MerleFest, presented by Window World, has added Railroad Earth, The Infamous Stringdusters, Joy Oladokun, Maggie Rose, The Castellows, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, and more to its 2026 lineup. The festival will run April 23rd to 26th at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. They join previously announced artists like Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Old Crow Medicine Show, Charles Wesley Godwin, and Blackberry Smoke, plus newcomers The Jack Wharff Band, Blue Highway, Fireside Collective, and over twenty additions.

Old Crow Medicine Show will mark the 20th anniversary of Big Iron World with a special Friday night set where they perform that album and its predecessor O.C.M.S. in full on the Watson Stage. The Saturday Late Night Jam also returns, hosted by Old Crow and featuring guests like Blackberry Smoke’s Charlie Starr and AJ Lee & Blue Summit, with more names still to come.

This year’s MerleFest also brings back the WCC Foundation Silent Auction, which offers online bidding and in-person viewing throughout the weekend. Proceeds benefit the SAGE First Year Experience program. Tickets for MerleFest 2026, including general admission, reserved seating, camping, and parking, are on sale now at merlefest.org.

MerleFest 2026 welcomes:

Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
Old Crow Medicine Show
Charles Wesley Godwin
Blackberry Smoke
Molly Tuttle
Railroad Earth
The Infamous Stringdusters
Joy Oladokun
Ketch Secor
Maggie Rose
Sam Bush
The Jerry Douglas Band
The Steep Canyon Rangers
Peter Rowan & The Walls of Time Band
The Castellows
The Creekers
AJ Lee & Blue Summit
The Jack Wharff Band
Sister Sadie
Jake Shimabukuro
Lamont Landers
Hogslop String Band
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Dom Flemons & The Traveling Wildfires
Scythian
Donna the Buffalo
Jim Lauderdale
Kruger Brothers
The Waybacks
Buffalo Traffic Jam
Fireside Collective
Blue Highway
Jason Scott & The High Heat
Trey Hensley
Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band
Liam St. John
Melissa Carper
The Wilder Blue
Hayde Bluegrass Orchestra
The Band Loula
Broken Compass Bluegrass
Amelia Day
Andy May
B. Townes
Banknotes
Carbon Harry
Carol Rifkin
Carolina Detour
Cathy & Marcy’s Old Time Coalition
Charles Welch
Compton & Newberry
Corey Harris
Denim & Plaid
DownRiver Collective
DUG
Eleanor Ellis
Flattop
Full Steam Bluegrass Band
Gravity Check Juggling
The InterACTive Theatre of Jef
Jack Lawrence
Jeff Little Trio
Joe Smothers
Ken Crouse
The Knackered Ramblers
Laura Boosinger
Leon Timbo & The Family Band
The Local Boys
Mark Bumgarner
Mitch Greenhill & Mitch’s Kitchen
Mo-Grass
Myles Gee
Nick Wade
Pete & Joan Wernick
Presley Barker
Reid West
Roy Book Binder
Seth Mulder & Midnight Run
Shelby Means
Smitty & The Jumpstarters
T. Michael Coleman
Tony Williamson
Valley Flower
Wayne Henderson
West Texas Exiles
Wyatt Ellis
Zoe & Cloyd