Once you purchase your tickets to MerleFest, you need to find an nc mountain cabin rental and boone nc lodging! Blue Ridge For Rent offers 45 of the area's premiere NC Cabin Rentals available for weekend rentals! Blue Ridge For Rent carries the large NC rental cabins with sleeping from 2 to 23! Visit MerleFest and stay the weekend in Boone NC pet friendly lodging and Blowing Rock hot tub NC cabin.

For your family's NC Mountain Cabin Rentals, turn to www.BlueRidgeForRent.com .

MerleFest Month Is Here!

Festival Finalizes Friday Lineup with Country Star Dierks Bentley

Story by Anna Oakes

Country chart-topper Dierks Bentley will perform on MerleFest’s Watson Stage on the night of Friday, April 30.

Husband-and-wife duo Joey + Rory will perform on the Cabin Stage at MerleFest.

Earlier this month, MerleFest announced the addition of award-winning country star Dierks Bentley to the Friday, April 30, lineup. Bentley will perform with the Travelin’ McCourys on the Watson Stage.

Additionally, acclaimed husband-and-wife duo Joey + Rory were recently added to the Friday evening lineup—they’ll perform on the Cabin Stage.

“We look forward to welcoming Dierks and Joey + Rory to their first MerleFest performances,” said festival Director Ted Hagaman in a press release. “I am continually impressed with the great variety of talent that fills all of the MerleFest stages. There’s truly something here for all music fans.”

MerleFest 2010, the 23rd year of the music festival, takes place Thursday through Sunday, April 29 to May 2, on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro.

Bentley and Joey + Rory join an outstanding lineup of Americana, roots, bluegrass, old-time, fusion and world music that includes Doc Watson, The Waybacks, Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, the Tony Rice Unit, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Elvis Costello, Taj Mahal, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Sam Bush, Zac Brown Band, the Kruger Brothers, The Avett Brothers and many other MerleFest mainstays and newcomers. The festival features more than 100 acts on 15 stages.

Fresh off the success of his acclaimed album Feel That Fire, Bentley has announced the summer release of the acoustic, roots-based Up On The Ridge. The album will feature collaborations with the Del McCoury Band and Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers. The disc also features a number of vocal and instrumental contributions ranging from Alison Krauss and Miranda Lambert to Tim O’Brien and Sam Bush, among many others.

“I’ve played a lot of cool venues and festivals, but taking this new album to MerleFest is one of the things I’m looking forward to the most,” said Bentley in the press release. “I’ll definitely be out there in the crowd like everyone else soaking it all in.”

Bentley’s first four studio albums sold five million copies and garnered seven No. 1 hits, including “Sideways,” “Free & Easy” and “What Was I Thinkin’?” His music has earned multiple CMA and ACM awards and seven Grammy nominations.

Joey + Rory are nominated for this year’s ACM Top Vocal Duo and Top New Vocal Duo. They are currently on tour with and serving as emcees for Grammy-winning Zac Brown Band’s Breaking Southern Ground Tour, which is making a stop at MerleFest on Thursday, April 29. Their sophomore release, Album #2, will come out this spring.

Their debut single, “Cheater Cheater,” was not only a Top 30 hit in country radio but also became a nationwide Top 10 Dance Club hit. The single peaked at No. 3 on the iTunes Top Country Album Chart with more than 400,000 downloads.

Their debut album, The Life of a Song, debuted at #10 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and remained on the charts for 50 weeks, selling 200,000 copies.

For more information about MerleFest, including tickets, stage schedules and more, click to www.MerleFest.org or call 336-838-6267 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              336-838-6267      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or 800-343-7857 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              800-343-7857      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Want To Volunteer? Join the Waiting List

If you’ve been thinking of volunteering at MerleFest this year but haven’t signed up yet, you’ll have to get on the waiting list. Volunteer shifts for 2010 are almost full.

“Our volunteer shifts have filled up faster this year than last,” said Christie Hutchens, Wilkes Community College public information officer. “We’re assuming that for a lot of people, entertainment dollars are tight this year, so volunteering in exchange for admission is an attractive option.”

But, Hutchens added, “Volunteer needs can always pop up as we get close to the festival, so people could still apply and be placed on a waiting list.”

To be placed on a waiting list, prospective volunteers must complete a volunteer application and mail a photo and, if volunteering for the first time, mail a check for a refundable $35 deposit. Those on the waiting list will be notified no later than April 22 if they have received a shift.

To fill out an application and for more information about volunteering, click to www.MerleFest.org and click on the “Volunteer” tab at the left or call 336-838-6264 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              336-838-6264      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.