MerleFest plans date change for 2021

Organizers announced that North Carolina’s popular music event MerleFest will take place in September in 2021, rather than April.

MerleFest, dubbed by Rolling Stone magazine as “the gold standard for bluegrass, Americana, and string-music festivals,” is normally held the last weekend of April, but the 2020 festival was canceled due to public safety concerns amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We chose to announce this change now to give everyone an opportunity to put this on their calendar and to allow us time to secure all artists and contract the necessary support services,” said Festival Director Ted Hagaman. “Lineup information and other festival details will be coming soon.”  

He stressed that this would be a one-time only move to the fall, and that organizers plan to return to the traditional April weekend in 2022. 

“We have a reputation for providing a quality, safe, and organized festival and feel this move is necessary to again deliver that type of event. We’d like to express appreciation to many for their ‘can do’ spirit in rearranging schedules and plans to accommodate this move,” Hagaman said.

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of the son of the late American music legend Doc Watson, renowned guitarist Eddy Merle Watson. MerleFest is a celebration of "traditional plus" music, a unique mix of traditional, roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including old-time, classic country, bluegrass, folk and gospel, and blues, and expanded to include Americana, classic rock, and many other styles. The festival hosts a diverse mix of artists on its 13 stages during the course of the multi-day event.

MerleFest is the primary fundraiser for the WCC Foundation, funding scholarships, capital projects, and other educational needs.