Wide Open Bluegrass Archives

IBMA rebrands weekend festival as Bluegrass Live!

Since the very beginning, the International Bluegrass Music Association has wrapped up its annual convention and business conference with a big music party, featuring top artists in the field. With the World of Bluegrass convention occurring during the week, the follow-up festival would fill the weekend after the business was concluded. Over the years it has had several names – Fan Fest, Wide Open Bluegrass – with proceeds donated to the IBMA Trust Fund to benefit industry professionals in need.

Today, in cooperation with their partners in Raleigh, NC and naming sponsor, PNC Bank, the IBMA has announced a new brand and title for the event, IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC. The new moniker will apply to both the big 2-day stadium show at the Red Hat Amphitheater, and the Friday/Saturday street festival which takes over downtown’s Fayetteville Street for the duration. Both events are free of charge, and all are invited to see and hear what bluegrass music has to offer, in all its diverse stylings. It is a major attraction for folks in the Triangle region, and as a tourist draw for visitors.

The 2020 edition is set for October 2-3, on the heels of World of Bluegrass, which will run from September 29-October 1. Artist lineups are expected to be announced soon, and IBMA’s Executive Director Paul Schiminger says that they feel like the new name clarifies a number of issues for everyone involved.

“We are excited on a number of fronts. The association’s branding for this important week in Raleigh has been improved to create more cohesiveness, and better continuity across the different underlying events. Additionally, we feel IBMA Bluegrass Live! eliminates confusion between World of Bluegrass and Wide Open Bluegrass, while capturing the energy and essence of this incredible festival that has 100+ bands playing to over 200,000 attendees. We are also happy to continue free general admission access to the Main Stage performances along with select reserve seating. The lineup for the festival’s Main Stage is shaping up to be incredible once again!”

That sentiment is echoed by David Brower, the recently installed Executive Director of Pinecone, who organizes and produces the street festival.

“All of us in Raleigh look forward to this week all year. We’ve been working with our partners at IBMA, the local organizing committee, and our sponsors on another exciting festival to cap off the most important week in bluegrass. There’s such a good vibe all week, it’s really something that needs to be experienced.”

As always, Bluegrass Today will be reporting from Raleigh that week, bringing you as much of the experience as we can online.

Further details about World of Bluegrass, the International Bluegrass Music Awards, and the Bluegrass Ramble – all taking place in the same week – can be found online.

Tara’s last day at Wide Open Bluegrass 2019

Family Sowell at Wide Open Bluegrass 2019 – photo © Tara Linhardt

Saturday was a jam-packed day at Wide Open Bluegrass, full of all sorts of great music from bluegrass legends, to hot new acts on the scene, and young soon-to-be rising stars. There were also some fun, family-friendly activities downtown. I noticed for the first time this year, people rappelling down the side of a 30 story building. It turns out they have been doing that for the last ten years, but I just noticed it this time. The rappelling took place Saturday down the Wells Fargo Center skyscraper in the downtown area, just down the street a bit from the Capital Stage. This is a fund raiser called Over The Edge for Special Olympics of North Carolina, which was estimated to raise around $120,000 for the cause. Already overwhelmed with so many great bands, and cool people to meet and jam sessions popping up, looking up to see people scaling down a huge building added to that exciting carnival feel. I wonder how many festival-goers ever looked up and noticed…

IBMA is a wonderful event pulling in bluegrass professionals, amateurs, and fans from all over the world. Some of the magic happens on the stages, some in the educational conferences and seminars, or in the Exhibit Hall, but also a lot of it occurs with the friends and connections that are made in every hallway, room, or sidewalk. The combination of all these elements is what can draw people from Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and all parts of the US.

World of Bluegrass and Wide Open Bluegrass are definitely seminal events for a bluegrass calendar, offering so much to so many, all in one place in a single week.

Here are just a few sites and sounds.

Crying Uncle performing EMD

Mountain Highway performing Ruby

Doing My Time by ShadowGrass

Green Grass Cloggers

Saturday images from Wide Open Bluegrass ’19

Molly Tuttle at the Red Hat for Wide Open Bluegrass 2019 – photo by Frank Baker

Here are some more photos from the final day of IBMA week in Raleigh, the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival at the Red Hat Amphitheater.

For the first time this year, admission to the Red Hat shows was free, at least for the lawn area, with tickets offered for the seats up front. Friday night threatened rain, but folks were lined up around the block to get in on Saturday.

