My Own Private Merlefest: Day 1

Just before my wife, Sharon, and I attended our second Merlefest last year, we found out she was pregnant. We were absolutely thrilled, and in December our bouncing baby girl, Harper, arrived safe and sound. We also knew that the addition of Baby Girl meant that we weren't getting back to Merlefest this year (fingers crossed for next year's 20th).

As they say in French, That's life, dude.

As this year's festival drew near, I started thinking about the things I'd be missing – the friendship, the food, the fun and, of course, the music. Rather than mope all weekend, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I went to the Wall O' CDs and started pulling discs for my own virtual Merlefest. It's like fantasy baseball for Americana fans. Unfortunately, I'll be enjoying two days of my private Merlefest at work. I don't want to attract too much attention to myself, so I won't be spreading out my big, blue tarp in my cubicle. But I wonder if I can scrounge up a turkey leg down at the food court …

Without further ado, here's the Thursday lineup:

The Greencards – "Movin' On": The Greencards are one of the many new bands to emerge in the past few years that play fresh acoustic music by taking a bit of bluegrass, a little old-timey and a pinch of country and seeing what develops. In this case, that would be 12 thoroughly enjoyable tunes featuring instrumental chops to spare from Kym Warner (mandolin, bouzouki) and Eamon McLoughlin (fiddle, viola). All three band members (bassist Carol Young is the third) are good singers, too. There's even a nice cover of Gillian Welch's "Caleb Meyer." Not a bad way to start the weekend.

The Duhks – "Your Daughters & Your Sons": Add The Duhks to that list of new acoustic bands mentioned above. And add Celtic, World and French-Canadian to the styles that figure into the formula (They're Canadian, you know). This one's loaded with great fiddling by Tania Elizabeth, too.

Rory Block -- "Tornado": Acoustic blues always factors into Merlefest, and Block is among the genre's best.

King Wilkie – "Broke": King Wilkie was a nice addition to last year's lineup, and also was nice to see a band of youngsters heeding the bluegrass traditions. Despite the occasionally hot weather in Wilkesboro, these twentysomethings were decked out in suits.

Jim Lauderdale – "The Other Sessions": Most artists mention what a thrill it is to be playing Merlefest. Few look as overjoyed as Lauderdale. The guy always has a smile on his face. If you got to record with Ralph Stanley, you probably would, too.

Hayes Carll – "Little Rock": My Thursday playlist really focused on new talent. Along with The Duhks and Greencards, Carll was one of the real revelations at last year's festival. I can't be the only one that thinks so; he co-wrote with Ray Wylie Hubbard and Guy Clark on this disc, which was produced by R.S. Field.

Mindy Smith – "One Moment More": Speaking of emerging talents … Smith was the Merlefest It Girl two years ago. She literally was everywhere you went. I purchased this disc before going to the festival, and knew it like the back of my hand by the time I got home.

BR5-49 – "BR5-49": These guys were so much fun in the Dance Tent last year I had to include them in the first day's selections. You can bet they'll turn up again.

The Tony Rice Unit – "Manzanita": I'm a guitar guy, so there always are lots of great players to see. For starters, there's Doc freakin' Watson. And then there's Rice, who not only is one of the best flatpickers at Merlefest, but one of the best ever. This 1979 album is a classic, and it boasts a lineup that screams Merlefest: Rice, Ricky Skaggs (violin, mandolin, vocals), David Grisman (mandolin), Jerry Douglas (Dobro), Sam Bush (mandolin, violin, vocals), Todd Phillips (bass) and Darol Anger (violin).

Gillian Welch – "Revival": After seeing her packing 'em in at the Creekside Stage, I'm happy to see Welch getting her due on the Watson Stage this year. I wish I could be there to see it, but I'll just have to settle for the CDs, which will be in heavy rotation all weekend.

Not a bad first day, eh?

Sure, I could have played CDs be more artists who actually played Merlefest on Thursday, such as The Avett Brothers and John Prine. Don't worry, they'll be showing up over the weekend. And this is my Merlefest, anyway. If you can't be there, you still have time to get your own.