About MerleFest
In 1988, MerleFest was established to honor "traditional plus" music and raise money for Wilkes Community College in memory of Eddy Merle Watson. Doc himself provided the best explanation for their music: When Merle and they first started out, they called their music traditional plus, which referred to both Appalachian traditional music and any other styles they wanted to play. The college community and they have all agreed that MerleFest music is "traditional plus" since the beginning. Moments at their present are one-of-a-kind experiences that can only be had here. It could be a duo of musicians you didn't expect to work together, a shooting star above the Watson Stage during the final set of the evening, or a set that seemed to touch everyone in the audience.