(note, changed the post times on these so they'd read in chronological order)

Got up early, drove to Wilkesboro, NC. Got to our campsites, set up tents, drank many beers, hopped the shuttle to the campus where the festival is held. Being a Thursday afternoon, the crowd was light - very nice. Smoking was discouraged.

First show we saw was a band called the Waybacks, whom I'd never heard of. I don't remember what they sounded like. Then an all-female group called Uncle Earl. They were pretty good, and their bass player would show up in many other bands over the next four days. I got a roast turkey leg. Then came Tim O'Brien, who was really good, but looked like he was uninterested in being there. Turns out that's just the way he looks, as I'd learn from seeing him play with many other bands, too. I'd never heard of him before, either. Here he is.

The fiddle and guitar players would show up with Bela Fleck, on day two.

Then, the big show for the day, Loretta Lynn. Her band came out, all in matching tan suits - very 1950's - and did a song or two; then Loretta's twin daughters came out and did two or three unremarkable country-pop songs.

Her daughters:

Then Loretta herself came out and started what turned out to be an endless stream of apologies for her voice; she said she was hoarse from allergies and might not be able to deliver the kind of show we deserved, etc.. Between every song, she'd apologize for the last one, and apologize in advance for the next. Kinda got old. On the way back to the camp, the bus driver would wryly note that she's been apologizing for being a little hoarse for the last several years. She is at least 70, so I guess that's not surprising.

Anyway, she did seven or eight very hoarse songs, most of them about fighting with her man, including the amusingly-named "Fist City" and "Soul Miner's Daughter" (of course). We'd have many chuckles over that first one back at the camp. Thanks, porn spam, for spreading a new meaning for "fist" far and wide.

Loretta and band:

See the left sidebar for the full series.

Woke up early. It was raining, the tent was soaking through. But I decided to stay in the tent and sleep some more, rather than stand out in the rain like a crazy person. Eventually, though, I couldn't sleep any more, thanks to the campers next to us who were all about their Outdoor Voices. So, I went outside and tried to build a fire to warm up next to. Of course all the wood was wet because nobody thought to throw a tarp over it the night before. So, I struggled with damp kindling for a bit before the kindly neighbor came over and dumped a half-gallon of lamp oil on my pile of sticks. That, and a good bit of blowing got it giong.

The people on the other side of us, in their giant Army tent, were already (still?) drunk and having a good old time.

Eventually everybody else got up. We made breakfast and when 2:00 rolled around, we slouched back to the festival to sit in the cold light rain to see banjo virtuoso, Bela Fleck.

He did a set of his own unique classical/jazz/bluegrass fusion with a couple of nearly-equally-amazing players (on guitar and fiddle). Truly jaw-dropping. The guy has technique to spare. I much preferred this style to the stuff he does with the Flecktones, which always sounded too slick, overprocessed and condensed - almost lite jazz. The three of them sitting out there jamming away live and acoustic was much more interesting, to me.

Then, after a bit of snacking and wandering about, we slouched up a huge set of stairs to see Tony Rice, Peter Rowan and Richard Greene at an indoor auditorium. Our Merlefest veteran, Dan, was clever enough to take us to the entrance where there was no line, so we were able to get in to see the show. Many others waited in the rain in vain. Ha ha! I'd never heard of any of these people before, but apparently, they're well-known to people who know bluegrass (hey, wow - a tautology). They did a good set of tunes, some with a more south-western feel than traditional Appalachian bluegrass - which was a nice break. Peter Rowan (vocals) and Richard Greene (fiddle) would show up in many other bands, as would the bass player, Bryn Bright; she and the mandolin player, Sharon Gilchrist, are both in Uncle Earl who we saw the first day. Bluegrass bands are all one big happy family, apparently.

And then, The Duhks. They're a young bluegrass / rock / cajun fusion band from Canada. They have a ton of energy, so much that it made us all a bit anxious at times. Nickel Creek does that to me sometimes, too. Slow down, kids ! Still, their fiddle player is truly amazing. She's got a style that sets her apart - maybe it's just a Canadian thing, but she was drawing from a slightly different bag of tricks than most of the other players I saw there. The rest of the band didn't do a lot for me, though.

Then, more Bela! He did a quick set with his trio at the "Cabin" stage, which is a little stage just off the main stage so the audience has something to watch while they switch bands on the main stage.

Jerry Douglas was up next, but we were beat.

So, we caught the shuttle bus back to the campsite. This is the crowd control guy at the bustop:

And then back to the campsite to eat and sit around the fire, listening to the late night acts on the local radio station.

Early morning. We wake to a horrible smell. You see, our campsite was on the grounds of the Wilkesboro waste water treatement facility (ie. the large intestine of the town itself); and specifically, it was at the very location where the treated water was expelled through a big pipe into the (Yadkin?) river - that's the big yellow thing at the bottom of the staircase. Our two tents flanked the stairway to the anus of Wilkesboro.

Sometimes it got a little stinky. The shirts they sold at the main building all said "Sewerfest '05", with pictures of little outhouses, skunks, etc.. Ha.

But, Bud Light can get you through tough times:

So, back to the festival; and first up, Del McCoury.

They shared two microphones (though the bass was mic'd, separately) and took turns walking up to one or the other to do their solos, and harmonies - basically they force a 1940's-style stage technology on themselves. It works well, and it's fun to watch them work the mics, using distance to control their individual volumes within the mix. Most bands had individual mics for each player, or mic'd the instruments directly; a few used the same common-mic approach, but none seemed to get as much use out of it as these guys. Plus, they're really good - lots of energy, great songs, etc.. And while I didn't see all the bands at Merlefest, of the bands I saw, these guys stuck closest to the traditional bluegrass sound and style. Definitely one of my favorites from the whole four days.

