Earl Scruggs rests in a vast suburban cemetery just outside Nashville, Tennessee, beside his devoted wife and manager, among countless other memorials to the departed. A short distance away, the Country Music Hall of Fame displays his banjo alongside the instruments of his bluegrass peers, Bill Monroe and Lester Flatt. While Scruggs might not have single-handedly birthed bluegrass, he undeniably propelled it to prominence with his groundbreaking three-finger playing style, relentless touring, and fusion of bluegrass with rock and pop.

The second annual Earl Scruggs Music Festival is right around the corner on Labor Day weekend, and I had the opportunity to chat this week with festival producer Claire Armbruster to get a preview of what they have planned for all of us this year.

Blue Note Napa is proud to announce the new music lineup for the 2023 Blue Note Summer Sessions concert series beginning May 19 through October. Tickets to the initial slate of events will go on sale this Thursday, March 9 at 10 a.m. PT via bluenotenapa.com, although more concerts will be rolled out in the near future.

Every June—for the past five decades—music fans known as Festivarians have made their annual pilgrimage to the box canyon town of Telluride, Colorado, for the legendary Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Inspired by the beauty of the natural landscape and the skillfully played music from a multitude of genres, this legendary gathering has long been a bucket list destination for musicians and music fans alike.

Following a show-stopping debut in 2022, Earl Scruggs Music Festival will return to Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina September 1-3, 2023. Lauded by Music Fest News as “a spectacular weekend,” the newly-minted festival has already gained serious attention for its top notch musical programming, world class amenities, and accessible price point.

Hot on the heels of their announcement regarding the re-opening of Dallas’s famed Longhorn Ballroom, the team behind the venue, Kessler Presents, is already scheduling top tier programming. Today, the performers were announced for the Longhorn’s soft launch period beginning at the end of March and continuing into April, wasting no time adding new names to the legendary list of musicians who’ve already stepped foot on this stage—not to mention inviting some of them back.

On September 29th at San Francisco’s historic Herbst Theatre, Steve Earle will host an intimate songwriters circle, inviting Emmylou Harris, the Mastersons, and a surprise musical guest to gather in support of Camp Winnarainbow—a circus & performing arts haven for young people, founded in 1975 by Hippie icons Wavy Gravy and Jahanara Romney.

Planet Bluegrass, organizers of Rockygrass, Lyons Folks Fest, and the famed Telluride Bluegrass Festival—which has coincided with the summer solstice for 5 decades—are pleased to announce Mabon, a new concert series programmed in conjunction with longtime Planet Bluegrass fan-favorite, Watchhouse. Mabon will take place September 16-18 in Lyons, Colorado, at the Planet Bluegrass Ranch during the Autumn equinox.

MerleFest, presented by Window World, is proud to announce the first round of artists for MerleFest 2022, which will be held April 28-May 1, 2022. Emmylou Harris, Greensky Bluegrass, Rissi Palmer, and more will be joining the annual homecoming of musicians and music fans on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. 2022 marks MerleFest’s return to its traditional Spring weekend after being postponed to September in 2021.