The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced the 2014 class for their Leadership Bluegrass program. Each year IBMA selects roughly two dozen people from within the bluegrass industry to their three-day event, designed to foster networking and mentoring for future leaders in the bluegrass world.
This 15th annual get-together will be held March 20-22 in Nashville. Attendees are chosen from a candidate pool made up of applications submitted to the IBMA, and attention is paid to selecting a wide range of ages, vocations, and geographical locations.
We are especially proud to note that our Special Bluegrass Correspondent, John Goad, is among this year’s class. John writes several reviews for us each month, and provides our peerless weekly Bluegrass Weather Report.
The 2014 class includes:
- Alane Anno – Alane Anno Photography (Hendersonville, TN)
- Richard Bicknell – Bluegrass Association of Maine (Windham, ME)
- Sherrill Blackman – The SDB Music Group (Nashville, TN)
- Seamus Brady – G7th Ltd (Peterborough, UK)
- Lizard Thom Case – Bobby’s Idle Hour/ Songwriter (Nashville, TN)
- Taylor Coughlin – IBMA (Nashville, TN)
- Jamie Deering – Deering Banjos (Spring Valley, CA)
- Mark Dillon – University of North Carolina Greensboro (Randleman, NC)
- Pam Gadd – Songwriter & Musician (Joelton, TN)
- John Curtis Goad – East Tennessee State University/ Bluegrass Today (Rogersville, TN)
- Pattie Hopkins – Kickin Grass (Winterville, NC)
- Nate Lee – Chuck Lee Bando Company/ Alan Munde Gazette (Nashville, TN)
- Ted Lehmann – Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books & Brainstorms ((Keene, NH)
- Chris Luquette – Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen (Alexandria, VA)
- Cameron Matthews – AOL Music/ The Bluegrass Situation (Astoria, NY)
- Patrick McAvinue – Audie Blaylock & Redline (Parkton, MD)
- Matt Merta – Songwriter/Artist/Manager/Freelance Writer (Dearborn, MI)
- Daniel Perry – Belmont University (Nashville, TN ), Student Monitor
- Claire Ratliff – Laughing Penguin Publicity (Nashville, TN)
- Cass B. Scripps – Agency for the Performing Arts/APA (Nashville, TN)
- Matthew Slocum – DC Bluegrass Union (Falls Church, VA)
- Amanda Smith – Kenny & Amanda Smith (Lebanon, TN)
- Anna Sommerville – Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
- Rick Sparks – Northern Nevada Bluegrass Association (Reno, NV)
- Ashlee Jean Trott – Music City Roots (Nashville, TN)
- Vickie Vaughan – Vickie Vaughn Band (Nashville, TN)
A volunteer Leadership Bluegrass planning committee manages the event each year. For 2014, the committee consists of: Alan Tompkins (Chair), Louis Meyers (vice-chair), Joan Kornblith, Jean Spivey, Emilee Warner, Ben Surratt, Nolan Lawrence, Trisha Tubbs (facilitator), and Nancy Cardwell (staff liaison).
More details on Leadership Bluegrass can be found online.
