Media Room
Important Dates
- August 14-31, 2023 – Patron renewals
- September 11-29, 2023 – Reserved seat renewals
- October 1, 2023 – Volunteer applications open
- November 1, 2023 – Vendor applications open
- November 14, 2023 – Tickets on sale at 10 a.m. EST
- November 14, 2023 – Initial lineup announced at 10 a.m. EST
- April 15, 2024 – Volunteer applications deadline
- April 25-28, 2024 – MerleFest
MerleFest History
Click on any of the links below to read, watch, and enjoy our festival’s rich history!
Press Releases
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.