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The Waybacks Release Two Clues So Far for Album Hour on Hillside Stage at MerleFest

Hill Side Photo by Jacob Caudill
Photo by Jacob Caudill

By Jesse Wood

The Waybacks are coming back to MerleFest for another crowd pleasing Album Hour at the Hillside Stage.

The event has become a fan favorite, where The Waybacks perform a classic album in its entirety. Fans gather at the hillside hours before the show to snag a great seat, and the album in question is always a guarded secret until that first note is played.

In past years, The Waybacks have performed the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, the Beatles’ Abbey Road, the Allman Brothers’ Eat a Peach, Bob Dylan and The Band’s live album, Before The Flood and Are You Experienced by Jimi Hendrix.

Perhaps just as much fun – well, probably not – is the “cryptic and mysterious” clues that The Waybacks release before the show, so fans have a chance to guess what album the band will be playing.

The Waybacks
The Waybacks

“Selecting an album each year is always both a fun and challenging process,” Michael Nash, The Waybacks manager, has said in the past. “Once we do decide on something, we begin to drop hints in regular intervals leading up to the show. As the years have gone by, we’ve found that we’ve had to make those harder and harder, as there are a lot of pretty sharp Album Hour fans out there. Seeing the creativity of their responses based on some pretty cryptic clues is a blast. We love how people have taken to the adventure.”

So far, The Waybacks have released two clues. Expect more clues as the band released four last year. Clues are released on this Facebook page.

The two clues released as of late are:

  • CLUE #2: Myrtle Grant, his ex, wanted nightly bar romance.
  • FIRST CLUE: We promise to treat you right.

The clues have elicited responses such as Bob Marley’s Legend, Pat Benatar’s Crimes of Passion, Cream ‘s Disraeli Gears, Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus, Grateful Dead’s American Beauty, and more.

Album Hour takes place on the Hillside Stage from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25. In addition, The Waybacks have announced that Joan Osborne will be a guest on stage.

What do you think the album will be? Comment below or join the discussion at the “2015 Hillside Album Hour Guess-A-Thon” Facebook page.