I hope to see many of you at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass (“WOB”) week in Raleigh, North Carolina, September 24-28. If you haven’t checked out all the details announced so far, stop now and go to https://worldofbluegrass.org/ and take a look.
As a member of IBMA since 1992, an IBMA staff member from 1994 – 2015 and now with the IBMA Foundation (formerly the Foundation for Bluegrass Music) since 2016, it’s been my job be at World of Bluegrass for 29 of those years. But to be honest, I would probably attend anyway. WOB is as much of a bluegrass family reunion as it is an opportunity to hear new talent, learn from each other, network, and honor accomplishments.
The first year I attended World of Bluegrass in 1992, I drove up from Missouri with my friend, Rhonda. I was dumbfounded to walk around the corner at the Executive Inn in Owensboro, Kentucky, to find Peter Rowan singing a duet with Hazel Dickens. (Hazel Dickens!) Quoting The Wizard of Oz, I thought: “Dorothy, you’re definitely not in Kansas anymore!” I’m sure first-time attendees of WOB still have similar experiences.
In 1992 we were pre-internet and cell phones, so it was essential to attend the IBMA Business Conference, International Bluegrass Music Awards, and the Bluegrass Fan Fest in order to do business. Now that it’s so easy to stay in touch online and with our telephones, it may not be as crucial to get together as an industry, but it’s still important to have those face-to-face meetings and reunions with old friends.
Please get your calendars out now and plan to attend the following IBMA Foundation and education-related events at World of Bluegrass in Raleigh. And be sure to drop by the Foundation booth in the Expo Hall to say hello in person and contribute to the scholarship and grant fundraising “tip jars.” Folks who donate $100 or more will receive a set of custom-designed scholarship/ grant note cards created by award-winning designer Mike Armistead.
We’re raising funds for: the Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship, the Fletcher Bright Memorial Grant for Young Musicians, the J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship, the Katy Daley Broadcast Media & Sound Engineering Scholarship, the Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship, the IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship, the Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship, the Neil Rosenberg Bluegrass Scholar Award, Arnold Shultz Fund grants, and two more that we will be announcing on September 26! Be sure to drop by the booth and “tip” J.D. or Katy or Sally Ann—or all of them! With your help, we can support the future of bluegrass music and keep it growing strong for generations to come.
You’ll also want to check out the vintage prize Deering banjo which will be the prize for the 2025 Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle in April, 2025!
Please mark these dates:
Tuesday, September 24
1-2 pm Why Bluegrass Jamming Matters. . . in Public Schools and Beyond, with Annie Savage, Dr. Pete Wernick, Nancy Cardwell (#305A-B)
Wednesday, September 25
1-5 p.m. Expo Hall
9:45-10:45 a.m. Emcee Masterclass-part 2, with Katy Daley, Cindy Baucom, Jim Lauderdale, Ben Wright (#304), sponsored by the Eppes-Jefferson Foundation and hosted by the IBMA Foundation
Thursday, September 26
11 a.m.-1 p.m. IBMA Industry Awards Luncheon (with special announcement from IBMA Foundation board chairperson Trisha Tubbs and Nancy Cardwell)
1-5 p.m. Expo Hall
3:40-4:30 p.m. “One Time at Bluegrass Camp,” with Megan Lynch, Jodi Harbin, Vickie Vaughn, Austin Scelzo (#305)
1:45-4:45 p.m. Roots Revival: Black Stringband Symposium (Details at: Roots Revival: A Black Stringband Symposium), funded in part by an IBMA Foundation Arnold Shultz Fund grant – Raleigh Convention Center
Friday, September 27
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Expo Hall
11:15 a.m.-5 p.m. Roots Revival: Black Stringband Symposium (Raleigh Convention Center)
6:30-11 p.m. Bluegrass College Band Showcase (Martin Street/J.A.M. Stage)
6:30-7 p.m. Warren Wilson College Bluegrass Band
7:30-8 p.m. East Tennessee State University Bluegrass Pride Band
8:30-9 p.m. Berklee College of Music Women and Non-Binary People in Roots Ensemble
9:30-10 p.m. Colorado College Bluegrass Ensemble
10:30-11 p.m. Morehead University Mountain Music Ambassadors
Saturday, September 28
11 a.m.-6 p.m. IBMA Foundation booth in Expo Hall
1-2:30 p.m. Bluegrass College Info Session (#306) Moderator: Trisha Tubbs. High school students and their parents are invited to hear about bluegrass degree and ensemble programs from several colleges, with a live performance from each student band present. Educators and students from most of the ten college band programs listed below will be present.
6:30 – 11 p.m. Bluegrass College Band Showcase (Martin Street/J.A.M. Stage)
6:30-7 p.m. Carolina Bluegrass Band (UNC)
7:30-8 p.m. Owensboro Community & Technical College Capital Bluegrass Band
8:30-9 p.m. Denison University Bluegrass Ensemble
9:30-10 p.m. UNC-Asheville Bluegrass Band
10:30-11 p.m. Lawrence University Bluegrass Band
Y’all come! We’ll see you there!
-Nancy Cardwell
RETURN to the September 2024 issue of The Cornerstone.
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