No Depression set up the "studio" at the 37th annual MerleFest for a dozen sessions with legends and legends-in-the-making. The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Doc Watson’s son Merle, and features “traditional plus” music, meaning a broad range of styles from the sweet falsetto harmonies of East L.A. to the high lonesome sounds of the Appalachian Mountains.
Western swing legend Ray Benson led the charge on the first two songs to help us celebrate 55 years (!!!) of Asleep At The Wheel. New AATW member, fiddler and vocalist Ian Stewart, closed out this mini-set with "Lovesick Blues." Please enjoy this performance, and stay tuned for more No Depression x MerleFest '25 sessions in the pipeline. Special thanks to everybody who made this series happen: MerleFest director Wes Whitson and his team of aces including artist relations manager Lindsay Craven, production managers Jim and Katherine, Carrie and Lauren for keeping us fat and happy, Danielle and the Victory Lap family for bringing us together in the first place, and of course to the team at Window World for making it all possible!
Setlist:
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" (Glenn Miller Orchestra)
"Milk Cow Blues" (Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys)
"Lovesick Blues" (Hank Williams)
Personnel:
Ray Benson - lead vocals & guitar
Ian Stewart - fiddle & vocals
James Rodman - keys & backing vocals
Huck Johnson - upright bass
Curtis Clogston - steel guitar
Russ Patterson - drums
Lyon Graulty - horns
Read next
SPOTLIGHT: Jude Brothers’ Kaleidoscopic Album ‘Dogwood Maiden Voyage’ Navigates Through Nature and Reinvention
Editor's Note: Jude Brothers, whose new LP titled Dogwood Maiden Voyage is due out September 25 via Gar Hole Records, is No Depression's Spotlight Artist for September 2026. Stay tuned all month for more about this Ozarks singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Jude Brothers needs the
Buddy Miller Mixes Country-Soul Classics With Fresh Originals on Self-Titled Return
Buddy Miller has recorded music under his own name for the last 30 years, but his influence on roots music stretches far wider. He began playing in the ’70s in Austin, where he met his future wife Julie Griffin when they both were in a band called Partners in Crime.
In The Deep End With The Mary Wallopers
Labor Day is not a recognized holiday in Ireland. So while much of the US and Canada were enjoying a day off — the result of protests for fair working conditions organized by trade union workers from the late 1800s — it was just another Monday in Dundalk, in the far northeast
Comments ()