Media Room

Important Dates

  • August 18 – September 2, 2025: Patron renewals
  • September 15 – October 3, 2025: Reserved seat renewals
  • October 1, 2025: Volunteer applications open
  • November 1, 2025: Vendor applications open
  • November 11, 2025: Tickets on sale at 10 a.m. EST
  • November 11, 2025: Initial lineup announced at 10 a.m. EST
  • April 15, 2026: Volunteer applications deadline
  • April 23-26, 2026: MerleFest 

Media Contact:

Victory Lap Media

Danielle Dror: danielle@teamvictorylap.com

Karaline Bailey: karaline@teamvictorylap.com

Who is Flattop?

The big friendly raccoon you will see at MerleFest is our mascot, Flattop. Why a raccoon? Merle Watson’s band, Frosty Morn, used a raccoon as its logo, based on his suggestion. A naming contest gave Flattop his name–a truly fitting one because of Merle and Doc’s mastery of the flattop guitar.