Billy Strings – photo © Alysse Gafkjen
The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced that Billy Strings will be their Keynote Speaker for the 2025 World of Bluegrass convention in Chattanooga, TN next month.
Strings, who may be the most popular bluegrass artist in the history on the genre, especially in the sense of crossing over to a widespread audience, will participate in a live, on stage interview with Canadian radio host and podcaster Tom Power on September 16 at 4:00 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center. It’s a different way to conduct a keynote address, but should prove to be an illuminating glimpse into the mind of the most consequential bluegrass artist of this century.
Power says that he is very much looking forward to this interview.
“Through my work on (the podcast) Toy Heart, I’ve had the chance to talk with some of the legends of bluegrass. I’ve spoken with the artists who’ve lived the music and carried it forward across generations. What struck me was how often those conversations, after the mics were off and I was wrapping cables, turned to Billy Strings. Long before the arena shows and awards, they were already calling him a transformational figure.
I’m grateful for the chance to talk with Billy now, not at the end of a road but right in the thick of it – to ask about his relationship to bluegrass today, how he moves within it, and what he may have found in this music that’s opened it up to so many in a way we haven’t seen since the earliest days of Bill Monroe.”
Attendance at this special event is limited to those registered for the World of Bluegrass conference, though single day passes are available, still at a discounted rate through Saturday, August 23. Full registration details can be found online.
Billy Strings has done what bluegrass artists and industry folks have dreamed of for some time, taking the essential aspects of the musical style we all love, and presenting it to a mainstream audience whose size is beyond the expectations of most people who work in the music. Billy not only sells out large theaters wherever he performs, he typically does it several nights in a row in each venue.
IBMA Executive Director Ken White knows they have a tiger by the tail.
“We couldn’t be prouder to present such an influential artist at this year’s conference. Billy Strings represents the present and future of bluegrass by embracing – and building on – our past. We recommend that conference attendees circle this keynote address on their schedule for September 16; we’’e predicting standing room only for this session!”
Full details about World of Bluegrass 2025, including the mid-week business conference, the Thursday night IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, and the weekend festival, IBMA Bluegrass Live!, can be found online.
