Amos Perrine

Ninety-seven artists are scheduled to perform across 12 stages at this year's MerleFest, held April 25-28 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The 17 artists highlighted below are, with a couple notable exceptions, ones that regular MerleFest-goers may not be that familiar with.

This week's column features two fests, the Treefort Music Fest (March 20-24) and the Suwannee Spring Reunion (March 21-24) held at opposite ends of the country: Treefort in Boise, Idaho, and Suwannee in Live Oak, Florida. Longtime Lens contributor Peter Dervin reports on Treefort via photos and words,

With SXSW and Luck Reunion both on the calendar, the roots and indie music world headquarters is in and around Austin, Texas, for the month of March. You might think of those two events as the yin and yang of roots music festivals. While there is some overlap in their

This week’s column focuses on two festivals featuring world music of different sorts. First, WOMADelaide, March 8-11 in Australia, offered roots music from a variety of countries, including Ukraine, Brazil, Nigeria, and Tunisia. Second, Flogging Molly’s two-day Shamrock Rebellion, March 16 in California and on St. Patrick'

During a talk with NPR’s Ann Powers, Kristen Hersh said that when a performance goes especially well with a receptive audience it's “extrapolating creativity into the fingerprints of others.” That pretty much sums up the Big Ears Festival, which wrapped up Sunday in Knoxville, Tennessee. I have

The 16th edition of the Cayamo cruise set sail from Miami on March 1 for a week of roots music at sea. Promoted by founder Sixthman as “A Journey Through Song,” the floating festival once again delivered on its promise of unforgettable sets and rare collaborative performances that can only