The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced that Claire Armbruster will serve as the producer of this year’s International Bluegrass Music Awards. The show takes place on Thursday, September 28 at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, NC.
Claire agreed to step in when a dispute between this year’s producer, Amy Reitnouer, and the IBMA’s Awards Oversight Committee arose over some confusion about artist collaborations during the show. As Amy is based on the west coast and was unable to attend this year’s production, she thought it best to step back and let someone else run the production side.
This is will be a return performance for Claire, as she had produced the awards show twice before in recent years. Hers is a familiar face on the bluegrass scene from her time working with Keith Case at KCA Artists and as Artistic Director at MerleFest.
Claire Armbruster, formerly with Case Co. Now runs her own company, Planning Stages. Also works with Grey Fox and did with MerleFest. These days she runs her own compnay, Planning Stages, an event planning organization in Nashville. She and Reitnouer and friends and will be working together to ensure a smooth transition.
Paul Schiminger, IBMA Executive Director, tells us that the show will retain its theme of The Bluegrass Songbook, with collaborations between different artists appearing throughout the show, but with some adjustments from the original plan to be all collaborative performances. Claire will make those decisions along with the Oversight Committee, and Paul says her personality is perfect for the job.
“Claire will be great, because she will be a calming influence. She’s organized, she’s smart, and she works well in the tense environment of an awards show.”
Tickets for the 2017 IBMA Awards Show are still available online.
