On Valentine’s Day 2005, as most men their age scrambled to book last-minute dinner reservations and buy the least-mangled roses at the local Kroger, singer/songwriter Jerry Joseph and Widespread Panic bass player Dave Schools convened on a date of their own in a studio in Athens, Ga.

Arguably the nation’s greatest yearly festival dedicated to traditional American music forms, Merlefest has grown far beyond the two flatbed pickup trucks that formed the stage for the first event 19 years ago.

If you’re looking to buy your first guitar, or you’re coming back to the market after a long hiatus, look no further!

Gram Parsons, seminal country/rock icon and one-time member of the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, is the subject of a documentary that made its U.S. debut at the Nashville Film Festival over two years ago.

Cat Stevens talks about his road to becoming Yusuf Islam.

Talk about a fairy tale.

Singer/songwriter Carey Ott grew up listening to the usual suspects: the Beatles, Nick Drake . . . TV theme songs…