IBMA 2009 Archives - Bluegrass Today

G2 at IBMA

G2 is another example of a band that took full advantage of their opportunities at IBMA this year. The trip from Sweden involves considerable expense and preparation, and these five talented musicians were determined to leave as big a footprint as possible behind after their trip to Nashville.

As the winners of the 2007 European Band Of The Year at the European World of Bluegrass, they garnered the IBMA showcase slot “reserved” for the EWOB winners. They played on the Wednesday brunch showcase during IBMA week, but unlike most invited showcase acts, they were also featured on the International Bluegrass Music Awards show and the weekend Fan Fest.

But this wasn’t a matter of pure kismet; the band had laid the groundwork in advance. Banjoist Jens Koch had attended IBMA on a number of occasions, and the entire band was there in 2008. They generated quite a buzz from their late night showcase slots last year, and worked the networking hard that whole week.

Perhaps most importantly, they retained US representation (Roe Entertainment) following IBMA 2008, and booked two brief tours here prior to IBMA ’09. Nothing shows an eagerness to perform in the US more than, well… performing in the US!

Jens shared a few impressions of their recent IBMA experience:

“We felt like we did a good performance on the main stage, and the energy in that room was great. I think that it’s great to have people sit down and enjoy the music with some food, that never hurts. We got great reactions after that showcase and to us it meant the world compared to doing all the late night showcases where very few people actually show up and personally I think that it’s hard to perform that well in a little showcase room due to our constant fight with jet-lag (it’s like 8 or 9 in the morning for us when we do late night showcases), less sound reinforcement and the small crowds. So we loved to play the brunch showcase.

Playing the Awards Show was such a treat. It felt very special to walk on that stage and I think one of us said ‘what the heck happened down there?’ as we came back to the dressing room in the Ryman, followed by ‘My record collection was sitting in the front row looking at me.’ Scary and nice at the same time. The vibe at the Ryman was definitely something else!”

Their second CD on Sweden’s Cosmos Records is due out shortly, and a number of US labels have expressed an interest in licensing it for distribution in the States.

G2 has plans for another US tour during the summer of ’10, and maybe two. Jim Roe of Roe Entertainment tells us that their exposure at IBMA this year has made a big difference in arranging dates for the band.

“It’s a great selling point that they played on the awards show – not everyone gets to play that show.

We had a lot of interest following their Wednesday showcase. One major festival contacted me right away about having them next year after hearing them live. We’re not sure yet whether they’ll be able to do it, but the immediate response was very encouraging.”

Jim said that they will be in the US from mid-June of 2010 through at least the end of July.

“Their tour will start at the Grass Valley Festival in California, and we also have them booked at ROMP in Louisville. They are booked at Mohican Bluegrass just before IBMA, and we are still filling open dates. If we can keep them busy all summer, the band will stay over here from June all the way up to IBMA in September.

They also did as many media appearances as possible while they were here this fall, including live sets for WAMU’s Bluegrass Country and Bluegrass Breakdown, syndicated on Tennessee Public Radio.

There was also a set for The Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, which was broadcast a few weeks ago on their many affiliate stations. Though primarily a radio show, Woodsongs also offers their programs on video, and you can see G2’s performance online, or in the player below. Just click the image if the player controls don’t appear.

http://128.163.130.14/woodsongs-547.wmv

G2 was so visible this year that a number of European bluegrass enthusiasts got to grumbling about how well they were treated at IBMA versus other acts that have made the trip. Acousticure, the 2008 EWOB band champs (from Hungary), made their first trip to IBMA this year, and they could do a lot worse than emulating the example G2 has set for success in the US market.

UPDATE 11/17: Dan Hays, executive director of IBMA, sent along a clarification about the showcase selection process as it involved G2.

“G2 was actually chosen for an official showcase performance slot based on their own merits and IBMA’s selection criteria….rather than assuming a slot reserved for an EWOB winner. In fact, IBMA does not reserve a slot for EWOB winners or any other competition from Europe, the US or elsewhere. All of IBMA’s official showcase artists are selected from amongst those that apply and best fulfill the criteria for those presentations and we wouldn’t want anyone to think G2 was chosen on anything other than their own merits and through processes open to everyone.”

The Quebe Sisters Band at IBMA

One of the surprise hits at IBMA last month was The Quebe Sisters Band (pronounced kway-bee). I had not seen them prior to IBMA, though the buzz about their highly entertaining shows had reached my ear. These three talented young ladies (Grace, Sophia and Hulda) from Fort Worth, TX specialize in classic Texas swing, and their presentation is dead-on perfect.

Not only do the sisters sing together in close three part harmony – eerily reminiscent of the Andrews Sisters – they complement their vocals with equally precise triple fiddles. Accompanied only by sock-rhythm guitar and an upright bass, their music is compelling, and to serious fans of this vintage slice of American music, a pure delight.

The Quebe Sisters Band have been performing together since 2000 with Drew Phelps on bass and Joey McKenzie on guitar. The Quebes met Joey through his music school (McKenzies’ Music and Instructional Studio) in Mansfield, TX, where they studied fiddle as very young girls. A spot on the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival brought the Quebes to a national audience, which led to guest spots on The Marty Stuart Show, The Grand Ole Opry and the Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree.

We spoke recently with Sherry McKenzie, who manages the studio with her husband, and also handles publicity for the band. They were extremely well-received at IBMA, but I was curious whether the positive reaction was converting to new opportunities for the band.

“We have received inquires and have been following up on these as well as getting in touch with contacts made during the week. It looks like the band will have the opportunity play a few states in 2010 that they have never been to before, as a direct result of IBMA.