Then, Ricky Scaggs came out. He was very good, too; played mostly traditional stuff, with a couple of newish things that got some mainstream country radio play (or so I'm told). He can sure pick the hell out of a mandolin. Didn't get any pictures of him.

Then, the Bluegrass Boys. That's a bluegrass supergroup made up of people who all played with Bill Monroe at one time or another.

I can't remember all their names, but that's Earl Scruggs second-to-left, breaking a string after walking out and playing for less than 5 seconds, then Sharon Gilchrist on bass (not a Bluegrass Boy, she was just filling in), forget the mandolin guy's name, Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, two guys I don't remember, Richard Greene and then Jim Shumate.

Here's Earl Scruggs and Jim Shumate doing Turkey In The Straw:

Then, the Chieftans came out, all fifty of them, and did a set of traditional Irish music. There's not much distance between Irish folk music and bluegrass, and they did their best to highlight that. There were dancers, guest singers (Alison Moorer and Ricky Scaggs each came out for a song), and guest musicians: Jerry Douglas (far left) and Bela Fleck (far right) sat in.

Very nice stuff. The guy in the back in the white shirt looks a lot like Paul McCartney. The short guy in the middle made some pretty witty between-song chatter.

Then, back to the campsite, to listen to Sam Bush's show on the radio.

The full series:

• Merlefest, Day 4
• Merlefest, Day 3
• Merlefest, Day 2
• Merlefest, Day 1
• Merlefest, birds 1
• Merlefest, birds 2

Sunday, sunny Sunday.

We packed up the tents, parked the cars by the exit, then hopped the shuttle to the festival one last time.

First band of the day was Balfa Toujours, a traditional cajun group, at the "Traditional" tent. I wasn't in the mood, so I wandered around and looked at vendors while the rest laid out in the grass, listening. So, no pictures of that.

Then we went over to the "dance" tent to check out BR549. They're a Nashville honky-tonk band - tons of fun. Lot's of talent, good humor and energy. The slide guitar / mini-telecaster / fiddle player was great, the singer was great and the other two guys didn't hold them back (no offense, i'm just not a rhythm-section guy). They played a set of very danceable country songs (even though I don't dance a step, I know when I'm supposed to be dancing). Good time.

Here's the singer:

Here's the steel player:

Then, back to the main stage to catch a bit of another Chieftans' set. Found this father/daughter (we assume) pair playing a little tune on the way:

Caught the last half of the Chieftans' set. Same basic set as the day before. But this time, Tim O'Brien sang a song, as did Allison Moorer; and Buddy Miller came out for a great version of "Country Blues". Bela Fleck and Jerry Douglas were there, too.

Tim O'Brien with the Chieftans:

Allison Moorer with the Chieftans:

Unfortunately, seeing the same band twice means you may get to learn that the witty banter they amused you with last time is as rehearsed as the music, when they tell the same jokes each time. Oh well. They're still fun.

After that, Allison Moorer had a solo show on the Cabin stage:

She made the only political remark of the festival (that I heard). It went something like this: "I know there hasn't been a lot of political talk here. And I know some of you are grateful for that. But I'm sorry, but I gotta say... I'm disappointed that George Bush is still president." (smattering of enthusiastic applause and shouting among a backdrop of stunned silence) - and then went into some poltical song. So, she did her set, and then... wait, someone else is there too! Who's that? Why it's her boyfriend, Steve Earl:

He did a song with her, then took off. I didn't really get into her stuff, but she's got a nice voice and is easy to look at, so I figure she'll do OK with or without my interest.

Then, the guy I'd been waiting all day to see, Buddy Miller:

He did a couple of songs with his chunky electric guitar and then said something like "I feel like I'm in this sacred place here and I'm wrecking it with all this noise." Then he continued on with his set. Great songwriter, awesome singer, very down-to-earth vibe. Jim Lauderdale came out to do "Hole In My Head" (a song the Dixie Chicks covered a few years back). He wore the same ratty baseball hat he was wearing when SKB saw him a few days prior. I got a nice tan, sitting out in the sun all afternoon.

Allison Krauss was up next. And though we really like her, it was getting late, we've already seen her twice, we had a long drive ahead, and they were playing the festival on XM. So we decided we'd try to beat the crowds getting out of there and just listen to her on the radio on the drive home. And, we did. Allison and band were great as always. They did a bunch of new stuff, a bunch of old stuff, and had the longest set of any band at Merlefest (over an hour). They, of course, did that annoying "Man Of Constant Sorrow" song from O Brother, Where Art Thou, because the guitar player, Dan Tyminsky, is the voice of George Clooney on that one. Allison told a lot of cute stories between songs and they did a nice long encore. I wish they weren't the last band of the festival.

After she was done, Doc Watson came out to do the traditional one song tribute to his late son, Merle - to whom Merlefest is dedicted and named after. The song isn't the best - a little corny, IMO, and we heard it the day before. But, it's sincere and you gotta respect the sentiment behind it.

And that was my first Merlefest.

According to the M.C., more than 80,000 people attended, over the four days.

The full series:

• Merlefest, Day 4
• Merlefest, Day 3
• Merlefest, Day 2
• Merlefest, Day 1
• Merlefest, birds 1
• Merlefest, birds 2