December 1, 2011
Some of the most well-known and beloved performers in acoustic music, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, have been added to the Sunday, April 29, schedule as the closing performance of MerleFest 25. MerleFest 25, presented by Lowe's Hardware, is slated for April 26 – 29, 2012, and will once again take place on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. MerleFest is an annual homecoming of musicians and music fans, gathering to celebrate the memory of musician Eddy Merle Watson, beloved son of American music icon Doc Watson.
Throughout her remarkable career, which spans a quarter century, Alison Krauss has earned a record-breaking 26 Grammy® Awards. The members of her renowned band Union Station—Jerry Douglas (Dobro, lap steel, vocals), Dan Tyminski (guitar, mandolin, lead vocal), Ron Block (banjo, guitar) and Barry Bales (bass, vocals), with Krauss on lead vocal and fiddle— have each earned artistic notoriety and critical acclaim with their own active careers, but form an airtight unit devoted to the process of making music when they come together as a group. Alison's most recent project, Paper Airplane, is the artist's first album of all-new recordings in partnership with Union Station since 2004's Lonely Runs Both Ways. Alison and several members of Union Station also performed on this century's best-selling soundtrack, O Brother Where Art Thou, recently reissued to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the groundbreaking album.
Alison Krauss has performed at MerleFest numerous times in the past, with 2007 being her most recent appearance. Jerry Douglas has performed at every MerleFest, with the Sunday, April 29, appearance being his 25th appearance at the festival.
Ticket purchases for MerleFest 25 – an excellent idea for holiday gifts! – can be made on the web at www.merlefest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. An early bird ticket discount is available through March 12, 2012.
With over 90 artists performing on 14 stages during the course of the event, MerleFest 25 is an excellent entertainment value. A complete list of confirmed performers is available at www.merlefest.org. Additionally, up-to-the-minute lineup additions for the festival can be obtained through the festival's e-newsletter and through Facebook and Twitter.
MerleFest, considered one of the premiere music festivals in the country, is held on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson and is a celebration of "traditional plus" music. The annual festival has become the primary fundraiser for the WCC Endowment Corporation, funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.
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