Merlefest 2004

Day 1 - The best artists of bluegrass, country, folk and Americana gather for four days of pickin,' singin' and galavantin'—and Paste is there in Wilkesboro, N.C., to keep you posted...

Day 2 - The understated juggernaut of Welch and Rawlings... Mindy Smith gets soulful... Backstage is a strange place to be... Sam Bush's musical melting pot... The rock 'n' roll legend at the top of the mountain...

Day 3 - Leading off the trio of all-star acts on the Watson stage, Patty Loveless’ deep humming, coupled with the hard drum beat of “Nothin' Like The Lonely”—from her new album, On Your Way Home—signaled the arrival...

Day 4 - We had to wrestle ourselves out of bed on Sunday. Unfortunately, we missed the early-morning shaped-note singing, but we had a good excuse. We were backstage at Saturday’s midnight jam...