Friday scenes from Wide Open Bluegrass

Billy Hurt at Wide Open Bluegrass 2019 – photo © Tara Linhardt

On Friday at Wide Open Bluegrass there were so many stages going, with great music all day and much of the night, both indoors and outdoors, that there was definitely something for everyone.

Some of my favorite musical acts were on the Youth Stage and the JAM program stage. The Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program is a 501c3 organization that provides after school music instruction in many communities in the Southern Appalachian region, to kids who otherwise might not have an opportunity to learn an instrument. Children can learn traditional mountain music styles on all the main instruments of the genre, as well as dance. Plus they get to go on field trips and attend community building activities. Many really hot professional musicians have come out of this program that helps kids learn the skills of musicianship, as well as the fun and sense of community that can accompany bluegrass and old time music.

For more details on this program, and how you can help, visit them online. Many of the young bands I saw on the JAM stage were highly skilled and experienced young pickers, and I highly recommend that you check them out whenever you can.

The Youth Stage just outside the Convention Center also had a focus on up-and-coming bluegrass talent. All weekend, young bands showcased on this stage along with the kids from the IBMA Kids on Bluegrass Program, which was headed up this year by Deanie Richardson, fiddler with Sister Sadie. Kids on Bluegrass is a program during the IBMA week that kids from all over can apply to join. The kids get some instruction in playing, but also in arranging, producing, promoting, emcee skills, and the like, with a chance to meet and play music with other young pickers from all over the country. It provides the Kids on Bluegrass youngsters one set on stage on Friday and one on Saturday to showcase their skills in bands that were created during the program.

Here are some photos and video clips from the day so you can see and hear some for yourself.

ShadowGrass at the JAM stage

Appalachian Road Show

Hubby Jenkins

The Burnett Sisters

Allison de Groot and Nic Gareiss

The Trailblazers

Delebration closes out Wide Open Bluegrass

Delebration, an all-star jam with Del McCoury, ands the 2019 Wide Open Bluegrass – photo by Frank Baker

The IBMA closed out their big annual festival, Wide Open Bluegrass, with an all-star jam based around our patriarch, Del McCoury, and his very talented family.

Joining Del on stage were Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Dierks Bentley, Sierra Hull, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ronnie Bowman, and every McCoury family member in sight, for a celebration of bluegrass and related musical forms as night fell in Raleigh, NC.

Weather had been a factor on Friday night, when lightning in the sky forced an early cancellation, but the stars were out for Saturday, in more ways than one.

Thanks to Frank Baker for his yeoman’s work all week chronicling the World of Bluegrass, The International Bluegrass Music Awards, and Wide Open Bluegrass last week. We’ll have more of his work as this week wears on.

College bluegrass bands at Wide Open Bluegrass 2019

Nothing highlights the explosive growth of bluegrass music among young people than the number of college programs offering instruction, and even full degree programs, in the music.

The International Bluegrass Music Association will be showcasing as many as a dozen performance groups from these programs during this year’s Wide Open Bluegrass events in September, presented through PNC.

Those who have attended Wide Open Bluegrass in years past know that it is the free music festival that follows the IBMA’s three-day business conference in Raleigh, NC each September. After the professional members of the organizations spend Tuesday through Thursday taking care of business at the Convention Center, downtown Raleigh is given over to bluegrass, with free concerts all day Friday and Saturday along Fayetteville Street, and a big stage festival in the adjacent Red Hat Amphitheater.

IBMA dedicates a stage on the weekend to Youth In Bluegrass, and nine colleges have already agreed to send their bluegrass ensembles to play.

Morehead State University, directed by Raymond McLain
Walters State Community College, directed by Chip McLain
Clemson University, directed by Ryan Wilson
East Tennessee State University, directed by Dan Boner
Eastern Kentucky University, directed by Pam Perry Combs
Glenville State College, directed by Dr. Megan Darby
Denison University, directed by Adam Schlenker
Pellissippi State Community College, directed by Dr. Larry Vincent
Warren Wilson College, directed by Dr. Ben Krakauer
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, directed by Russell Johnson

We understand that three other schools have been invited and are still trying to make arrangements to get their student bands to Raleigh to be a part of this.

The complete schedule for Wide Open Bluegrass will be released sometime this summer. Additional details can be found now online.

Wide Open Bluegrass now a free event!

The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced this morning that their Wide Open Bluegrass event, held each year at the Red Hat Ampitheater in Raleigh, NC, will become a free festival starting in 2019.

