A.K.A. Dr. Banjo and Nurse Banjo, Pete and Joan are longterm MerleFest performers and old friends. Their well-seasoned performances feature down-home harmonies and Joan’s soulful singing, set off by Pete’s masterful banjo work. Pete has played every MerleFest since Year 2 and played on every stage. He will again host the popular Friday “Flexigrass” Jam on the Creekside Stage, combining bluegrass notables with musicians outside the genre into a spontaneous one-time-only jam. Besides his long career with Hot Rize, “Dr. Banjo” is known as a leading and innovative bluegrass educator. As creator of the Wernick Method for bluegrass jamming, the first banjo camps, jam camps, and many popular instruction books and videos, he was named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Mentor of the Year in 2018. Pete and Joan’s camps this year include their 25th annual “flagship” Bluegrass Camp preceding MerleFest. The campers play the Cabin Stage Thursday, and Saturday morning Pete and Joan lead a how-to-jam workshop at the Austin Stage. Bring your instrument! (www.LetsPick.org) The Doctor and Nurse have performed throughout the U.S. and as far away as Ireland, Russia, and Israel. Their music is touching and timeless. (www.DrBanjo.com)
The Peter Rowan Walls of Time consists of outstanding musicians with over 100 years of combined recording and performance experience. Joining guitarist Peter Rowan are David Grier, Chris Henry, David Mansfield III, Mike Bub and Larry Atamanuik. The ensemble has graced the stages of numerous festivals domestically and abroad, entertaining audiences with original and traditional songs executed in vibrant harmony. In April 2013 Peter Rowan released The Old School, a magnificent blending of old school sounds and players (Del McCoury, Jesse McReynolds, Bobby Osborne and Buddy Picher) with some of the bright young talent such as Chris Henry, Ronnie & Robbie McCoury performing memorable new songs such as “Doc Watson Morning”, “Drop The Bone” and “Keepin’ It Between The Lines (Old School)”. The Old School followed the group’s debut album for Nashville’s Compass Records- Legacy; the recording, featuring traditional and original compositions, was produced by Compass owner/recording artist Alison Brown and includes Ricky Skaggs, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings and Del McCoury. Legacy received a Grammy nomination in 2010. Rebel Records was the home for Peter’s next bluegrass masterpiece, Carter Stanley’s Eyes, and 2022 saw Peter’s second Rebel release, featuring members of the latest incarnation of the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band.
"Mountain music is in my blood." When 16-year-old Ettore says this, his meaning is as unique as his take on his beloved bluegrass: while born and raised in a blue -collar neighborhood in the suburbs of Charlotte, NC, his musical roots are a mash-up of mountain traditions, juxtaposing the high lonesome sound of his mother's native Tennessee Smoky Mountains with the Swiss-Italian folk music of his father's native Alps. His maternal grandfather gave him his first banjo at the age of 9, and by the time he was 10, he made his first public performance in MerleFest’s Acoustic Kids. At age 11, he won a songwriting contest with his song “Ragnarok.” He released his first album at age 15. Ettore’s style puts hard-driving bluegrass banjo back front-and-center, with fresh lyrics that speak to his generation -- influenced by his melting-pot 21st-century world, distilled through the imagination of a young man coming of age. “The only reason people my age don’t like Bluegrass is because they haven’t heard it yet” With the unrestrained youthful energy and prodigious musicianship of his band’s live shows, Ettore is at the forefront of young traditional musicians who are bound to make the newest generation fall in love with bluegrass.
I was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2000 as a member of The New Grass Revival. I sing and play bass pretty good.
At any given time, you’re likely to find Jim Lauderdale making music, whether he’s laying down a new track in the studio or working through a spontaneous melody at his home in Nashville. And if he’s not actively crafting new music, he’s certainly thinking about it. “It's a constant challenge to try to keep making better and better records, write better and better songs. I still always feel like I'm a developing artist,” he says. This may be a surprising sentiment from a man who’s won two Grammys, released 34 full-length albums, and taken home the Americana Music Association’s coveted Wagonmaster Award. Buthis new album Game Changer is convincing evidence that the North Carolina native is only continuing to hone his craft. From rollicking guitar riffs on “That Kind of Life (That Kind of Day)” to the slow, sweet harmonies of “I’ll Keep My Heart Open For You,” Game Changer shows off Lauderdale’s ingenuity as a singer, songwriter, and producer—while reestablishing him as one of Americana’s most steadfast champions. "Country music is constantly evolving, but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for steel guitar and a Telecaster," he says. "I have done my job on this record if people who love classic country feel like they can put it on, or have it in their collection, and it would fit right in."
Born in the rich music bed of East Tennessee, Ellis has quickly become one of the most-watched young musicians in bluegrass music. In a recent review, Billboard magazine stated, “Ellis has quickly cemented himself as a sterling newcomer in the bluegrass scene.” A true statement, as evidenced when his debut single, “Grassy Cove,” went to #1 on the Bluegrass Today charts, and his second single, “Get Lost,” debuted on the same chart at #5. He was also recently tapped to make an appearance at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, and on November 10 received a standing ovation while making his debut on the Grand Ole Opry. A devotee of Bill Monroe, Ellis has been mentored by many iconic musicians, including Sierra Hull, Bobby Osborne, Mike Compton, and others. Ellis has studied with mandolin masters, composed his own original instrumentals, and transitioned from playing alone in his living room to performing seamlessly alongside bluegrass legends and Hall of Famers. In his two short years on the scene, Ellis has become a multi-instrumentalist and has been invited to perform on stage with some of the most iconic musicians of this era, including Billy Strings, Dierks Bentley, Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Bryan Sutton, Dailey & Vincent, and Marty Stuart.
