Merlefest 2023
There’s an electricity in the air at Merlefest that’s unlike a typical night out at even the best concert venues. Now in its 35th year, the dry event encourages a palpable focus on the assortment of music emanating from the dozen stages spread across the Wilkes Community College campus, uniting fans and artists alike in a celebration of song and community.
But everyone who attends was a first-timer at some point, including Shannon Whitworth, who vividly recalls her initial experience in 1997 when she got to see festival founder Doc Watson play for the first time.
“It was raining and I had on my father’s raincoat and smuggled my four-week-old puppy in under my arm in my jacket,” Whitworth recalls. “My mind was blown being surrounded by so much brilliant acoustic music that I had heard growing up. Hearing all the players playing live what I had only listened to on albums was surreal. I felt like I was close to the nucleus of so much that inspired me in those early years.”
The Brevard-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is back at this year’s Merlefest, which runs Thursday, April 27-Sunday, April 30. Joining her Friday, April 28, at 4:15 p.m., on the Creekside Stage is her husband Woody Platt, formerly of fellow festival fixtures Steep Canyon Rangers.
According to Whitworth, the pair had never truly put any energy into collaborating before, largely due to their own distinct musical pursuits. It wasn’t until the one-two punch of the birth of their son, Rivers, and the COVID-19 pandemic that the musicians were, in her words, “around each other long enough to open up the instrument cases and want[ing] to just play for fun.”
They’ve recently begun recording together with a band that Whitworth describes as “so darn good that I’m truly excited to write again and try on some of the old songs and make some new art with these amazing players.” Working with Platt on a songwriting level has likewise proved inspirational.
“Woody is the master of editing my songs — trimming the fat and helping me finish that last stubborn line that would normally keep the songs locked up in my journal for years until I felt like they were done,” she says. “He gets me and helps my process flow. It’s wild to be with someone for so long and not know that this was something we could be doing together if we wanted to.”
Indeed, one of the first times the future couple hung out with each other was in the late ’90s at Merlefest, gathered around one of the campsites where Whitworth remembers “a bunch of us were young and just dying to jam and play.” Soon, she was performing at the festival with her band The Biscuit Burners and in the variety of ensembles that transpire at the communal event, including a certain 2010 show on the Hillside Stage.
“One of the highlights was doing the Album Hour with The Waybacks the year they played Abbey Road,” Whitworth says. “Only rehearsing those songs briefly before we jumped on stage and hearing my voice collide and align with them and the instrumentation of the fellas and Jerry Douglas was a dream. I remember looking off to the side stage and seeing Elvis Costello and one of my favorite engineer/producers, Gary Paczosa.”
Whitworth’s latest Merlefest experience also coincides with the celebration of Doc’s 100th birthday. She considers Watson “the original,” and the voice that introduced her to numerous traditional tunes.
“The warmth of Doc’s voice and smooth playing pulled you in and felt like you were sitting next to him around a fire. I went to [Appalachian State University] and I felt lucky to be able to hear him and eventually play at some of the same festivals,” she says. “The first song on the banjo I learned was ‘Shady Grove,’ and one of the first songs I played and sang on guitar was “Sitting on Top of the World.’ And to switch gears, I’ve titled maybe two paintings ‘Tennessee Stud.’”
From left, Woody Platt, Rivers, and Shannon Whitworth. Photo by Lee Wilson
While Whitworth and Platt look forward to adding another chapter to their illustrious Merlefest histories, the artists of the Black Opry Revue will be creating their first such memories. Based in Nashville, the ensemble’s overarching organization, Black Opry, was established by Holly G in March 2021 to provide a home for Black artists, fans, and industry professionals working in country and roots music.
In turn, they seek to honor Black people’s often overlooked role in these genres since their inception, and help change the narrative around that history and future. These initiatives have already led to Black Opry Revue playing such gatherings as Newport Folk Festival in 2022 and High Water Festival less than two weeks ago, helping expand audiences’ experiences as well as those of the organization itself.
“A lot of this stuff I had not heard of before moving into this role, so it's really cool to hear about all these festivals and then see how important and historic they are — this one especially,” Holly G says. “I do a little bit of music journalism as well, and I remember writing about Merlefest last year. They had Rissi Palmer there, so it's really exciting now to have our group of folks going out there and see what it’s all about.”
Black Opry Revue is the type of addition that’s kept Merlefest fresh and exciting, especially in recent years as diversity efforts have increased. That improved commitment to artists of color helped ensure the collective’s participation, as the organization refuses to play any festival where they’re the lone Black act on the bill.
“We’re not going to be tokenized. If you're going to push for diversity, you’ve got to do it in a bigger way than just inviting us there. And we like to collaborate with other artists, so we always ask what other Black artists will be there, and [festival organizers’] response to that is usually very few,” Holly G says.
“As we bring these showcases to the festivals — I mean, they've got eight artists on stage they can choose from to bring back next year [to Merlefest] for a full set. The artists only sing one song each, so it's kind of like a preview of what these festivals could be like if they were to further embrace diversity.”
No two Black Opry Revue lineups are the same, and Holly G describes the artists playing the festival’s marquee Watson Stage on Friday, April 28, at 5:30 p.m. — shortly after Whitworth and Platt’s set concludes at Creekside — as an ensemble of individuals who’ve been with Black Opry from the beginning, particularly Leon Timbo, Aaron Vance, Nikki Morgan, and Chris Pierce. Joining them will be Yasmin Williams, Mel Washington, and Ping Rose, the latter of whom doubles as the group’s bandleader. Their performance will also include a cameo by Miko Marks, who’ll have already played three sets that afternoon.
“She's going to come and join us for the final song,” Holly G says. “She’s one of the pioneers of the work that we do. She was making country music back in 2007 when there wasn't this push for diversity. So, she just really has been through the wringer and we’re excited at any chance we get to celebrate her.”
Festival director Wes Whitson is confident that many more collaborations will arise over the four days of music, including at the Watson Stage on Saturday, April 29, when the Kruger Brothers host the Doc Watson's 100th Birthday Jam and honor the man himself.
“It was started through him and he invited all his artist friends to play the festival, and they did it because of their friendships with [Doc’s son] Merle and their friendships with Doc,” Whitson says. “So this year being what would mark his 100th birthday, I know he's on the minds of those like Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas and others that'll be at the festival. So, I'm sure we'll hear a lot of familiar tunes.”
Prior to being named festival director shortly after Merlefest’s first fall edition in 2021 — itself following the event’s first cancellation in 2020, mere weeks after the pandemic shut down live music for much of the year — Whitson was a longtime festival attendee. Along with seeing John Prine perform in 2006, a set that got him “hooked” on Merlefest, Whitson has fond memories of seeing Doc play at the festival and elsewhere.
“He was just always an amazing musician to watch and to hear. There's just nobody that played the guitar the way he did and his technical prowess was second to none,” Whitson says. “But the way he played was so natural that that style and that flow could just not be repeated. I don't think there's anyone to this day that can compare.”
IF YOU GO
What: Merlefest
When: Thursday, April 27-Sunday, April 30
Where: Wilkes Community College, Wilkesboro, merlefest.org
Tickets: $75-$295
(Photo by Gabriel Baretto)
