Inaugural Earl Scruggs Music Festival Announces New Additions to Lineup

The Earl Scruggs Music Festival is proud to announce new additions to the festival lineup for the upcoming 2020 festival: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jim Lauderdale, Chatham County Line, and the Earls of Leicester. 

Touring for over fifty years, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band remains one of the most accomplished bands in American roots music. Grammy award-winning Americana star Jim Lauderdale recorded his seminal 1979 album with Roland White in Earl Scruggs’ basement in Tennessee. Much loved and hard touring Chatham County Line represents Scruggs’ North Carolina heritage, and the inclusion of the Earls of Leicester is a nod to their roots as a Flatt & Scruggs supergroup tribute band.

These artists will join the initial lineup announcement for the Earl Scruggs Music Festival including Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Dom Flemons, Radney Foster, The Barefoot Movement, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, The Po Ramblin Boys, and Unspoken Tradition. Each of these artists will perform over the festival’s two days at Tryon International Equestrian Center, located in Mill Spring, NC. 

After-hours festivities will take place on the festival grounds following the main stage performances on Friday and Saturday evenings. These events require a separate ticket and space is limited– these tickets will be available soon.  General tickets are available now, as are reservations for tent and RV camping. 

The Earl Scruggs Music Festival is also announcing their full festival team, starting with JT Scruggs, Earl’s nephew, as Festival Director. 

“The Earl Scruggs Music Festival is very special to me and I’m honored to have a part in it,” says JT Scruggs. “I believe that this event will allow us to continue to promote the Earl Scruggs Center and help us to continue providing wonderful exhibitions and programs. Most importantly, this festival will help us to honor the life and incredible legacy of Earl Scruggs in a major way.” 

JT will be joined by co-Assistant Festival Directors Mary Beth Martin, Executive Director of the Earl Scruggs Center, and David Kester of WNCW. 

“We are bringing some incredible Americana and bluegrass artists to the festival, many of whom personally knew Earl Scruggs. All of them were influenced by him and his music in some way” says Martin, “This community and part of the state has a long history of producing great musicians and appreciating good music, so we want to celebrate that tradition with the inaugural Earl Scruggs Music Festival.” 

The directors will be joining Artistic Director and Festival Consultant Steve Johnson, a well known manager and agent in North Carolina. Also joining the team is Social Media Manager Maggie Rainwater of HoosierDevil, whose grandfather played in the Foggy Mountain Boys with Earl Scruggs!