Not just the Wide Open Street Festival, held along Fayetteville Street downtown, which has been open to the public from its inception, but the big main stage show in the Red Hat is now free. Wide Open, even.

Attendees who want to ensure that they get premium seats up front can still purchase tickets, but sections behind that and the grassy area behind the seats will be available at no charge until the venue reaches its capacity. That means six hours of the top bluegrass acts on the scene are up for grabs on a first come, first served basis.

IBMA Executive Director, Paul Schiminger, says that they are delighted to be able to make this change, and throw open the doors to all comers in Raleigh.

“With the help of our Raleigh partners and key sponsors, IBMA is transitioning our festival to a free, mission-forward event – taking bluegrass to the masses by reducing all barriers to participation. All are welcome to come hear the best in bluegrass music today.”

Wide Open Bluegrass takes place each year at the end of IBMA’s signature business conference in Raleigh, World Of Bluegrass, held September 24-26 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Bluegrass professionals gather from all over the world to check out new acts, bolster their understanding of industry trends, talk and do business, and enjoy each other’s company. Then, on Thursday night, the organization will present its International Bluegrass Music Awards at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

More information about the performers for 2019 will be announced throughout the spring. Wide Open Bluegrass will continue to serve as a fundraiser for the IBMA Bluegrass Trust Fund, a most worthy effort of the association which provides financial assistance to bluegrass folks who are down on their luck. To date, the Fund has distributed more than $800,000 in aid, primarily to people experiencing medical difficulties. Donations to the Trust Fund are always welcome.

Reserved seats for Wide Open Bluegrass will go on sale to IBMA members on April 9. Any remaining seats will be offered to non-members on April 23.

You can find all the information about bluegrass week in Raleigh at the World Of Bluegrass web site.

More photos from Wide Open Bluegrass and the Awards Show

We’re continuing to go through the dozens of great photos Frank Baker took last week in Raleigh. Here are some more from the Wide Open Bluegrass festival at the Red Hat, plus a few from the Red Carpet before the International Bluegrass Music Awards.

There are more yet to come, including the StreetFest downtown and workshop activity in the convention center.

More Red Hat photos from Wide Open Bluegrass

Sister Sadie at the 2017 Wide Open Bluegrass festival – photo by Frank Baker

Here’s another gallery of Frank Baker’s images from the 2017 Wide Open Bluegrass festival in Raleigh, NC this past weekend. We have lots more to share!

IBMA announces schedule for Wide Open Bluegrass StreetFest

One of the reasons why the city of Raleigh and the Research Triangle in general have embraced the annual World of Bluegrass convention is the street festival that is held each year in conjunction with the IBMA’s big Wide Open Bluegrass festival. That festival is a ticketed event, with some of the most exciting acts in our music appearing on stage, but all day Saturday and Sunday (September 29-30) there are multiple stages with free entertainment on the streets downtown.

The city closes Fayetteville Street to vehicular traffic and turns the downtown area over for PNC Presents Wide Open Bluegrass StreetFest. No conference registration is required to attend these shows, nor a ticket for the main festival occurring simultaneously at the Red Hat Amphitheater. Food and crafts vendors also line the streets and a festive atmosphere reins at this special event put on for the benefit of local residents.

Brochures identifying the various stage locations will be provided on site, and alcoholic beverages are available at certain stage areas.

Here’s the weekend schedule.

City Plaza Stage – Friday

12:00 – Danny Paisley & Southern Grass
1:15 – Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
2:30 – The Ebony Hillbillies
3:45 – Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
5:00 – Adam Aijala, Ben Kaufmann, & Friends
6:15 – Tim O’Brien featuring Jan Fabricius
7:45 – Nick Forster & Danny Barnes
9:30 – The Gibson Brothers

City Plaza Stage – Saturday

12:00 – Flashback
1:15 – Joe Newberry & April Verch
2:30 – Kids on Bluegrass
3:45 – Songs from the Road Band
5:00 – Bryan Sutton & Casey Campbell
6:15 – Becky Buller Band
7:45 – Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley
9:30 – Chatham County Line ~ELECTRIC~

Davie Street Stage – Friday

12:15 – Strictly Strings
1:30 – Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, and Sam Gleaves – Tribute to Ola Belle Reed
2:45 – Zoe & Cloyd
4:00 – ShadowGrass
5:15 – Darin & Brooke Aldridge
6:30 – David Holt & Josh Goforth
8:00 – The Kruger Brothers
9:45 – Alan Bibey and Grasstowne

