Merlefest

[Saggyboy]

Anybody going to Merlefest? It is four weeks away.

Saggyboy

[Jim Gallaher]

I'll be there, camping at SewerFest, same as last year. I'll have banjo-player Phil with me again.

Lookin' forward to seeing Little Feat, Steve Martin/Steep Canyon Rangers, Travelin' McCourys, Nashville Bluegrass Band (love those guys!), Missy Raines & New Hip, Tony Rice Unit and The Steeldrivers.

Don't forget that raingear!

[Phil Goodson]

I'll be in for the day on Sat & Sun. Hope to jam a little between my favorite performances.

[Saggyboy]

Phil,

I'm going up on Sunday the 25th. I''' be staying In Boone. I like to go to the jams they have on Mon,Tues, & Wed nights before the festival starts on Thursday. Do you go to any of these? I'll be staying over part of the next week to visit with some friends in Wilkesboro and Monroe and maybe find a jam or two going on. Hope to see you.

Bob

[Phil Goodson]

Bob,
Unfortunately I usually just drive in for the day since I live about 45 minutes away and work all week. I jam at the jam tents on the grounds usually. Would love to find some jams going on by campers too.
Hope to see you. I'll probably be wearing a Red Molly cap.

Phil

[jim_n_virginia]

I'll be there, camping at SewerFest, same as last year. I'll have banjo-player Phil with me again.

Shenendoh Jim!
My friend Fred was telling me the other day he had tickets and is gonna be camping with his family at the SewerFest! LOL! Look for him Jim he's a good picker plays a blonde Weber.

Wish i could go but I am going to another Festival that weekend that I always go to!

[wglide]

Hey Everyone,
I'll be camping at the VFW campground in a one man ECO camper and will be kooking for some jamming if anyone is around. I'm also bringing a bass & hope to get in some good pickin'. John J

[Saggyboy]

John,

I don't know when you are going up but there will be jammin' going on nightly on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday nights on the college campus before the festival starts on Thursday. This is sponsored by the Wilkes Accoustical Society. Thee is no charge and you can drive onto the campus unlike the days/nights during the festival. Maybe I'll see you there. I'll be an older codger wearing a brown Australian outback hat and playing a custom Morris F5 mandolin or Gibson F5G Master Model.

Bob
Rochelle,GA

[f5loar]

I'll be backstage working at the Waston Stage on Thursday, Sat. and Sunday. I usually hang out around the jamming tents when not on duty for Merle.

[Saggyboy]

I'll spend a lot of time at the jammin' tents and up where Tut Taylor will be. Tut and I have be friends since the 50's.I was a kid then. But mostly I'll be around the jammin' tents.

Bob

[RB250]

I'll be tending Booth 1118 at the Plastec South Tradeshow in Charlotte all week but come Fri and Sat, I be driving to Merlefest. Stop by if you're at Plastec south and ask for Doug. Never attended Merlefest and may bring a pup tent and sleeping bag and try to camp it to get the real jam experience. Hotel room pricing in area seems jacked up...of course. If anyone from the Chicago area is attending PM me.
RB250

[f#54]

Headed out too Merle-fest, Hope to see some of you-all there. We could meet at a pickin tent somewhere at a specific time, but not during Mando-mania for sure.

[Jim Gallaher]

Back from MerleFest!

My highlights:

-- Joe Walsh, mandolinist for The Gibson Brothers. I saw them in the Walker Center (air-conditioned auditorium) on Friday at noon. It was a good venue to showcase the band's vocal and instrumental chops and Joe was very tasteful.

-- The Steep Canyon Rangers with mandolinist Mike Guggino at 2:30 pm on Friday at Creekside. These guys are always tight and I can get my "Monroe-by-way-of-Ronnie-McCoury" fix from Mike every time.

-- Cadillac Sky on Saturday at noon on the Americana Stage (the best stage in my opinion). They always bring a lot of intensity to their performances and this one was actually "kicked up a notch", due mainly to the stage persona of guitarist David Mayfield -- "Jack Black with more caffeine". Mandolin player and lead singer Bryan "Big Head" Simpson looks like the eye of the hurricane next to Mayfield. Loved their rendition of "Can't Trust The Weatherman".

