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MerleFest 2026: The Story Behind the Festival | Banjo Warehouse
Apr
MerleFest 2026: The Story Behind America’s Greatest Roots Music Festival
By Geoff Hohwald | Banjo Warehouse, Yellow Springs, Ohio
MerleFest is an annual four-day roots music festival held every April on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Now in its 38th year, it draws over 75,000 people across 12 stages and is one of the largest music gatherings in the United States. For a lot of players and fans, MerleFest is the unofficial start of festival season. The calendar turns, tax returns start arriving, and the music world comes back to life in the hills of northwestern North Carolina. It started as a two-hour benefit concert on the campus of a community college . It only became a festival because the theater was booked.
Who Was Merle Watson?
Eddy Merle Watson was born on February 8, 1949, the son of Doc Watson of Deep Gap, North Carolina. He was named after two of his father’s musical heroes: country singer Eddy Arnold and fingerpicking guitar master Merle Travis. Doc Watson first heard Merle Travis playing on radio station WLW out of Cincinnati, the same clear-channel station that reached listeners across Ohio and the Midwest on clear nights. That guitar sound shaped Doc’s picking style, and it shaped the name he gave his son. (Source: Derek Halsey, “MerleFest at 21, Doc Watson at 85.”)
Merle started performing with his father as a teenager and by his twenties had become one of the most respected acoustic guitarists in folk and bluegrass circles. He and Doc won multiple Grammy Awards together. In 1985, Frets Magazine gave Merle their Best Finger Picking Guitarist award. It was the last year of his life.
On October 22, 1985, Merle was killed in a tractor accident on the family farm in Deep Gap. He was 36 years old.
How Did MerleFest Actually Begin?
The origin story is better than most people know.
A horticulturalist named Frederick “B” Townes led the horticultural sciences program at Wilkes Community College and had developed a master plan to beautify the campus. The first piece was a sensory garden designed for visually impaired visitors, a natural space near the center of campus where people could learn about plants through touch, smell, and sound rather than sight. His plan needed funding.
Townes’ friend Bill Young, a local musician and businessman, suggested a benefit concert with his friend Doc Watson, who lived less than an hour away in Deep Gap. They made the visit. Doc resisted at first. But he agreed to do the show on one condition: that the garden be named after his late son Merle.
Everyone agreed and set a date for a performance at the college’s Walker Center theater. Then Townes went to schedule it and discovered the theater was already booked.
He drove back to the Watson house to break the news. Doc’s wife Rosalee put her hand on Townes’ knee and said: “We’ll just have a festival instead.”
Townes was a horticulturalist. He had no idea how to run a festival. He wasn’t even sure what kind of music Doc played. He just wanted to fund his garden.
And so in April 1988, the Eddy Merle Watson Memorial Music Festival came to life. Artists donated their time and played on outdoor stages and the decks of two flatbed trucks. Doc was joined that first year by Chet Atkins, Earl Scruggs, Emmylou Harris, Marty Stuart, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and other members of the Grand Ole Opry, performing for free. Thousands of people came. They came back the following year. The name reportedly came from a woman who called asking for tickets to “MerleFest,” and it stuck.
B Townes and Doc Watson then spent years visiting other festivals together, Townes learning what worked logistically while Doc educated him on the music. As Townes put it: “I was Doc’s eyes and he was my ears.” (Source: Rick Henderson, “Playing Above Its Weight,” The Assembly NC, October 2021.)
What Does “Traditional Plus” Mean?
Doc Watson had a phrase he used to describe the music he loved: “traditional plus.” Traditional roots sounds from the Appalachian region: old-time, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and more, plus whatever other styles he was in the mood to play. Blues, country, Celtic, Cajun, rock. As Pete Wernick of Hot Rize, one of the founding figures of progressive bluegrass, put it: “The guiding principle of MerleFest is music that Doc Watson likes, and Doc was very eclectic.”
MerleFest is not a bluegrass festival. It never was. It is a big-tent celebration of American roots music in all its forms, built on Doc Watson’s philosophy that good music doesn’t need a label. That’s why the lineup in any given year might include a Bill Monroe tribute alongside a jam band, a Celtic fiddler alongside a country singer, and a traditional stage running all four days alongside main-stage headliners you’d see at any major American festival.
