Though the day started out cold, rainy and disorganized, by the time we got to Merlefest, it was clear, sunny and perfect. We had a great campsite (four sites, actually) on a little hill by the river. Sure, we were, again, camping on the grounds of the Wilkesboro waste water treatment plant, but that didn't bring us down -

After setup was finished, Mrs Cleek donned rabbit ears, to show her approval.

So, after a little warm-up (no alcohol allowed at the festival itself), we headed over for the first day's activities. First up, Feufollet, a (young) Cajun band:

They were good, though the sound was a little off. All of their lyrics were in French, of course. It's hard not to like Cajun music, IMO. And these guys delivered. Good way to start out.

Then, a little Doc Watson action:

This was a tribute set to Bill Young, a local businessman who helped get Merlefest off the ground back when it started - this year was the 19th year. They did a set of bluegrass standards. Doc can still play better than most, and his voice, while not as strong as it was forty years ago is still smooth and sweet.

And then, after a trip back to the campsite to eat and put on some warm clothes, the main act of the night, John Prine:

He played a great set of oldies, including a few stellar choices from his first album: "Paradise", "Angel From Montgomery" and an amazing "Sam Stone". He's such a great songwriter. And while I don't think he's maintained that same level of brilliance in the intervening 30 years, his sense of humor and ability to tell a good story in a short song are both still sharp. One of his newest songs, "Some Humans Ain't Human" contains some pretty harsh words about George Bush and his Iraq war; they got a roar of approval from the audience, which surprised me - given the fact that bluegrass is a pretty static form of music these days (like blues and be-bop), you'd think bluegrass fans would be pretty conservative. But, they aren't, at least not in that way. And, well, this was John Prine, after all - the guy who wrote "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore", way back in 1971. Maybe there were a few people sitting out there watching, that cold Thursday night in the moutains, who didn't know much about him - but there couldn't have been many.

About halfway through his set, a spectacular meteor flew over the treeline in back of the stage, it got a big round of applause, too.

More to come.