This year during the IBMA World of Bluegrass, we are delighted to have Driven, one of the invited showcase acts, chronicling their experiences for us at Bluegrass Today. It is both an honor and an opportunity for a group to be invited to showcase, and we thought it would be interesting to follow one throughout their big week in Raleigh. Here is a road report from bass player, Blake McLemore. Look for more reports this week.
Before leaving for IBMA, the Driven “social committee” was hard at work on Saturday night in Conway Springs, KS, at the town’s annual fall festival. Jimmy and his wife Karla attended the festival with a youth bluegrass band that they help mentor, while Blake and Brandon arrived later and caught some rides and enjoyed the fireworks! What a great farewell to Kansas before we left for IBMA!
On Sunday afternoon Brandon, Blake, Jimmy and Karla loaded up from Wichita, KS and hit the road for what would be about a 20-hour drive. Before leaving, we weren’t sure four of us were going to fit in the van with all our gear! But, we proved to ourselves we still knew how to load a vehicle efficiently, and we even threw in a banjo! We went through Nashville at 4:00 a.m. and will arrive in Raleigh, NC on Monday in the early afternoon. Meanwhile, Jake and Rebekah flew out of Utah and should arrive around 5:30 p.m.
Along our drive we hit a great café, watched Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips, and shared lots of great stories. As we discussed our excitement for IBMA, we realized that we may actually see quite a few familiar faces at the event, so it will be great to get re-acquainted with folks! Other than Jake and Rebekah, this will be the first IBMA experience for the rest of Driven. We can’t wait to get there and see what it’s all about!
FYI – For all you Bluegrass Today readers who have never been to North Carolina, this place is beautiful!
