Are you ready to experience the ‘traditional plus’ music? The MerleFest 2023 is just around the corner. It is an annual music festival that attracts thousands to Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Every year there are multiple performances on 12 different stages in a spacious festival ground.
Apart from music, other attractions include various vendors, artist jams, and others. The MerleFest 2023 location, schedule, and lineup has been released. You can read more about the basics of the music festival in this guide. You can also find where to buy tickets and parking information along with the schedule.
What is MerleFest?
It is an annual music festival that spans multiple genres, which includes traditional and modern styles. Legendary artist and multiple Grammy award winner Doc Watson is the founder of the festival. In fact, the event is named after his son Eddy Merle Watson who passed away in 1985.
MerleFest is held in Wilkesboro every year, and apart from the stage performances, there are other activities for all age groups. The different genres you can enjoy at the festival include bluegrass, fold, rock, blues, Americana, country, gospel, and many others.
What are the MerleFest 2023 dates?
Every year MerleFest occurs during the last weekend of April. In 2023, MerleFest will commence on Thursday, April 27, and end on Sunday, April 30.
Where is MerleFest 2023 festival?
Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC is the official MerleFest 2023 venue. It has been hosting the event for many decades and can accommodate the thousands of fans that come in.
Who is playing MerleFest 2023?
On the four days of MerleFest, you will see a mix of legendary acts and talented youngsters from different genres. For the complete MerleFest 2023 lineup, visit the official website. The lineup of artists and bands who will perform during the four-day event is below.
- Nickel Creek
- Maren Morris
- Tanya Tucker
- Sam Bush Band
- Jerry Douglas
- Lori McKenna
- Della Mae
- Scythian
- Donna the Buffalo
- Bella White
- Miko Marks
- Allison Brown
- The Waybacks
- Ali McGuirk
- Anna Lynch
- Ashes & Arrows
- Bee Taylor
- Ben Chapman
- The Avett Brothers
- Little Feat
- Marcus King
- The Black Opry Revue
- The Jerry Douglas Band
- The Brothers Comatose
Why do people go to MerleFest?
Along with the numerous performances, there are activities for everyone who visits the festival. Some of these include Shoppes at MerleFest, Little Pickers Family Area, Acoustic Kids Showcases, Jam Camp, Pickin’ Place, and Nature Walks.
You can see multiple artists jam, kids aged 18 and below perform, and there are arts and crafts sessions too. Many vendors sell food, craft, and other merchandise at the festival grounds. It is one of the best music festivals to be with your family during spring.
Where to get MerleFest 2023 tickets?
There are mainly two types of passes for the event and other add-ons. The multi-day tickets are available as 4-day and 3-day tickets with general admission, patio seating, and reserved seating varieties. In addition, the 3-day tickets are for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Multi-day tickets will cost between $200 and $300 online and cost more when you get them from the gate.
You could also go for the 1-Day general admission passes apart from these. Prices of these for each day are given below.
- Thursday- starts at $75
- Friday- starts at $95
- Saturday- starts at $95
- Sunday- starts at $85
Kids aged 12 or below can gain free entry along with a paying adult. Also, all tickets will be available at the MerleFest festival gates from Thursday and will cost more than online prices. The add-ons include a backstage tour, parking at different lots, RV parking, and Rivers Edge camping.
How many people come to MerleFest?
Every year MerleFest welcomes more than 75,000 people to Wilkes Community College. The festival has no age restrictions so entire families will attend the events. Similarly, some school groups participate in the festival, which also adds to the massive attendance. Besides, the festival’s busiest day will be on the day of the headline act.
Where is Wilkes Community College?
The college campus is at 1328 S Collegiate Dr, Wilkesboro, NC 28697. Popular attractions near the campus include Dooley’s Tavern and Grill and Lowe’s Park at Rivers Edge.
How to get to Wilkes Community College?
Depending on where you start, there are different routes to the MerleFest venue by car. For example, if you are starting from Wilkesboro, you can get here via River Street and South Collegiate Drive in less than 5 minutes.
If you begin the drive from Boone, take the US-421 S/US Hwy 421 S. During this journey, you will drive more than 31.8 miles and reach the venue in nearly 41 minutes. The time taken during these drives will depend on the live traffic conditions.
From Lenoir, take the NC-18 and drive close to 30 miles to reach the venue in a little over half an hour. During the event days, you can expect heavy traffic closer to Wilkes Community College compared to other days.
Is there parking at the Wilkes Community College for the festival?
Yes. The venue has free parking spaces a little further from the gates. You can get shuttles to and from the gates to the on-site parking lots. Each of the official parking regions is assigned different color codes. There is handicapped parking in Lot H and Volunteer parking in Lot V, which is a purple lot. In addition, Blue Lots A, B, C, and D are near the River’s Edge Camping on Industrial Drive.
What are the different options for MerleFest 2023 parking?
For most festival attendees, street parking is among the cheaper options. The neighborhood surrounding Wilkes Community College has little to no street parking spaces. Since the area is busy throughout the day, you need to have other plans for parking. Besides, the closest street parking spaces are more than 3 miles away at Downtown North Wilkesboro.
There are private parking garages if you want to stay away from the heavy traffic at the on-site parking lots. These private garages will guarantee the safety of your ride, unlike the latter. Also, you do not have to worry about parking violations like in street parking spaces.
At discounted rates, you can get premium features at these off-site garages near Wilkes Community College. Some of these features include contactless parking, valet parking, camera surveillance, covered parking, accessible parking spaces, and many others.
How to find cheap off-site garages near the festival venue?
Off-site garages are easy to locate with online parking services. The Way app can give you all nearby garages in a few minutes. Enter the Way.com website or app and input the location and time for which you will require parking. After a short search, the app will return a list of all active garages near the location. You can choose a garage from this list for MerleFest 2023 and pay the respective fee.
Book through Way.com or Way app to get additional benefits like special deals and discounts on charges at private garages.
Are you looking for the best Wilkesboro city parking rates? Download the Way mobile app, the only auto super app you need to ensure discounted rates for city parking.
