MerleFest Announces 2026 Artist Lineup: Alison Krauss & Union Station, Blackberry Smoke, Molly Tuttle, Peter Rowan and More

MerleFest has revealed its initial artist lineup for its annual gathering at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, N.C., from April 23-26. Receiving top billing for the imminent gathering are 14-time Grammy winners, Alison Krauss & Union Station, who will make their much-anticipated return since closing the 25th anniversary event back in 2014. The group’s performance is slated to feature the great Jerry Douglas. 

Trailing Krauss and her band are Old Crow Medicine Show, who have also signed on to participate in the Late Night Jam, a highly regarded festival tradition revived last year after a temporary hiatus. Also performing their own sets are Charles Wesley Godwin, Blackberry Smoke, Molly Tuttle, Sam Bush, The Jerry Douglas Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, as well as Peter Rowan & The Walls of Time Band. 

The event, which honors North Carolina’s musical treasure Doc Watson, is under the traditional-plus umbrella, with even more bluegrass, roots, folk, and blues acts represented. Also on the bill are The Creekers, Trey Hensley, Sister Sadie, Jake Shimabukuro, Hogslop String Band, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Dom Flemons & The Traveling Wildfires, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Melissa Carper, Leon Timbo & The Family Band, DUG, Scythian, Donna The Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale and more. 

MerleFest was founded in 1988 as a fundraising initiative for the Garden of the Senses at Wilkes Community College as a way to memorialize Watson’s late son, Eddy Merle Watson. With a mix of acts represented each year, the event celebrates the sounds of the region and beyond with an expansive lineup of talent performing over a four-day schedule, and across 12 stages.

Multi-day tickets and festival packages are available.