The IBMA Foundation has awarded a total of $13,500 for eight Arnold Shultz Fund grants to programs and individuals in four states, China, Kenya, Thailand, and Uganda. The Arnold Shultz Fund was established in 2020 by the IBMA Foundation to encourage participation in bluegrass music by people of color.
“We’re proud to announce a continuing pattern of strong support for Arnold Shultz Fund grants in 2024,” said Dr. Richard Brown, co-chair of the Arnold Shultz Fund advisory committee along with Neil Rosenberg, Ph.D. “The Shultz Fund committee has awarded over $90,000 in grants since the program began in 2020, plus an additional $30,000 from 2022-24 for the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, which came from proceeds from the annual Pisgah Banjo Company fundraising raffle.”
“The IBMA Foundation seeks to offer a proactive, helping hand to individuals who come from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the bluegrass community,” Brown said. “Bluegrass music belongs to everyone who wants to listen to it or play it. We are grateful to donors who continue to support the Arnold Shultz Fund and all the other Foundation initiatives. Their generosity has made it possible to award grants to these very deserving musicians and program organizers.”
2025 Arnold Shultz Fund grant recipients:
The Banjo Gathering (Baltimore, Maryland & Berkeley, California) – Funds will be used for Roots Revival programming at the Baltimore Old Time Music Festival and the Berkeley Old time Music Gathering. Panelists at the event in Baltimore will include Jake Blount, Kaia Kater, Nelson Williams, and Trey Wellington. At Berkeley panelists will discuss creating community for Black traditional musicians through documentaries and music festivals.
The Black Banjo Reclamation Project (Oakland, California) – Funds will support artist and educator stipends for programs to be presented at the California Bluegrass Association’s Father’s Day Festival, including workshops, performances, a presence at the luthier’s pavilion, and a booth. The artists will be at the CBA event to gain knowledge and to share cultural insights and music. The Black Banjo Reclamation Project affinity group is the first of its kind and aims to bring access to Black musicians in pursuit of bluegrass.
Eric Shi (Yunnan Province, China) – The grant will be used to help fund educational bluegrass videos for the promotion of bluegrass music in China, to educate Chinese bluegrass musicians, and to support intercultural connections. In his application Shi said, “In this project, I plan to discover bluegrass music players from around China to create music in the bluegrass style and to make bluegrass music videos with. This will help expose traditional bluegrass music to the world and show people the unique charm of bluegrass music when it is integrated with different music styles and instruments.”
Jam Pak Blues & Bluegrass (Chandler, Arizona) – The grant will beused for instructor stipends, media production, supplies, daily snacks, and three dinners at the Jam Pak Summer Bluegrass Camp. There will be 18 instructors and coaches. The camp is free for attendees, and 50 participants are expected.
Michael Stein (Uganda) – A grant to “Finger Grass from the Serengeti Meets Kentucky”will be used to support continued educational programs in Uganda that utilize bluegrass instruments in local music traditions—specifically, for rehearsals and group lessons with African musicians. In previous years, Stein has taken guitars, and then mandolins to Uganda for this program. It’s the year for banjos in 2025.
Savannah Music Festival (Savannah, Georgia) -Funds will be used to support educational and performance activities of current Artist in Residence, Kaia Kater. During her 13-month residency which continues through October 2025, Kater will perform as part of the Savannah Music Festival’s Musical Explorers program and will lead a year-long songwriting workshop for local musicians.
Bluegrass Underground Bangkok (Bangkok, Thailand) – A grant to Bluegrass Underground Bangkok will be used for video and photography, as well as educational and marketing materials for the first bluegrass festival recently held in Thailand, the South Eastern Old Time Gathering. The event, which also includes old-time music and Irish music, is a one-day event with 15 acts showcasing bluegrass through music, storytelling, and a wide variety of musical styles such as Scruggs-style banjo.
Thomas Wolf (Nairobi, Kenya)– A grant will support the expense of fiddle lessons from a local Kenyan violin teacher for the two Kenyan fiddlers in the Elephant Grass Musical Chairs band in Nairobi, founded and led by banjo player Tom Wolf. The grant will also allow the violin teacher to become more familiar with bluegrass fiddling and integrate it into her teaching in various Kenyan schools, as well as eventually become an Elephant Grass Musical Chairs band member (or substitute) herself.
Arnold Shultz (1886 – 1931) was an African American musician from western Kentucky. Best known as an extraordinary guitarist and fiddle player, Shultz often played with Bill Monroe’s fiddle-playing uncle, Pendleton (“Pen”) Vandiver. It was at these gigs that Monroe met Arnold Shultz and began to emulate his backup guitar style. Shultz was impressed enough with Monroe’s progress that he hired Monroe to play guitar with him at dances, thereby giving Monroe his first jobs as a professional musician. Monroe often credited Shultz with influencing his approach to playing music.
The deadline to apply for the next round of Arnold Shultz Fund grants is January 31, 2026. Qualified individual applicants may also inquire throughout the year about support on a case-by-case basis. For information on applying for an Arnold Shultz Fund grant, becoming a sponsor of an IBMA Foundation Arnold Shultz Fund project or individual grant, or making a donation to the Arnold Shultz Fund, please visit bluegrassfoundation.org or email info@bluegrassfoundation.org.
RETURN to the April 2025 issue of The Cornerstone.
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