The Wailin Jennys have long been a fixture on the folk festival circuit, bringing beautiful three-part harmonies to their original contemporary songs. On Bright Morning Stars - their fourth studio album - the trio's emotionally daring lyrics traverse the precarious terrain of heartbreak. Fans of the Jennys will appreciate the beautiful arrangements and intimate lyricism, paired with adept, emotional instrumentation.

The disc is full of heartbreak, all the while lurching toward motivation for moving on. The disc opens with perhaps the most courageous confession amid love's most difficult moments: "I have failed you / I have failed you / I have lost my way, lost my nerve, and failed you." Check out my full review of the Wailin Jennys - Bright Morning Stars.

image © Red House Records

Tomorrow, I'm driving up to Wilkesboro, NC, to catch my very first weekend at Merlefest. Long a staple of the folk and bluegrass world, Merlefest's 2011 lineup includes giants of all styles of music - from Randy Travis to Robert Plant, the Doobie Brothers, and Zac Brown Band. While the lineup starts at bluegrass and veers in a dozen different directions, it kind of goes without saying you'll want to see all the headliners and better-known acts. But which of the somewhat lesser-known bands do you want to make sure you keep on your schedule? Here's my guide to five artists to watch at Merlefest 2011.

Crooked Still promo photo

On January 20, 1964, Meet the Beatles! hit America's record stores to explosive demand. Two days earlier, Bob Dylan's The Times They Are-A Changin' was released to much less fanfare, constituting his most politically charged album to date. However, despite the growing popularity of Dylan's topical folk songs, the 23-year-old had already moved on to new musical terrain. His infatuation with Beat literature, Rimbaud, and the French symbolist poets beckoned him to untether himself from the confines of political songwriting, resulting in the October 1964 release, Another Side of Bob Dylan.

In February 1964, Dylan, his road manager Victor Maymudes, journalist Paul Karman, and folksinger Paul Clayton piled into a blue Ford station wagon and made a three-week road trip from New York to California, via New Orleans. The journey amounted to an asphalt purging, with Dylan living out his own "On the Road" adventure in the spirit of Jack Kerouac.

Check out Ben Corbett's full history and review of Another Side of Bob Dylan.

image © Columbia Records

According to a post this morning on the Bluegrass Blog, Hazel Dickens has passed away at 75 years old.

Dickens was a pioneer of American folk and bluegrass music. She was a friend and contemporary of Pete and Mike Seeger (the latter of the New Lost City Ramblers). She performed regularly with Mike Seeger's wife Alice Gerard, and was a champion of women's and workers' rights. Together, they were a rare and strong female presence in the bluegrass scene - one which was quite heavily male-dominated. She forged a path for women in bluegrass and folk music to which many more contemporary artists are no doubt indebted.

Her work appeared in the film Harlan County USA and a book about her life, titled Working Girl Blues, was published by the University of Illinois Press. Learn more about Hazel Dickens with this bio and profile.

Hazel Dickens was an incredibly gifted performer, and her presence will be missed by all in the folk and bluegrass worlds. RIP.

iamge © Rounder Records