Posts Tagged: doc and merle watson stage

music, memories, & the magic of merlefest ……..

We joined the Merlefest brigade of official photographers in 2015 and as our 4th year approaches and we prepare for our badges to arrive and the admin stuff to cross our desks, we’re getting jazzed. I just wrote about dreaming of spring and the orchard we love. This feels the same to me. There’s heat and sweat – the layers come off as the spring air evaporates the dew, lawn chairs are set in rows, the stages are literally set and the throngs arrive to listen to the very best in blue grass and Americana. We love Merlefest.

The Stray Birds Merlefest 2017

Avett Brothers Band Merlefest 2017

James Taylor with Transatlantic Sessions Merlefest 2017

Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photo

Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Lindsay Lou & Flatbellys photo

Our first year credentials and we loved every single second of it. Cannot wait for 2018. The line-up is still  evolving and the dates are April 26 – April 29. Get your tickets now and we’ll see you there!pixels on paper merlefest 2015 music festival photographers photo

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddingsbrides, and special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

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Merlefest 2017 | 30 Years of Exhilarating Music | music festival photos by Pixels On Paper

Another Merlefest is in the books, you guys and it was epic. Hot as one of the circles of Dante’s Inferno, if you’ll permit me to put too fine a point on it <smiling>. It was epic. So much to see and so much to share. This was the 30th anniversary and our 3rd year as official photographers. We covered 26 bands, plus the 12 who performed in the annual Chris Austin Songwriter’s Competition and we each walked 15 miles over the 4 days we were there. Frankly, we loved every second of it.As previously mentioned, the temperatures were not springy. It was always a minimum of 80+ with two of the four days posting at just below 90 degrees, because Mother Nature has an audacious sense of humor. We usually layer clothing and then put items back on in the evenings. Nope. This year, a couple of morning showers added to the humidity and we wore just what we needed. The weather wasn’t going to stop us and it did not stop 80,000 other visitors from coming to enjoy the festival atmosphere we were all basking in. God Bless water and sunscreen. The crowd size for this celebration of 3 decades of music and merriment was comprised of every age from infants to 80 years olds and the age range of the performers was expansive too. The youngest performer was 8 and of course there were veterans of Merlefest who’ve played every year since 1987, like Sam Bush and Peter Rowan. Highlights for Ryan were seeing James Taylor (who drew one of the biggest crowds) and the Avett Brothers (who also attracted the hoards) and he relished the Bass Workshop with Bob Crawford, since he’s fascinated by all things bass. (Their combined set with the Avett Brothers blew the place up.) Finally, the crowd noise as they announced that Linda Jean Stokley was the winner of the Chris Austin songwriter’s competition was a thrill. Linda Jean – of The Local Honeys – played her winning song for grateful fans. Cigarette Trees is about the destruction of coal mining and is positively beautiful.For me, the top moments were watching and listening to Sam Bush, who’s not only an incredible musician, but loves to surprise the audience with guests he brings on stage. And Sarah Jarosz is another performer that I looked forward to seeing for months. I’d listened to her streaming online, so I was jazzed to see her perform and she did not disappoint!
We both always enjoy seeing Chatham County Line, the Avett Brothers, Mandolin Orange and Scythian. This year we discovered Sierra Hull, Mountain Heart, Mipso, and The Steel Wheels. We hope to see them again next year.

Every year, we try to store up our energy and prepare to throw ourselves into Merlefest. We are fans. We were fans before becoming official photographers in 2015 and have enjoyed the experience more than we can say. It’s hot, it’s busy (we’re working from when the first eye opens until we crash late at night), it’s exhausting and it’s a blast. We come home spent but grateful and with songs, notes, riffs and phrasing in our heads to remind us. It’s one of the coolest gigs we work all year. Till 2018, Merlefest fans!

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Rattle & Hum | MerleFest 2017

If you combine jangley guitars, fiddling, soulful singing, drums, stomping, brilliant songwriting, mountain inspiration and camping, you’re probably at Merlesfest. And if you’ve never been, consider making it this year.
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 We Banjo 3 photoIt’s spring in the North Carolina mountains and, more specifically in Wilkesboro, where MerleFest was born. For nearly 30 years (the festival began in 1988), crowds of music lovers, players, and entertainers have gathered to listen to and contribute to the festival atmosphere. Like so many other music festivals, MerleFest is singular… the fans, the musicians, the inspirations, the talent, the views, and the overwhelming sense of family, culture and heritage.
For the last couple of years, Ryan and I have been official photographers and we’re going again this year in that capacity – from April 27th – 30th. Let the preparations – and energy conservation – commence.
pixels on paper merlefest 2015 photography photopixels on paper photographer merlefest 2015 music festival photographers photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Lindsay Lou & Flatbelly's photo

pixels on paper merlefest 2015 photography photo

Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photoPixels On Paper official photographers MerleFest 2015 music festival photo
Get your tickets, if you haven’t already and we’ll see you there! We’ll be the ones running from stage to stage with all our photography gear in tow!

