2007
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| Increased green space |
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| Doc Watson with Elvis Costello |
In 2007, the 20th edition of MerleFest saw impressive infrastructure changes, including the completion of Lowe’s Hall, which links the lower campus to the Walker Center with two elevators. Also, staff worked diligently to increase green space and reduce the amount of cars parked within the festival grounds. Organizers moved vendors onto a parking lot to create The Shoppes at MerleFest, which then created a domino effect of relocating parking and other services. The end result was extremely positive, and staff and volunteers were proud when they saw their hard work come to fruition. “Once the festival started, we saw people doing exactly what was expressed in the original vision—people reading and lounging on the lawn and children playing in the grass. It was exactly what we wanted to achieve,” commented festival director Ted Hagaman.
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| Doyle Lawson |
Elvis Costello and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performed at the Watson Stage on Friday night, followed by Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas on Saturday. The Infamous Stringdusters, Crooked Still and Uncle Earl were among a new wave of bands that wowed audiences.
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| Tony Rice and Alison Krauss |
“One of the greatest MerleFest moments for me happened in 2007,” explains Allison Phillips, executive director of the WCC Endowment Corporation. “New Grass Revival reunited for one song. The story goes that Sam Bush, Béla Fleck and John Cowan were on stage with Pat Flynn backstage looking on. Sam asked Pat if he had time for just one song. And there it was, all of the members of New Grass Revival on stage performing together, just as they had done in 1988 when they first appeared at MerleFest. It was incredible! And, I think everyone in the audience was just as thrilled about this moment as I was!”
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| 20th Jam with members of New Grass Revival |