Doc Watson, who lived nearby, agreed to play at the show if the campus built a garden for the sight-impaired named for his late son and longtime musical partner Eddy Merle Watson.īy the time the show was scheduled, Doc had invited a “few friends” to honor Merle. It’s in my hometown, Wilkesboro, North Carolina, and began in 1988 as a fundraising concert to build horticultural gardens on the campus of Wilkes Community College in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills. Merlefest, which runs from April 28 to May 1, marks the unofficial launch of the outdoor festival season. Others emerged in small towns or cities, with the sorts of amenities you’d expect wherever you normally travel.īut even if you wind up in a campground seemingly in the middle of nowhere, at a bluegrass/Americana festival, you’ll hear fantastic music and find common ground with new friends. Many venerable festivals arose in remote locations where a campsite is easier to get than a hotel room. Some festivals evolved almost spontaneously from one-time events. The smaller ones - such as the inaugural That Music Fest at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in North Carolina - might span a mere couple of days and highlight artists with local connections (Mountain Goats and Steep Canyon Rangers, for instance). The huge ones - Nashville’s Bonnaroo and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - can last more than a week and feature household names, including Jimmy Buffett, The Chicks, Chris Stapleton, and Stevie Nicks. A handful feature only traditional bluegrass and old-timey string bands, while most embrace the eclecticism of the larger genres forms. Bluegrass founder Bill Monroe may have considered music with electric instruments and percussion “ no part of nothin’“ Americana has no such restrictions.įestivals come in all sizes and settings. It includes bluegrass and hillbilly songs, of course, but it also incorporates strains of Celtic, Cajun, blues, polka, gospel, reggae, and - yes - rock and roll. The sounds may have originated with enslaved Africans, miners from the British Isles, or laborers from Europe and the Caribbean islands. And there are no lines, except maybe at the food and merchandise tents.Īmericana is an umbrella term for the music from the myriad global cultures that have migrated to our continent and marinated on it. Admission prices are often lower than the fee to enter a theme park. Rather than seeing a handful of artists piecemeal over the next few months, you could find an enticing location and build your summer vacation around an event.
Along with stellar musicianship in a welcoming atmosphere, such festivals highlighting what blind guitar-picking legend Doc Watson called “traditional-plus” music are fun - and amazing bargains. My suggestion: Go to a bluegrass or Americana festival.
How can savvy concertgoers find value for their entertainment budgets? But surging gas prices and other hiccups in the economy may temper your ability to cure cabin fever. After two summers of spotty (at best) opportunities to see live music in large venues, 2022 promises plenty of opportunities for fans to find post-COVID grooves.