Post by fogcitygal on Nov 5, 2004 6:18:44 GMT -5
Loretta Lynn makes first appearance at MerleFest
By Monte Mitchell
JOURNAL REPORTER
WILKESBORO
Loretta Lynn, still basking in the success of her comeback album Van Lear Rose, is scheduled to appear at MerleFest for the first time.
The festival's stage lineups and performance times are scheduled to be posted today on the MerleFest 2005 Web site. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday.
Also making a first appearance will be The Chieftains, headlining two nights of performances.
Returning will be festival favorites Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, as well as Alison Krauss and Union Station.
The 18th MerleFest, which will run from April 28 to May 1, will features dozens of other artists, including such local groups as The Kruger Brothers, who will be the host of the Midnight Jam.
The bookings are subject to change, but the lineup is basically set now.
Lynn's Van Lear Rose album is her first in four years, and it earned her accolades this fall as the Album of the Year and Artist of the Year from the Americana Music Association. She wrote or co-wrote all the songs, and collaborates with Jack White, of the Detroit rock duo White Stripes.
"The really neat thing about it is it appeals to young people and old people and everybody in between," said Claire Armbruster, MerleFest's artist-relations coordinator. "It's just a great piece of work. It's rooted in country, not the slick country of today, but the roots of country."
The Chieftains will take those roots even deeper, with guests from their Down the Old Plank Road sessions. "They're doing a lot of bluegrass music with their arrangements," Armbruster said. "They have kind of a Celtic sound, but of course, bluegrass is rooted in Celtic music."
Joining The Chieftains will be Doc Watson and Skaggs, as well as Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, John Hiatt, Del McCoury, Buddy Miller, Allison Moorer, Tim O'Brien, Earl Scruggs and others.
Local acts will include David Johnson and Dixie Dawn, R.G. Absher and Extra Measure, the North Carolina Thumb and Finger Style Guitar Players, The Local Boys and Little Rascals, a group of 13-year-old Wilkes County pickers.
Folks who just can't wait until MerleFest can catch some of the local talent 7-9 a.m. Fridays at the Hometown Opry at North Wilkesboro's Minton Music & Loan. Many of the regional pickers and singers who appear at MerleFest drop in to play at the Hometown Opry, including Doc Watson.
A television crew from UNC-TV is expected at the Hometown Opry on Nov. 19 to tape a segment for later broadcast.
Last year's MerleFest generated $480,000 for Wilkes Community College to use for scholarships, salaries, programs and capital improvements. Paid attendance was 40,840, an increase of more than 4,000 over the previous year. Overall participation, including the number of schoolchildren admitted free, audiences at community- outreach concerts, volunteers and artists, totaled a record high 81,592 for MerleFest 2004.
• Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at (336) 667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com
• For a complete list of artists coming to MerleFest, visit www.merlefest.org. Ticket sales will start at 2 p.m. Tuesday, and may be purchased online or by calling (800) 343-7857.
By Monte Mitchell
JOURNAL REPORTER
WILKESBORO
Loretta Lynn, still basking in the success of her comeback album Van Lear Rose, is scheduled to appear at MerleFest for the first time.
The festival's stage lineups and performance times are scheduled to be posted today on the MerleFest 2005 Web site. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday.
Also making a first appearance will be The Chieftains, headlining two nights of performances.
Returning will be festival favorites Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, as well as Alison Krauss and Union Station.
The 18th MerleFest, which will run from April 28 to May 1, will features dozens of other artists, including such local groups as The Kruger Brothers, who will be the host of the Midnight Jam.
The bookings are subject to change, but the lineup is basically set now.
Lynn's Van Lear Rose album is her first in four years, and it earned her accolades this fall as the Album of the Year and Artist of the Year from the Americana Music Association. She wrote or co-wrote all the songs, and collaborates with Jack White, of the Detroit rock duo White Stripes.
"The really neat thing about it is it appeals to young people and old people and everybody in between," said Claire Armbruster, MerleFest's artist-relations coordinator. "It's just a great piece of work. It's rooted in country, not the slick country of today, but the roots of country."
The Chieftains will take those roots even deeper, with guests from their Down the Old Plank Road sessions. "They're doing a lot of bluegrass music with their arrangements," Armbruster said. "They have kind of a Celtic sound, but of course, bluegrass is rooted in Celtic music."
Joining The Chieftains will be Doc Watson and Skaggs, as well as Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, John Hiatt, Del McCoury, Buddy Miller, Allison Moorer, Tim O'Brien, Earl Scruggs and others.
Local acts will include David Johnson and Dixie Dawn, R.G. Absher and Extra Measure, the North Carolina Thumb and Finger Style Guitar Players, The Local Boys and Little Rascals, a group of 13-year-old Wilkes County pickers.
Folks who just can't wait until MerleFest can catch some of the local talent 7-9 a.m. Fridays at the Hometown Opry at North Wilkesboro's Minton Music & Loan. Many of the regional pickers and singers who appear at MerleFest drop in to play at the Hometown Opry, including Doc Watson.
A television crew from UNC-TV is expected at the Hometown Opry on Nov. 19 to tape a segment for later broadcast.
Last year's MerleFest generated $480,000 for Wilkes Community College to use for scholarships, salaries, programs and capital improvements. Paid attendance was 40,840, an increase of more than 4,000 over the previous year. Overall participation, including the number of schoolchildren admitted free, audiences at community- outreach concerts, volunteers and artists, totaled a record high 81,592 for MerleFest 2004.
• Monte Mitchell can be reached in Wilkesboro at (336) 667-5691 or at mmitchell@wsjournal.com
• For a complete list of artists coming to MerleFest, visit www.merlefest.org. Ticket sales will start at 2 p.m. Tuesday, and may be purchased online or by calling (800) 343-7857.