Bluegrass won’t fill Raleigh’s streets this fall. Here’s what’s planned instead.
Normally, more than 200,000 people crowd downtown Raleigh streets and music venues each fall for IBMA’s World of Bluegrass festival— a scenario that’s simply not possible during a pandemic.
But that doesn’t mean the show can’t go on.
The association announced on Tuesday that this year’s conference, showcases, awards and festival performances — slated for Sept. 28-Oct. 3 — will all be presented online.
Paul Schiminger, executive director of International Bluegrass Music Association, said in a media release that the challenge of presenting a large-scale music festival in the middle of the global coronavirus crisis forced the association to “reimagine” every aspect of the festival so that it could proceed, and perhaps even recruit some new fans.
“We hope to introduce new participants to the types of things we normally do in Raleigh so we can invite them to join us in person for the fun in 2021 and hopefully many years beyond,” Schiminger said.
Festival hoping to stay beyond 2021
The “many years beyond” in Schiminger’s statement points to the fact that IBMA is currently negotiating with the city of Raleigh to keep the festival here through 2024. The current contract between IBMA and the city has the festival in Raleigh through 2021.
Festival organizers put off any final decisions about this year as long as they could, hoping to move forward if COVID-19 data improved. But ensuring the safety of everyone if the festival continued as planned would be an “enormous, uncertain and risky proposition,” according to IBMA’s statement.
The World of Bluegrass festival generated an estimated $18.65 million in direct economic impact within Wake County last year, the highest single-year total for the festival, according to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Raleigh).
That was a significant increase from an estimated $12.7 million in 2018 and $11.7 million in 2017, even though attendance last year was down a bit to 218,000 from 223,000 the year before.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told The News & Observer on Tuesday that she is disappointed the festival can’t happen in person this year.
“IBMA is my favorite event in Raleigh — a week of great music, celebration and community. Needless to say we are disappointed, but this is the right decision for this year,” Baldwin said. “We’re looking forward to the biggest and best celebration next year.”
This year’s World of Bluegrass
The festival, which moved to Raleigh from Nashville in 2013, has featured some of the largest acts in bluegrass, such as Alison Krauss, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Rhiannon Giddens and others.
In addition to showcase performers, dozens of acts perform each year on a half dozen street stages in downtown Raleigh, known as the Bluegrass Ramble.
This year, all of that — in addition to the awards show, professional development sessions, networking events, an Exhibit Hall and more — will happen via free live streaming and on-demand platforms.
David Brower, executive director of PineCone, the Raleigh non-profit that produces the festival, says the virtual model, which potentially opens the festival to more people, could pay off for Raleigh next year.
“We hope that this experience will allow people to participate who haven’t been able to travel to Raleigh before, and that this will also inspire them to make plans to join us in Raleigh in 2021,” Brower said in the announcement.
PNC Bank will continue its presenting sponsorship this year, as it has since 2013.
This spring, IBMA announced more than a dozen acts slated to play the festival’s Bluegrass Ramble, including North Carolina acts Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves and Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa.
Other performers include Ali Shumate, Amanda Cook Band, The Arcadian Wild, Becky Buller Band, Colebrook Road, Jussi Syren & The Groundbreakers, The Kody Norris Show, Kristy Cox, Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Serene Green, Special Consensus, Stillhouse Junkies and the Williamson Branch.
The final group of showcase artists for the Bluegrass Ramble will be announced on June 18.
The nominees for the 31st annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards will be announced at 11 a.m. on June 26 on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction.
