You can get wonderful updates, stories, and so much fun stuff to keep you up to speed with the best festival in the country.  Check this out from the latest issue.

When MerleFest, presented by Lowe's and slated for April 25-28, 2013, kicks off on Thursday afternoon, it will be a bittersweet moment. The four-day event, an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans, will once again take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. But for the first time in its 26 years, MerleFest will take place without beloved music icon Doc Watson, who passed away on May 29, 2012.

      

"From the beginning, Doc Watson has been the artistic center of this festival," says Ted Hagaman, director of the festival. "So for MerleFest 2013, we will come together as a family to pay special tribute to the man and the musician who meant so much to us all."

 

In fact, one of the most talked-about events of the festival will surely be Saturday evening's Celebration Jam. The Jam will be hosted by Sam Bush and will feature many of Doc's closest musician friends as they tell stories and play some of Doc's favorites tunes. The Jam's core band will consist of Sam Bush (mandolin/fiddle), Jeff Little (piano), T. Michael Coleman (bass), Jack Lawrence (guitar), Bryan Sutton (guitar) and David Holt (banjo.)

 

That is a don't miss event, but there a lot more and you can stay on top of it all, go to www.merlefest.org and sign up for News from MerleFest.