A number of artists will celebrate the life and legacy of American music legend Doc Watson on social media during the week of May 25-29, 2020 under the auspices of MerleFest, one of America’s premiere music festivals.
Lindsay Craven, the festival’s artist relations manager, reached out to see if some artists would like to share a special song and a memory of the iconic blind folk guitarist, who passed away on May 29, 2012, and received what she called an “amazing “response. “More than 60 artists “have taken time to record a video and send in a song for us to share with our fans,” she noted.
Extending from 9 a.m. on Monday, May 25 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29, the remembrance event known as #DocWatsonWeek can be viewed on MerleFest’s Facebook page (https:facebook.com/MerleFest), as well as via its Twitter and Instagram accounts (both at @MerleFest) during the week. Each video will be posted at the top of the hour, starting at 9 a.m. daily, according to Craven. DocWatsonWeek will close out with a recording of Watson’s final performance on the festival’s Creekside Stage in 2012.
Here’s the artist lineup: MONDAY: Joe Smothers Music, One Fret Over, Cordovas, Sweet Potato Pie, Piedmont Blūz Acoustic Duo, Hogslop String Band, Happy Traum, Kelsey Waldon, Mary Flower, Chatham Rabbits, Chatham County Line, Tara Nevins of Donna the Buffalo with Richie Stearns, Tommy Emmanuel with Jason Isbell; TUESDAY: Kevin Russell of Shinyribs, Iron Horse Bluegrass, Steep Canyon Rangers, The Williams Brothers Band, James Nash of The Waybacks, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road, Alison Brown, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, The Local Boys, Pete Wernick, Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan, Andy May; WEDNESDAY: Terrapin Creek, David Holt, Bill and the Belles, Kruger Brothers, Robbie Fulks, musician, Tony Williamson, Dennis Stroughmatt with Creole Stomp, Gangstagrass, Nefesh Mountain, Dave Bruzza of Greensky Bluegrass, T Michael Coleman, Scythian, Carol Rifkin; THURSDAY: The Barefoot Movement, Kathy Mattea, Charles Welch, Mitch Greenhill, None of the Above, Presley Barker, Paul Thorn, Jody Carroll, Billy Strings, Wayne Henderson, Amythyst Kiah, Sierra Hull, Darin & Brooke Aldridge; FRIDAY: The Steel Wheels, Brothers Egg, Sierra Ferrell, Mark Bumgarner Music, Wyld Fern, Jim Lauderdale, Anna Lynch, Fireside Collective, Sam Bush, John McEuen, and Doc Watson.
Founded in 1988 in memory of the late Eddy Merle Watson, Doc’s son and an instrumental virtuoso in his own right, MerleFest was initially created to celebrate “traditional plus” music – a mix of music based on the traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region — but has come to embrace Americana, country, blues, rock and other musical styles as well. The annual four-day event, originally scheduled for this spring on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, has been postponed until April 29-May 2, 2021 due to public health concerns surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic.
Like/Follow Us!