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merlefest 2016 – the big wrap up

Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 photo

Sythian, backlit

Merlefest 2016 had rain, sun, the pair of us wrapping ourselves in outerwear one minute, covering our equipment in plastic the next, changing into shorts and shedding same outerwear, then later putting sweatshirts back on, downloading photo files and racing to the next stage. WE LOVED IT. The pace was hectic and often we had to remind ourselves to eat and yet we still missed many meals. On almost every day, we would get out of the car, smooch and then not see each other again until it was time to leave that night. Occasionally we’d spot each other and wave when passing from one stage to another. (Fun tip: pack a spare pair of socks and keep ’em handy when attending this or any other multi-day fest).

Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photo

Frontman for Steep Canyon Rangers – Woody Platt

Several bands we, and other photographers, were scheduled to shoot decided to block photographers from capturing any images right before going on stage. While we were disappointed, as were the crowds in the first few rows who were also banned, we did get to see new performers to Merlefest, some performers who’ve been tried and true regulars and some old timers.
Newbies included Lindsay Lou & the Flatbelly’s, from Michigan, who were lively and fun.
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Lindsay Lou & Flatbelly's photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Lindsay Lou & Flatbellys photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Lindsay Lou & Flatbellys photoOf the regulars, the Steep Canyon Rangers did not disappoint. Out of Western NC – they drew an enormous crowd.
Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photoPixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photoPixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photoPixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photoPixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photoRyan had the pleasure of covering the Chris Austin Songwriters Competition and photographing participants, including our pal Meris Gant. Austin was a beloved country music singer and songwriter who passed in 1991 and the competition raises scholarship money for Austin’s Memorial fund.
Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Meris Gant photoMerlefest will celebrate its 30th year in 2017 and we’re excited about what it will be like in 350 days. With all the new performers and regulars, it’s always nice to see someone who has been performing for 29 years and one of them is Peter Rowan. We’ll leave you with a couple pics of him.
Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Peter Rowan photoPixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Peter Rowan photo

We’re just now getting back to feeling semi-rested, and already looking forward to next year.

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden.Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kidsengagements and weddingsbrides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

merlefest 2016

4 days, 18 bands, 13 stages, 74,500 roaming festival goers and 22 miles of steps for both of us. And all God’s children and Mastercard ad lovers said, “Priceless.”
We were asked to be official photographers again this year for Merlefest 2016 and were there from Wednesday to Sunday, so we’re splitting this blog into 2. We simply saw and photographed too much to try to load it into one. Like last year, it was amazing: the music, the lively vibe, the pace (read: non-stop) and we’d be lying if we didn’t say we were thrilled OUT OF OUR MINDS to have 3 of Misty’s shots picked up by major media outlets: Rolling Stone, Huffington Post and HCPress.pixels on paper photography merlefest 2016 rolling stone photoRanking the bands would take WAAAY to much negotiation, so we’re just gonna show you shots of those we covered and let you investigate those you’ve never heard of and grin at those you know well.
Barefoot Movement – a bluegrass, folk trio out of Nashville.
Pixels on Paper Photography Barefoot Movement Ryan photoPixels on Paper Photography Barefoot Movement Merlefest 2016 photoPixels on Paper Photography Barefoot Movement Merlefest 2016 photoBecky Buller – bluegrass fiddler, with a classical violin background and Old-Time/Country flair (Minnesota meets East Tennessee)
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Becky Buller photo

Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Becky Buller photo

Becky Buller’s high-spirited accompaniment

Girls, girls and more girls! In order….
Emi Sunshine – a 12-year old dynamo/prodigy whose surname is spot on (from Tennessee)
Jennifer B & the Groove – Americana rock band out with a kick-butt front woman (Austin, Texas)
Sarah Potenza – Raw vocalist who leaves it all on the stage (Nashville, Tennessee)
And, finally April Verch, who Rolling Stone said best embodied the spirit of Doc Watson. She’s a CHARMER!
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Emi Sunshine photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Emi Sunshine photoJennifer B & the Groove…Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Jennifer B photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Jennifer B photoSarah Polenza…Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Sarah Potenza photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Sarah Potenza photoApril Verch…
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 April Verch photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 April Verch photoNow for some boys, starting with We Banjo 3 – a brilliant mix of Irish and American strumming, fiddling and flash.
Below those guys are Old Crow Medicine Show out of Nashville. We may have lost count, but there were at least 2 banjos, an upright base, guitars and fiddles.
And finally, the Wood Brothers – an amazing trio out of Nashville.
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 We Banjo 3 photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 We Banjo 3 photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 We Banjo 3 photoOld Crow Medicine Show…
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Old Crow Medicine Show photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Old Crow Medicine Show photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Old Crow Medicine Show photoThe Wood Brothers…
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 the Wood Brothers photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 the Wood Brothers photo<Happy Sigh> enough for now.
Ok – two more: Sunday Morning Blues and South Carolina Broadcasters.
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Sunday Morning Blues photoPixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Sunday Morning Blues photoSouth Carolina Broadcasters…
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 South Carolina Broadcasters photoMore in our next blog about the new-comers, the regulars like Steep Canyon Rangers and the old-timers who’ve made Merlefest every year for 29 years.
We’ll leave you with another media love-up, this one from Huffington Post. We couldn’t be more honored or humbled!
Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Huffington Post photo

 

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden.Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kidsengagements and weddingsbrides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.