Doc hosted MerleFest every year from 1988 until his death on May 29, 2012. He was 89. He won seven Grammy Awards, received the National Medal of Arts from President Bill Clinton in 1997, and shaped how nearly every flatpicking guitarist alive today approaches the instrument. Since his passing the festival has continued every year in his and Merle’s honor. It has contributed over $19 million to Wilkes Community College and generates an estimated $15 million in economic activity for the surrounding region annually.
Highway 421 from Boone to Wilkesboro is named the Doc and Merle Watson Highway. A life-size statue of Doc stands in a public park in Boone’s city center. The garden that started everything, the Eddy Merle Watson Memorial Garden for the Senses, still sits near the center of the WCC campus where it was always meant to be.
MerleFest 2026: What to Expect
MerleFest 2026 is the 38th annual festival, presented by Window World, running April 23-26 on the Wilkes Community College campus in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Twelve stages across 151 acres. The festival is alcohol-free and family-friendly, with the Acoustic Kids program giving young musicians a stage of their own. Nickel Creek, Sierra Hull, and Molly Tuttle all played MerleFest as teenagers before becoming some of the most celebrated artists in acoustic music. That tradition continues every year.
Sam Bush, one of the few musicians to have played every MerleFest, said it best: “It does me good spiritually to be here. We’ve all been away for the winter and we all get to come together in the springtime in the beautiful hills of Carolina.”
Who Is Playing MerleFest 2026?
The headliners are Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Old Crow Medicine Show, Charles Wesley Godwin, and Blackberry Smoke. Old Crow Medicine Show is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark album Big Iron World by performing it alongside its predecessor O.C.M.S. in full on Friday night. Doc Watson discovered Old Crow Medicine Show busking on the streets of Boone in 2000 and brought them to MerleFest. They’ve been part of the festival’s story ever since.
I’ve gotten to see a number of this year’s performers recently and I can tell you this is going to be an incredible festival. A few thoughts from someone who has been around this music for a long time:
Alison Krauss and Union Station are always electric. There is nobody in acoustic music who combines vocal purity with that level of instrumental firepower, and having Jerry Douglas in that band is something special every time. Ron Block’s drive and timing on the banjo is impeccable. I always tell students to practice with a metronome and Ron Block is proof that it works.
Old Crow Medicine Show is the same way. Every time they take a stage, something memorable happens.
I got to spend time with Molly Tuttle in January when my nephew Chris took his bachelor trip to Phoenix for the McCoury and Douglas Pickin Party. She performed multiple shows and her new album is phenomenal. I also got to play banjo at an open mic there alongside Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Sara Watkins, and Alan Bartram, which was one of those nights you don’t forget. Watch the video here.
Peter Rowan is 78 years old, five years older than me, and still puts on an incredible show. The depth of musical history that man carries is staggering.
Michael Cleveland and Sam Bush are both heavy hitters who have been carrying this music for decades. The Kruger Brothers always take my breath away. Trey Hensley’s picking is some of the most powerful I’ve ever heard.
Pete Wernick will be there, which always makes me happy. He’s a fellow banjo teacher and one of the most brilliant players in the business. Wyatt Ellis is a young mandolinist who blew me away at the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival in November 2024. Watch that kid.
I also want to mention Marcy Marxer, whose cello banjo style I love. Gold Tone makes a signature cello banjo in her name that we carry at Banjo Warehouse. If you’ve never heard her play, MerleFest is a great place to start.
Also on the 2026 lineup: T. Michael Coleman, who spent years as Doc and Merle Watson’s bass player. Seeing his name on a MerleFest bill still feels right.
Worth noting for banjo players: our friends from Deering will be at the festival, and you’ll hear their banjos on the stages all weekend. Jens Kruger of the Kruger Brothers plays Deering, as does Dom Flemons of Dom Flemons and The Traveling Wildfires. If you’ve been curious about Deering banjos, MerleFest is a good place to hear what they sound like in the hands of serious players. We carry Deering at Banjo Warehouse and are happy to talk through any of their models.
Will Banjo Warehouse Be at MerleFest 2026?
