One of the most unforgettable highlights for 100 people attending IBMA’s World of Bluegrass week last week took place at the top of the North Rotunda of the Chattanooga Convention Center on Saturday morning, September 20: the Biscuits for Bluegrass breakfast and silent auction that raised more than $22,000 for the IBMA Foundation.
Tickets sold out for the event two days after being made available to the public, but the decision was made to remain in the enchanting, 100-seat location for the first year, with an outdoor patio and a breathtaking view of the long convention center hall and artistic ceiling reminiscent of a vintage railroad station.
“The goal of the event was to share information about the IBMA Foundation—who we are and what we do—in hopes that more people in the bluegrass community will be interested in creating a bluegrass legacy to support the future of bluegrass music and make it brighter,” said IBMA Foundation executive director Nancy Cardwell.
“I was honored to be invited to serve as emcee and talk about the impact I am already seeing the Terry Baucom Bluegrass Education Grants making,” said Cindy Baucom, host of the syndicated radio show, Knee-deep in Bluegrass and founder of the one-year-old educational grant that helps cover the cost of bluegrass lessons and camps, instrument repair, and educational materials for musicians of any age through the IBMA Foundation. “From the silent auction to the incredible songs shared by some of the industry’s top artists, it was personally one of the most memorable aspects of this year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass.”
VIP bluegrass artists invited to sit at the tables plus a few more stars who showed up as guests included Richard Brown, Becky Buller & Ned Luberecki (Becky Buller Band), Greg Cahill and Greg Blake (Special Consensus), Dudley Connell and Sally Love (Johnson Mountain Boys, Seldom Scene, Seneca Rocks), Wyatt Ellis, Rick Faris, Chris Henry (Peter Rowan Band, Shawn Camp), Jim Lauderdale, Doyle Lawson, Missy Raines and Ben Surratt (Missy Raines & Allegheny), Deanie Richardson and Dani Flowers (Sister Sadie), Pete and Joan Wernick (Hot Rize), and Ben Wright (The Henhouse Prowlers),
Led by jam master Becky Buller, you can imagine how thrilling it was for the audience members to be up close and personal for the all-star jam session that moved from table to table around the outside wall of the circular room. There were twin fiddles from Buller and Deanie Richardson; twin and triple banjos from Greg Cahill, Ned Luberecki, and Ben Wright; and twin mandolins from Chris Henry and his former student Wyatt Ellis; plus powerful vocals from Dudley Connell, Joan and Pete Wernick, Jim Lauderdale, Becky Buller, Dani Flowers, Greg Blake, Chris and Wyatt, and more—with Missy Raines driving the entire ensemble on bass as only the renowned 2025 IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award recipient can do.
The song list featured a spirited “Wheel Hoss,” “Sitting Alone in the Moonlight” with Lauderdale on lead and three-part harmony, “Our Last Goodbye” from Dudley Connell with Wyatt and Chris on the Stanley harmonies, “Blue Kentucky Girl” from Dani Flowers with harmony from Greg Blake, “Old Joe Clark” with banjos leading off, “Be Nobody’s Darling but Mine” with a sweet duet from the Wernicks, and Monroe’s “True Life Blues” with Buller and Connell on vocals.
Biscuits for Bluegrass table sponsors included Milton Harkey (Bluegrass First Class and ATS Records); Keith Barnacastle (Turnberry Records, The Bluegrass Standard, Get It Played); Richard Brown (in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Boston Bluegrass Union and Arnold Shultz’s induction into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame); Katy Daley and Bill Brown; Laurie Greenberg; Mark Schuster; Trusha Tubbs; John and Celia Young; and General Biscuit sponsor Lee Zapis.
“The first ever Biscuits for Bluegrass fundraising breakfast was a wonderful way to bring the bluegrass family together at World of Bluegrass,” said IBMA Foundation board member Wendy Tyner, who organized the Silent Auction.
A hearty breakfast with live music for fans and industry leaders with some of their favorite bluegrass artists (plus a cool souvenir coffee cup) is a great idea for a really good cause, and the silent auction that kicked off online two weeks in advance of Biscuits for Bluegrass added even more excitement. A big salute to IBMA Foundation Philanthropy Committee chair Sam Blumenthal who headed up the production team, Katy Daley and Mona Salyer who recruited and communicated with VIP artists, the sponsors and volunteers, and the entire committee and board support that made the event a success.
Attendees are already asking about Biscuits for Bluegrass 2026, which seems likely. Stay tuned to the IBMA Foundation website, social media pages, and The Cornerstone for news as it is available.
Since 2007, the IBMA Foundation has awarded more than half a million dollars in bluegrass-related grants, scholarships, and program support across the U.S. and around the world. The Foundation’s 12 agency endowment funds at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee support much of the Foundation’s ongoing work.
For more information on the IBMA Foundation and how you can create your own legacy to help bluegrass music keep growing and making the world a better place for decades to come, please go to www.bluegrassfoundation.org or email info@bluegrassfoundation.org.
RETURN to the October 2025 issue of The Cornerstone.
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