As far as expanding our fan base, we gave away many CDs for radio airplay, and have had orders trickling in each week from folks who are hearing the QSB on their local bluegrass & Americana radio programs. We have had interest as well from people who didn’t attend IBMA, but have discovered the group by the official showcase videos that have made their way to YouTube.”

As we have asked a number of the official IBMA showcase acts, Sherry was asked whether the trip to Nashville was worth the trouble and expense.

“I definitely feel the benefits were worth the expense. And worth the lack of sleep too!! The crash course for new artists, mentor sessions, gig fair and seminars were invaluable and we all came home with useful information to apply to our business. We tried to map out our week ahead of time and plan what sessions to attend each day, in addition to setting up meetings. Although it was a fun week with jam sessions, attending showcases, meeting new friends and connecting with old friends, we tried to keep a balance of both entertainment and business.

Everyone enjoyed spending time in the exhibit hall visiting the booths. The week could have been much, much more expensive than it was, as Joey prowled around the exhibit hall all week long looking for just the right mandolin!

I would encourage other artists to attend IBMA at least one time to see if it is a good fit for them. Although the QSB is new on the scene, the bluegrass community was very welcoming and encouraging. From a business standpoint, it was extremely educational with information we can use all year long. Musically speaking, it was very inspiring!

We don’t have the opportunity to hear much bluegrass at live shows or festivals where we live in Texas, so it was great to finally meet and hear many of the people we admire but have only heard on recordings or the radio. We heard so many great bands and musicians, we were all very impressed and inspired. We were excited to be part of such a first-class event.”

The Quebe Sisters Band will be back in Nashville in Decmber, with appearances at The Station Inn, Music City Roots and The Opry. They will also tape another set for The Marty Stuart Show, and visit with Eddie Stubbs at WSM. A new album is also in the works.

Is there room for classic Texas Swing in the world of country, bluegrass and Americana music? If so, The Quebe Sisters Band have a bright future indeed.

Red Carpet 2009: John McEuen

Speaking of Steve Martin (see previous post), here’s another in our series of 2009 Red Carpet videos. These were filmed immediately prior to the IBMA Award Show.

This particular video features Doug McKelway interviewing John McEueun, who was instrumental in the production of Steve Martin’s newest CD, The Crow.

https://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/mceuen.flv?_=1

Red Carpet 2009: Gibson Brothers

Here’s another in our series of 2009 Red Carpet videos. These were filmed immediately prior to the IBMA Award Show.

This one features Katy Daley interviewing The Gibson Brothers, Eric and Leigh.

https://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/gibson.flv?_=2

Red Carpet 2009: Larry Stephenson

Here’s another in our series of 2009 Red Carpet videos. These were filmed immediately prior to the IBMA Award Show.

This particular video features Doug McKelway interviewing Larry Stephenson.

https://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/stephenson.flv?_=3

Red Carpet 2009: Terry & Cindy Baucom

Here’s another in our series of 2009 Red Carpet videos. These were filmed immediately prior to the IBMA Award Show.

This one features Katy Daley interviewing Terry & Cindy Baucom.

https://media.libsyn.com/media/thegrasscast/baucom.flv?_=4

Bankester Family at IBMA

In keeping with our theme of follow-up coverage of the 2009 World Of Bluegrass events in Nashville, here is a report from Phil Bankester, pater familias of The Bankester Family.

The band consists of Phil and Dorene Bankester, their daughters Melissa, Lindsey, Emily and Alysha, and one son-in-law, Kyle Triplett. They were among the invited showcase acts for this year, and Phil provided this after action report for our readers.

IBMA’s World of Bluegrass was a terrific experience for us. We have never attended the business conference before, and this was a real treat. We arrived at 3:00 am Monday, exhausted from playing fifteen shows at Silver Dollar City and then driving most of the night. I learned quickly of the alternate IBMA acronym, ‘I’ve Been Mostly Awake.’

As one of this year’s official showcase bands, I have to give a public ‘thank you’ to IBMA and all they did for us. Free registration for the whole band, a booth in the exhibit hall, early sign up for the gig fair, and then the opportunity to perform was, to us, a wonderful package and we’ll be forever grateful. We thought that the selection of seminars/workshops was very good. In many instances we split up and attended multiple simultaneous sessions. The IBMA education committee is really doing a fine job.

The booth seems to have been very beneficial. A lot of people came by there to see us, and to watch the music video as well. We connected with a good number of DJs in the exhibit hall

John Abrams stopped by the booth the day he was there to say hi to the girls and see the music video. We met the Abrams Brothers back in 2005 playing the same festival in North Carolina. An interesting bit of trivia… their first music video was a Becky Buller song, as is ours (Carolina Rain).

I think it’s pretty accurate to say that relatively few people knew of The Bankester Family before this past summer. Having been selected to showcase, we decided to do our best to generate some awareness prior to September 28. That’s what prompted the ‘behind the scenes’ video. That, along with learning how to make use of email blasts, and then the release of the finished music video a few days before WOB, actually seems to have worked fairly well.

The music video has been very well-received. I think something like that helps give a band some additional credibility. We’ve even had inquiry from some other artists interested in having us (Genuine Human Productions) produce music videos for them.

The younger girls really were quite in awe at the whole experience. They thoroughly enjoyed working the exhibit booth and visiting with so many folk. It was fun for them just walking around and being stopped by someone who had either seen the showcase or the video at some point. One of the real highlights for them was going to the awards show for the first time. They’re developing artists, but huge fans, too.

It’s important to remember that this was, indeed, a business conference and that’s why we were there. I think the contacts we made and the invitations we’ve received to festivals certainly made it a worthwhile experience for us.

I frequently say that Bluegrass is much more than a musical genre – it’s a community. Being at this year’s World of Bluegrass just drove the point home even harder. It was great being with so many wonderful people.