Jam out at a premier "traditional-plus" music festival

Since 1988, music fans have celebrated traditional-plus music at MerleFest. The annual four-day festival commemorates Eddy Merle Watson, son of music legend Doc Watson, and raises money for scholarships and other educational needs of the college. Numerous artists perform across 13 stages on the campus of Wilkes Community College, which sits between Boone and Winston-Salem, playing a unique mix of music based on traditional sounds of the Appalachian region, “plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play,” Watson said before his death in 2012. The lineup includes artists such as Wynonna and the Big Noise, Tyler Childers and Keb’ Mo’. among other festival events like raffle drawings and Jammin’ at The Pickin’ Place. Buy tickets at the gate or at a discounted price online to join in this lively weekend.