Fleck, Washburn, Hot Rize, McCoury lead MerleFest line up

MerleFest will be held April 23-26, 2015 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C.

The initial lineup is a mix of traditional, roots-oriented music from the Appalachian region, including bluegrass and old-time music, Americana, blues, country, Celtic, Cajun, cowboy, zydeco, rock and many other styles that the late Doc Watson referred to as "traditional plus." The festival is named for his late son, Merle Watson.

Other artists schedule to appear are:

Alberti Flea Circus, Backporch Bluegrass, Baillie and The Boys, Banknotes, Glenn Bannerman, Del Barber, Baskery, Bayou Diesel, Jesse and Noah Bellamy, Bethel University Bluegrass Bands, Lee Bidgood, Big Sandy and His Fly Rite Boys, The Black Cadillacs, The Black Lillies, Blue-Bop, Blue Highway, Blue Ridge Heritage Cloggers, Roy Book Binder, Laura Boosinger, Logan Brill, Sam Bush Band, Chatham County Line, Donna the Buffalo, Mitch Greenhill, Wayne Henderson, Bob Hill, The Honey Dewdrops, The Honeycutters, The InterACTive Theatre of Jef, Veronika Jackson, Mark Johnson, Rev. Robert B Jones, Sr., Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, The Kruger Brothers, Jim Lauderdale, Jack Lawrence, Emory Lester, Jeff Little, The Local Boys, Locust Honey, Doug MacLeod, The Marshall Tucker Band, Bill Mathis, Andy May, The David Mayfield Parade, The Jason Lee McKinney Band, Mipso, Bill Mize, Moore Brothers Band, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West, Nashville Bluegrass Band, New Country Rehab, Blind Boy Paxton, The Ragbirds, Carol Rifkin & Friends, William Ritter and Sarah Ogletree, Peter Rowan, Scythian, The Sheets Family Band, Steve and Ruth Smith, Joe Smothers, South Carolina Broadcasters, Larry Stephenson Band, The Stray Birds, Sutton, Holt and Coleman, Tut Taylor, Paul Thorn, ToneBlazers, Happy Traum, The Two Man Gentleman Band, Underhill Rose, Unspoken Tradition, Richard Watson, The Waybacks, Charles Welch, Pete & Joan Wernick, Joe West and Santa Fe Revue, Ted White, Brandon Whyde & The Devils Keep and Tony Williamson.

More performers for MerleFest 2015 will be announced in the coming months.

"It's always a thrill for us to announce the performers at MerleFest each year, because we take pride in always presenting a lineup that is dynamic and diverse," says Ted Hagaman, festival director. "It's the quality of the artists and performances that our guests see over the four days of the festival that, in turn, creates another important element of MerleFest's success: people truly feel that the festival is a great value. So many music fans and families return year after year, making MerleFest a regular spring tradition. We will always work to make that tradition continue." "Regarding value, we've instituted a new pricing structure this year. Those who plan ahead will appreciate the discounts that our 'early bird' tier pricing offers," adds Hagaman.

Tickets for MerleFest 2015 go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. eastern at www.MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. An Early Bird Tier 1 ticket discount is available starting Nov. 11 through Feb. 15, 2015. An Early Bird Tier 2 ticket discount will run from Feb. 16, 2015, through April 22, 2015. The third price tier will be gate pricing.