Merlefest 2010 was no sleepy bluegrass festival

Darrin Vincent and Jamie Dailey (Dailey and Vincent) were a popular bluegrass act at Merlefest. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

Doc Watson plays with Sam Bush at Merlefest. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

Scott and Seth Avett perform on the Watson Stage at Merlefest Sunday. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

Crowds braved the hot sun Sunday at Merlefest to see the acts on the Watson Stage. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

The band Cadillac Sky performs on the Hillside Stage at Merlefest. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

The band Wylie and the Wild West performed old school cowboy music at Merlefest Sunday. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers greets a fan at Merlefest. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

The energetic music of the band Scythian had the Sunday crowd on its feet at Merlefest. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

Comedian Steve Martin kept the crowd laughing at Merlefest, but it was also clear that he takes his music seriously. Photo by Katie Scarvey, Salisbury Post.

By Katie Scarvey

kscarvey@salisburypost.com

I've heard talk of Merlefest since I moved to Salisbury, but before this year, it's been just a hazy image in my mind: a bunch of old geezers picking banjos on the grounds of a community college.

Ho-hum little bluegrass festival.

Those who have actually attended Merlefest in recent years will imagine my surprise at discovering the reality of this incredible and exhilarating celebration, held April 29-May 2.

If I hadn't figured that out on the first three days, I surely would have realized it on Sunday, when the Avett Brothers played to an enormous and passionate crowd, whose enthusiasm was not in the least diminished by the blazing sun that day.

Security pretty much gave up trying to keep the crowd out of the aisles. As I stood on the media platform waiting to take pictures, a Merlefest security worker apologized to me.

"I'm not sure you're going to be able to get back to your seat," he said.

Fortunately, while Avett Brothers fans are rabid, they were also polite enough to let me through the crowd, especially since I was moving AWAY from the band.

The Avett Brothers seem poised for superstardom; they've been so busy of late that their Merlefest appearance was their first in the state this year, which perhaps accounted for so many of their North Carolina fans making the trek to Wilkesboro for an increasingly rare opportunity to see them.

I attended all four days of Merlefest this year with my co-worker Sarah Hall. The festival, held on the grounds of Wilkes Community College, has come a long way since 1988, when artists performed on a flatbed truck. Now, Wilkesboro has become a vacation destination for many, thanks to this wonderfully well-oiled celebration of music — which has kept its bluegrass roots but also transcended them.

Initially I was tempted to let the crowd estimates keep me away, but I'm glad I didn't because while huge numbers of people do attend, organizers are prepared for it. When the final figures were tallied, attendance over the four days exceeded 76,000 people, about 6,000 more than last year. That figure includes ticketholders, volunteers and Wilkes County schoolchildren who see Merlefest performers at their schools on the opening day.

The festival also reversed a trend in which unpaid attendance was greater than paid attendance. This year, more tickets were sold than were given away to students, volunteers and others.

More than 100 artists performed on 15 stages, representing everything from bluegrass and blues to gospel, country-fried rock, Creole, Celtic and Newfoundland sea shanties. One of the cowboy groups (think yodeling) — Wylie and the Wild West —even did a little Rolling Stones — just to prove they could.

The good attendance, partly attributable to the stellar lineup and partly to the sunny weather, was great news for Wilkes Community College. Merlefest — which has been held since 1988 in honor of Doc Watson's son Merle, who died in 1985 in a tractor accident — is the primary fundraiser for the school, funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.

Other local groups benefit as well, raising many thousands of dollars while keeping festival-goers fed.

Notably and wonderfully absent in the main food area were festival staple artery-cloggers like funnel cakes and fried Snickers bars. Instead, festival-goers chowed down on Thai food, burritos, black bean burgers, barbecued chicken, gigantic turkey legs and roasted corn. You could eat well and reasonably at Merlefest and be happy you were supporting more than 30 local organizations (like Scout groups and churches) instead of some trans-fat-happy mega-corporation.

Hundreds of volunteers keep this festival running smoothly. Although a whiff of booze could occasionally be detected, the alcohol ban is widely respected and keeps the festival family friendly. Kids are admitted free with a paying adult, which also keeps the focus on family.

Everything about Merlefest, from the layout to merchandise vendors (who offer everything from face jugs to cowboy boots to jewelry handcrafted in Boone) seems thoughtfully planned.

But of course the music is the reason people attend.

Over the course of the weekend, I got to hear Steve Martin picking and quipping with Asheville's Steep Canyon Rangers, 1970s favorite Little Feat and '80s icon Elvis Costello and the Sugarcanes. Those were all great, especially Steve Martin, but the greatest thing about the festival for me was discovering bands I knew nothing of.

The bands I was happiest to be introduced to included Cadillac Sky, a Texas band, Great Big Sea from Newfoundland, The Duhks and Scythian.

Sarah and I particularly loved Cadillac Sky, an innovative group hard to classify but easy to love for their emotion, humor and inventive musicianship. Band member David Mayfield hurtled around the stage in wildly entertaining and slightly alarming feats of gymnastics. Sunday he performed with the Avett Brothers, whose shows his sister Jessica Mayfield often opens.

It was also wonderful to see Doc Watson perform. Why he is so beloved became clear to me as I basked, with thousands of others, in the kind and gentle spirit he radiates from the stage.

While the focus for most festival-goers is on listening to music and discovering new bands, the event also provides opportunities for musicians to hone their skills, with instrument-picking lessons, jam sessions and music education workshops.

On Thursday or Friday, I noticed a tiny little girl playing the fiddle in a jam session under a tent with some grown-ups. I was struck by her focus and the serious look on her face and got a few photos.

Sunday, the group Scythian (another wonderful discovery) invited her to play with them on the Watson Stage. I took a few more photos of super earnest Ruth Shumway and wondered how terrifying and wonderful it would be to be 7 and performing for screaming fans on the main stage at Merlefest.

Before Merlefest started, I was unsure I'd be able to stand four days at a festival and was prepared to leave early if I overdosed on bluegrass. But Sunday afternoon as I was preparing to drive home, I realized how sorry I was that it was over — and that that so many easily accessible Merlefests have gone on without me.

While most people probably can't devote four days to attending the whole festival, we in Salisbury are fortunate that Wilkesboro is an easy drive — less than an hour and a half — and that we can attend for the day and not have to worry about accommodations in a town that is understandably overtaxed during the run of the festival.

Merlefest 2011 is set for April 28-May 1.