-- The Steeldrivers at the Austin (outdoor) stage on Saturday at 1 pm. I wanted to see how the departure of Mike Stapleton as lead singer would affect the band. Gary Nichols replaced him and I have to say that his voice is so similar that the signature sound is still intact. Good news for us Steeldriver fans! As always, Mike Henderson's hard-hitting blues-heavy Monroe licks cut like a knife.

-- I saw the Kruger Brothers three times (sometimes it just works out that way at MerleFest!) and I continue to be amazed by Jens Kruger's virtuosity on the banjo. I guess the only thing holding them back is the lack of a mandolin...

-- The Tony Rice Unit was on the Watson Stage (main stage) Saturday afternoon and Tim Stafford was at the book tent during the day as "Still Inside: The Tony Rice Story" was available for purchase. I love Tony, but I was just to far away from the Watson Stage to fully appreciate his performance -- the sound was not particularly good. I wish I'd seen him at the Americana Stage.

-- Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers on Saturday evening. A seat-mate told me he saw him buying a Gibson "top-tension" at the Mercantile Tent. There oughta be a law about one person having this much talent. I was prepared to be bored, but he put on a solid show with humor and musicianship, all without upstaging his compatriots. He can crash my jam session anytime.

-- The Nashville Bluegrass Band on Saturday evening indoors at The Walker Center. Stuart Duncan' fiddling was superb, as expected, but the real treat was a loosey-goosey Mike Compton on top of his game. Too bad this one only lasted 45 minutes. Stuart and Mike had to get ready to be one of Elvis Costello's "Sugarcanes" later in the evening (with Jerry Douglas).

The jam scene at Sewerfest was better than last year and the number of campers was definitely higher. Met some interesting folks and I'll be checking out some new tunes to learn for next year.

And no rain!

[Jim Gallaher]

Oops! That would be Chris Stapleton formerly of The Steeldrivers, not Mike Stapleton. Sorry, Chris!

[Caleb]

Did Doc play any?

[zookster]

Doc DID play, and seemed in very good spirits. I caught the Docabilly set on the Watson stage, and he was having a good time. I heard his Walker Center set was right on the money. My wife said the Doc/David Holt set in the Traditional tent also was very good.

One of the funniest moments was at the end of the Docabilly set. Three people from Berklee came out in their commencement robes to present Doc with an honorary degree. As they were listing platitudes from various people, and also mentioning all the people they had already honored in the same fashion (Ricky SKaggs, Emmy Lou Harris.........before Doc?) they came to the portion where they revealed how Doc got his nickname. I can't recall ever hearing about it.
"He was named after the famous Sherlock Holmes character, " intoned Matt Glazer, "and........." when Doc interrupted him saying "No, that's not right! I tell you how it happened! I was at a radio station for a live set with another fella who had a nice short 'radio name'. The station manager asked him "Have you got another name you could use, Arthel?" when a woman employee piped up "Call him Doc!" and the name stuck. Apparently the intelligensia hadn't got their story straight.
Then they mentioned how the first song Doc learned to play was "When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland" and made a somewhat feeble attempt at a rendition. Doc, still seated and holding his guitar, broke in and delighted the crowd with a version with three stanzas.
As they placed his sash around his neck, Doc muttered, "Well, I've got about 7 of these things at the house.....don't really know what to do with 'em...." Doc, as always, is just Doc. He is as genuine as the day is long. He might be getting a little forgetful, but on a good day he can still buzz saw his way through a tune.

[Jonathan James]

Yeah, and Doc's set with the Nashville Bluegrass Band at Creekside on Sunday morning is ALWAYS one of the highlights for me. He sounded great and seemed to be having a grand time. Often, he'd say "you boys just start a tune and I'll jump in if I remember the words...." Lots of good old gospel stuff and a packed Creekside hill as usual.