Something to talk about: Merlefest 2025 is more hallelujah than hype
It’s not just a Bonnie Raitt signature song: festival goers can’t stop talking about the musical pilgrimage that’s been going on in North Wilkesboro since 1988. Maybe it’s the sensory overload of a purple haze casting over the Watson stage at a certain point in the evening while the scent of chicken barbecuing on grills wafts nearby. Or the rich history of musicians who’ve graced the stages and still show up year after year to honor the legacy of those gone on. Perchance it’s that everybody brings their “A” game–the performers are just as excited to play as the audience is to hear them.
When diehard festivalians were deposited at the gates from repurposed school bus shuttles early afternoon on Thursday, the skies opened up with just a peek at first with a Merlefest misting station. Seasoned attendees knew the drill: put chairs in place and cover them with trash bags to protect from rain. They were rewarded for their efforts when the clouds offered a full Bible belt baptism, and while relatively brief, it was enough to cause instrument vendors in the expo tent to scramble to protect their wares. The rest of the festival offered a reprieve from the reputation of “Mudfest.” Sunday brought the sun in such force that attendees reapplied sunscreen like self-basting turkeys.
In recent years Presley Barker–who has played Merlefest since he was 8 years old–and then respected bluesman Roy Bookbinder have opened the festival. Following them, Woody Platt and the Bluegrass Gentlemen took the Watson stage. Platt may be best recognized from his time with the Steep Canyon Rangers. But not long into their set even those listening from a distance heard another distinctive and familiar voice. Their ears did not deceive them: it was Buddy Melton, formerly of Balsam Range, now adding rich depth to Platt’s ensemble.
The Avett Brothers
The Steel Drivers, the band that one might say launched the career of Chris Stapleton, performing so early in the weekend was a sign that the lineup was stacked. One attendee said, “There was dust in the air when they sang ‘Where Rainbows Never Die.’ Why else was I so teary eyed?”
The Bank Notes, named for a song written by Bill Young, performed next, carrying on the music of the Merlefest co-founder who passed in 1992.
They were followed by a 23 year-old Mexican-American musician from Oklahoma, Wyatt Flores. “I hope you take this away from this show of mine,” Flores said to the audience. “Don’t get comfortable in life. Keep fighting for experiences because life is short.”Then he launched into a song with the lyrics, “We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die/ do what makes you feel alive / we’re running out of time.”
From the looks of the Merlefest collective, a giddy bunch of long-haired, sensible-shoe-and kayak-hat-wearing music disciples, they’d long ago gotten that memo.
Baby’s first MerleFest
Next up, Brent Cobb from Georgia echoed that sentiment with the lyric “Walk on to your own beat / Keep ‘em on their toes.”
The Dead South closed out the first night with their energetic, gravelly voiced, cello strapped thumping that managed to blend elements of traditional bluegrass with contemporary trappings that is known for winning over a broad swath of music loving audiences.
After Day 1, things got even more interesting and impossible to track, with 12 stages and a schedule that required attendees to make musical Sophie’s choices.
The Friday night headliner was none other than 13 time Grammy award winner Bonnie Raitt. “Bonnie Raitt blew me out of the water,”an attendee commented after her performance. “Yikes. She still ‘has it.’”
That opinion was so widely shared that very few left the Merlefest grounds early, making for a substantial shuttle bus queue Friday night. But fans were so endorphined up by the music that instead of grumbling, one side of the crowd started a vocal semblance of the iconic dueling banjo melody, and without skipping a beat, another patient group of banjo-wannabes in line echoed it. Arthur Smith would have been proud.
But the “hers” hogged the headlines in this Merlefest. Raitt’s appearance was just one of a noticeably strong female contingent in the lineup, including I’m with Her, a supergroup trio that accompanied Raitt breathtakingly on John Prine’s “Angel of Montgomery.”
The Secret Sisters brought their sparse instrumentation and tight sibling harmonies, following Leftover Salmon’s jam band high energy on Sunday night.
Noah Wall & Tommy Norris, the Barefoot Movement
Fiddling Noah Wall, with her husband-wife led band Barefoot Movement that has family ties in Greenville, put forth a strong set, apparently proving that it is possible to have it all: raise a family, as they started in the past year, and successfully play music.
The Resonant Rogues, with lead singer Sparrow Smith from Marshall, spoke of the recent devastation in their area.
Della Mae
Della Mae, an all-female band, played a popular set of their own music, but also conducted a tribute to Hazel Dickens, this being the 100th year of Dickens’ birth.
Big Richard, described as a “neo-acoustic supergroup” who sing “bluegrass with a side of lady rage” was another all-girl band on the lineup, and there were a number of female solo acts or female led bands. One was Mattie Schell, a musician that Greenville attendee Bill Hunneke cited as one of his favorites, comparing her voice to Janis Joplin’s.
Big Richard
On Saturday night Governor Josh Stein introduced the headliner, the Avett Brothers, calling them a North Carolina treasure and thanking them for a concert they played in Charlotte raising 24 million dollars for the western North Carolina hurricane relief effort. Stein said he came to his first Merlefest in 1991. His parents have been to every Merlefest but one. “My mother, June, is 87 years old,” he said, “and she is right here rocking out”.
When the Avett Brothers band came on stage, they all held a surprising musical instrument between their lips: a kazoo. The band included their sister, Bonnie, and the performance featured a combination of classic fan favorites like “No Hard Feelings” that for a suspended moment in time spanned even the political divide as the massive audience sang along the repeated phrase: “I have no enemies.” The set also included new songs from their latest album, like the upbeat “Country Kid,” highlighting the side of the Avett Brothers that many fans enjoy most.
Colton Crawford of the Dead South
Like a cruise ship midnight chocolate buffet, the musical confections were practically endless, including a blend of young bands and those who have kept the legacy alive through their lifetime achievement: Asleep at the Wheel, John McEuen, Peter Rowan, and Sam Bush, along with the outrageous Cleverlys, just for fun.
When Roy Dobyns led a devotional, followed by a gospel set with Jeff Little and friends on Sunday morning at the Creekside stage, every seat was full and overflowing to the lawn, in spite of late night music ending just hours before. Tucked off to the side and behind the larger Watson stage, Creekside is a favorite for many, possibly because it was the location of Doc Watson’s last performance.
“There were photos of the Doc Watson statue surrounded by water,” Dobyns said, talking about the damage left by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. “Doc said he wanted to be remembered for being a decent human being, not a great guitar player. And people seeing that statue of Doc in the flood, I really believe was used to bring the world to Boone to help.”
Robyns found a way to spin a spiritual message out of a secular lyric: “Let’s give them something to talk about / how about love?” and who could argue? The weather was fine, the music was heavenly, and Doc’s love for his son, Merle, along with their musical legacy lives on. That’s definitely worth talking about.
originally published in the Daily Reflector May 10, 2025
all photos by Donna Davis
Pete and Joan Wernick provide a jam class to all kinds of aspiring musicians and perform together on the Cabin stage.