Davie Street Stage – Saturday

12:15 – ClayBank
1:30 – The Piney Woods Boys
2:45 – Snyder Family Band
4:00 – Mark Kuykendall, Bobby Hicks & Asheville Bluegrass
5:15 – Strictly Clean & Decent
6:30 – The Rorrer Brothers and Son
8:00 – Terry Baucom’s Dukes of Drive
9:45 – The Harris Brothers

Hargett Street Stage – Friday

12:30 – Carolina PineCones
1:45 – Chris Jones & the Night Drivers
3:00 – Dave Adkins Band
4:15 – The Grass Cats
5:30 – Tommy Edwards & Bluegrass Experience
6:45 – Missy Raines & The New Hip
8:15 – Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys
9:45 – Volume Five

Hargett Street Stage – Saturday

12:30 – Nixon, Blevins & Gage
1:45 – Williamson Brothers
3:00 – Hank, Pattie, and the Current
4:15 – Kristy Cox
5:30 – Sideline
6:45 – Claire Lynch
8:15 – Kenny & Amanda Smith
9:45 – The Slocan Ramblers

Capitol Stage – Friday

12:15 – FY5
1:30 – The Honey Dewdrops
2:45 – Irene Kelly
4:00 – Nedski and Mojo
5:15 – 10 String Symphony
6:30 – Molly Tuttle Band
8:00 – Front Country
9:45 – Town Mountain

Capitol Stage – Saturday

12:15 – The Outliers
1:30 – Ray Cardwell & Tennessee Moon
2:45 – Ms Adventure
4:00 – NewTown
5:15 – Scythian
6:30 – Jeff Scroggins & Colorado
8:00 – Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle
9:45 – Wood & Wire

Dance Tent – Friday

12:00 – Square Dance with Aaron Ratcliffe (calling) and Blue Ridge Broadcasters
2:00 – Zydeco Ya Yas
3:15 – Contra Dance with Beth Molaro (calling) and Steamshovel
5:00 – The Glorifying Vines Sisters
6:15 – Apple Chill Cloggers w/Patrick Walsh & Friends
7:30 – Open Dance w/ The Ebony Hillbillies
9:30 – Open Dance w/TBD

Dance Tent – Saturday

12:00 – Family Square Dance Kyle Johnston (calling) and Half Hog
2:30 – Clogging Performance & Workshop: Cane Creek Cloggers w/Strictly Strings
4:15 – Contra Dance with Beth Molaro (calling) and Steamshovel
6:15 – Clogging Performance: Green Grass Cloggers w/Uncle John & The Hollis Trio
7:30 – Open Dance w/The Gravy Boys
9:30 – Open Dance w/Scythian

Junior Appalachian Musicians (J.A.M.) @ Martin Street – Friday

12:00 – Ruth Shumway & The High Ridge Pickers
1:00 – Eliza Meyer & Friends
2:00 – Ashe JAM Band
3:00 – Yates Family & Acoustic Heritage
4:00 Virginia Luthiers Band w/ Wayne Henderson & Karlie Keepfer
5:00 – Strictly Strings
6:00 – Cane Mill Road
7:00 – ShadowGrass
8:00 – Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & Jerry Salley
9:30 – The Trailblazers

Junior Appalachian Musicians (J.A.M.) @ Martin Street – Saturday

12:00 – Karlie Keepfer & Friends
1:00 – The Hill Family
2:00 – Tater Hill Mashers
3:00 – Creekside Crawfish
4:00 – Lang Sisters
5:00 – Cane Mill Road
6:00 – Strictly Strings
7:00 – Joe Newberry & April Verch
8:00 – The Trailblazers
9:30 – ShadowGrass

Youth Stage – Friday

12:00 – Dreamcatcher
1:00 – Michelle Canning Band
2:00 – Circus No. 9
3:00 – Strictly Strings
4:00 – The Sowell Family Pickers
5:00 – IBMA’s “Kids on Bluegrass” Ensembles
7:00 – Berklee Bluegrass All Stars
7:50 – Warren Wilson College
8:40 – East Tennessee State University

Youth Stage – Saturday

12:00 – Seven Pine
1:00 – Jonah Riddle and Carolina Express
2:00 – #MASHTAG
3:00 – That Dalton Gang
4:00 – Salt and Light
5:00 – Morehead State University
5:50 – Pellissippi State Community College
6:40 – Berea College
7:30 – Glenville State College
8:20 – Denison University

It’s always a party out on the street during Wide Open Bluegrass, where new bluegrass fans are made each year.