MerleFest has announced 6 new artist additions for MerleFest 2019.  Also, MerleFest has partnered with Come Hear NC, a promotional campaign of the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, to celebrate 2019 as “The Year of Music,” a designation Gov. Roy Cooper announced in November of last year. Come Hear NC was designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ groundbreaking contributions to many of America’s most important musical genres. It’s fitting then, with 2019 as “The Year of Music,” that the Steep Canyon Rangers, also proud North Carolinians, would debut their North Carolina Songbook set at MerleFest. The annual homecoming of musicians and music fans returns to the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, April 25-28.