Past attendees, exhibitors or sponsors of the IBMA World Of Bluegrass will have by now received the informational brochure for the 2011 event, scheduled for September 26-29 in Nashville. The brochure details the many events that will occur during the week – plus the Fan Fest that follows September 30-October 2 – with prices, ticketing options and order forms included.
The introductory text makes reference to reduced daily rates for certain segments of the WOB activities, but these aren’t detailed elsewhere in the brochure as these tickets can not be purchased in advance.
IBMA has created a new day pass for two of the more popular destinations during WOB, ones that will offer immediate benefits to vendors and showcase artists. These are both groups that expend considerable time and capital to put their best foot forward during IBMA week, and who have been particularly frustrated by recent declines in attendance.
The exhibit hall pass will admit you to the vendors’ expo hall for only $20/day, with admission open to all at no charge on Wednesday afternoon (9/28). Many instrument builders, dealers, broadcasters and other bluegrass businesses exhibit during World Of Bluegrass, and these special day rates will surely bring them a much greater potential audience in the hall.
Likewise, the official evening showcases (Mon-Wed) will offer individual, at-the-door tickets for only $25/day. The hope is that more talent buyers and Music City journalists – not to mention fans – will be likely to attend these concerts with this single-shot pricing.
IBMA says that they will be set up to accept payment on site for either the exhibit hall or the showcase concerts.
This restructuring will also affect the evening schedules during WOB. There will be a pair of Keynote Addresses, Monday afternoon at 12:30, and Tuesday morning at 10:30, with an attendee happy hour scheduled each evening just prior to the start of the official showcases.
These various changes were implemented after consideration of the member survey conducted by IBMA earlier this year, with an eye towards making the event more useful to more people, both members and non-members alike.