Not this year. Our banjo tech Tara has her bachelorette party that weekend, which means we’ll be holding down the shop in Yellow Springs. We hope to be there in future years. It’s the kind of festival every serious banjo player should experience at least once. The campground jams alone are worth the trip.
The MerleFest Gold Tone Sale
Gold Tone Banjos, based in Titusville, Florida, has been part of the MerleFest world for years. In the spirit of the festival, Gold Tone is offering 15% off their instruments during MerleFest weekend. As an authorized Gold Tone dealer, Banjo Warehouse is matching that discount on every Gold Tone instrument in our inventory: banjos, banjoleles, banjitars, electric models, and more.
The timing works out well. Tax returns are landing this time of year and people can breathe a little. If you have been thinking about a new instrument, this is a good window.
One thing worth knowing about Gold Tone and festivals: Wayne Rogers built Gold Tone around the idea of instruments that working musicians could actually afford to take on the road. One of his first signature Gold Tone instruments was a travel banjo, and that spirit has carried through the entire line. The Plucky Traveler at $419.99, the AC-Traveler, the AC-Mini, and the CC-Mini are all instruments designed to go with you. If MerleFest is on your calendar this year or any year, a Gold Tone travel banjo is worth having in the car.
Sale dates: April 22 at 10:00 AM ET through April 27 at 11:00 AM ET.
No coupon code needed. Sale prices are live on the product pages. Free shipping, professional setup by our banjo tech Tara, and Gold Tone’s lifetime transferable warranty included as always. Financing available through PayPal Pay in 4 and Afterpay.
See every Gold Tone on sale (April 22 – 27) →
Want to know about future sales?
Join the Banjo Warehouse email list for sale alerts, new arrival notifications, and free weekly banjo lessons from Geoff Hohwald.
Frequently Asked Questions About MerleFest
What is MerleFest?
MerleFest is an annual “traditional plus” music festival held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina on the campus of Wilkes Community College. Founded in 1988 by Doc Watson in memory of his son Eddy Merle Watson, it is the primary fundraiser for WCC and draws over 75,000 people across 12 stages each April.
Who was Merle Watson?
Eddy Merle Watson was Doc Watson’s son and longtime musical partner. He was an accomplished acoustic guitarist who performed with his father from his teenage years until his death in a tractor accident on October 22, 1985. He was 36. MerleFest was founded in his memory three years later. Merle Watson was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
When is MerleFest 2026?
MerleFest 2026 runs April 23-26 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Tickets are available at merlefest.org.
Who is headlining MerleFest 2026?
The 2026 headliners are Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Old Crow Medicine Show, Charles Wesley Godwin, and Blackberry Smoke. Old Crow Medicine Show will perform their albums Big Iron World and O.C.M.S. in full for their 20th anniversary. The full lineup also includes Molly Tuttle, Railroad Earth, The Infamous Stringdusters, Sam Bush, The Jerry Douglas Band, the Steep Canyon Rangers, and many others.
Is MerleFest a bluegrass festival?
Not exclusively. Doc Watson described his musical philosophy as “traditional plus”: traditional Appalachian roots music plus whatever other styles moved him. MerleFest reflects that philosophy across all 12 stages. Bluegrass is well represented, but so is folk, old-time, country, blues, Celtic, and Americana.
Why is Banjo Warehouse offering a MerleFest sale?
Banjo Warehouse is an authorized Gold Tone dealer. Gold Tone offers 15% off their instruments during MerleFest weekend as a way of supporting the festival and the music community it represents. We’re matching that discount April 22-27, 2026 on all Gold Tone instruments in our inventory.
Sources: Derek Halsey, “MerleFest at 21, Doc Watson at 85: Festival Notes”; Gary R. Boye, “Just one of the People: Doc Watson, The Early Years, 1941-1964,” Appalachian Journal, Fall 2023/Winter 2024; Rick Henderson, “Playing Above Its Weight,” The Assembly NC, October 2021; Lee Zimmerman, “The Real Reason MerleFest Matters”; merlefest.org.
Geoff Hohwald has been playing banjo since 1963 and is the author of The Banjo Primer (200,000+ copies sold). He is the owner of Banjo Warehouse in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and an authorized dealer for Gold Tone and Deering.
