday and Saturday so there was no escaping the drizzle. Spyder was playing hard to want. His potential paramour smelled like a paper mill and had a mouth like a gag grouper. The forecast called for scattered bad choices. Mr. Beautiful’s camp, Camp Opulence, was nestled near the Yadkin Pee-Dee River right in the heart of the magic and weirdness. Cautious eyes locked on Bfly who was known to kick the early morning off with some Floozies. A common faux pas at most country/bluegrass shows.

Visit our site at Merch Booth for wranglers gear.

MerleFest, considered one of the premier music festivals in the country, serves as an annual homecoming for musicians and music fans. Held on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of the late Eddy Merle Watson, son of American music legend Doc Watson. MerleFest is a celebration of “traditional plus” music, a unique mix of music based on the traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, and expanded to include Americana, country, blues, rock and many other styles. The festival hosts 12 stages during the course of the four-day event.

Visit the Merlefest website and like their social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. In the interweb no one can hear you scream. Thanks to Merlefest for including the wranglers in the hillbilly fun. There’s no denying the power and spirit of the music of the Appalachian mountains. For those who enjoy delvin’ into bluegrass music, there’s no better place to earn your stripes.

Keep up with the wranglers as we funnel downward, toward the nexus of the festival season and literally head south to Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, AL. After a quick stop at Rockville in Daytona, it’s two solid weeks of complete gibberish with Summer Camp and Mountain Music Festival. Great googly moogly, this is turning out to be a lively moment in time. Cross the line. Get on the bus. Hop the train. Whatever it takes but don’t  blink. You might miss something. Meet behind the sound booth.

namaste y’all.