More than 75,000 people, a lineup mixing rock icons with folk legends, and over 10 million dollars for the local economy, all on a community college campus in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. This episode tells the story of MerleFest, beginning with the bond between blind guitar great Doc Watson and his son Merle, who served as his rhythm guitarist, driver and tour manager for two decades before dying in a tractor accident in 1985 at age 36.

The hosts describe how horticulturist Bill Williams of Wilkes Community College approached Doc about a memorial concert to fund campus gardens, how a ticket buyer's phone call accidentally named the event, and how Doc's Traditional Plus philosophy grew a one-time homecoming into a four-day festival with 13 stages. They trace the family tree connecting Celtic fiddle tunes, the banjo, blues and jazz to bluegra ...