One thing we rarely do here on The Bluegrass Blog is brag on ourselves. Part of that comes from a desire to focus on the news that matters to folks in the bluegrass world, and part from the memory of a pair of sainted Southern grandmothers, who would have said that such things “simply aren’t done.”
But maybe just this once…
Since we launched the site in the summer of 2005, we have registered almost 7,000,000 page views. Without any special promotions or campaigns, we have more than 7,000 people following us on Facebook, and average more than 75,000 unique visitors monthly.
Those really are astounding numbers, especially for anyone who might have had a look at the very humble beginnings of this experiment in blogging. It was just myself and my blog partner, Brance Gillihan, kicking around ideas while avoiding work we needed to be doing at his video studio.
Two years later, we were astonished to hear our names called at IBMA when the Print Media Person of the Year was announced in 2007. We’ve gone from having to explain who we are and why people should talk to us to being inundated with every new press release, CD, video, and any other information even remotely related to bluegrass music.
Not that we’re complaining!
In short, this site has gone from an interesting avocation to a full time job in only six years, one that has dramatically shifted my career focus.
I say all that to say this… many, many thanks to all our readers, the artists and publicists who work with us, the record labels who cooperate in getting us details about new releases, and particularly our loyal advertisers. You’ve made this quite a ride.
With Brance now living in Boston, where he will be studying for his M.Div. and working on a church plant, a new chapter for The Bluegrass Blog will soon begin. Watch for a new look, some new faces, and a bunch of new online features launching later this summer.
