Transatlantic Sessions to perform at 2017 MerleFest

The Transatlantic Sessions tour will be part of the 30th anniversary MerleFest in April.

The Transatlantic Sessions is a series of musical productions that brings together innovative and iconic U.K. artists with the best American roots artists, under the musical direction of American dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas and Scottish traditional fiddler Aly Bain.

The Transatlantic Orchestra, the core group of musicians who form the Sessions’ “house orchestra,” on this outing will include (and here’s what we here at the Green Man Review are most excited about!) Scottish accordion master Phil Cunningham, British bassist Danny Thompson, seminal Irish guitarist John Doyle, British flute and whistle master Michael McGoldrick, Donald Shaw and James MacIntosh of Capercaillie, and American bluegrass musician Russ Barenberg.

If that’s not enough, this special edition of The Transatlantic Sessions (the first ever outside the U.K.) will feature guests James Taylor, Sarah Jaarosz, Maura O’Connell, Declan O’Rourke, Karen Matheson and Joe Newberry.

MerleFest 2017 is scheduled for April 27-30 at Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. One of the premier music festivals in the country, it was founded in 1988 in memory of renouned guitarist Eddy Merle Watson, son of American music legend Arthel “Doc” Watson. It hosts a diverse mix of artists on 13 stages over four days.

Tickets for MerleFest 2017 are on sale now and may be purchased at MerleFest.org or by calling 800-343-7857.