Inaugural International Pavilion at IBMA WOB 2023

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announce that this year's IBMA World Of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC, will present for the first time an International Pavilion, featuring bands from South Korea, Slovakia, Canada, Australia, Norway, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the USA. The sponsoring bodies are Bluegrass in La Roche, Dark Shadow Recording, Bluegrass Ambassadors, and Ear Trumpet Labs. The full lineup (which includes several names familiar to bluegrassers in Ireland) can be read here.

© Richard Hawkins

Titbits from the bluegrass media

In memory of the late Bobby Osborne the staff of the Bluegrass Situation (BGS) present a 2022 podcast interview with Bobby by radio presenter Tom Power in his 'Toy heart' series. The interview covers many episodes from Bobby's career, including his combat service with the US Marine Corps in the Korean war. A note to BGS staff: though Sonny Osborne retired and died before Bobby, he was not Bobby's older brother, but nearly six years younger.

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Also on the BGS, Rachel Baiman (past-visitor and almost-visitor to Ireland) talks to Tim O'Brien about the themes of his latest album, Cup of sugar, about writing songs from the perspective of animals or other people, the way in which his own writing has developed over decades, and more. The interview includes four songs from YouTube.

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Justin Hiltner presents BGS's 'favourite albums of 2023 (so far)', and there's a strikingly high proportion of bluegrass and bluegrass-related material among them, including Rachel Baiman's Common nation of sorrow, Michael Cleveland's Lovin' of the game, Ashby Frank's Leaving is believing, Haas by Brittany and Natalie Haas, Brennen Leigh's Ain't through honky tonkin' yet, Darren Nicholson's Wanderer, Nickel Creek's Celebrants, Mighty Poplar's Mighty Poplar, and City of gold by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. Videos of songs from each of these albums and a corresponding Spotify playlist are in Justin Hiltner's feature.

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As the BIB mentioned on 11 June, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Folkways Records by reissuing many classic Folkways LPs on vinyl, including The New Lost City Ramblers with Cousin Emmy (1968). Smithsonian's e-newsletter says the album 'rekindled traditions of southern mountain music, introducing them to wider audiences'. By 1968 the Ramblers had been a performing group for ten years and this was their twentieth album, so it seems likely that they were already doing a reasonable job of rekindling traditions.

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The July issue of the Bluegrass Standard, which can be seen online, has a subtitle to the cover, 'Preserving the tradition of bluegrass music into the future'. This is not an inward-looking message, as is shown by several articles about Folk Alliance International, the International Council for Traditional Music, Mari Black, the 'multi-style violinist', country singer Marty Falle, and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

© Richard Hawkins

The EBMA - to be or not to be?

The board of the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) has announced on the EBMA Facebook that it will recommend to the membership that the Association should be dissolved. The board's statement continues:

This decision has come after serious consideration about the role and ambitions of EBMA, its resources and its effectiveness, as well as the growth in national and local initiatives that play a much greater part in supporting and promoting bluegrass music around Europe.

EBMA has made a large contribution to bluegrass music in Europe and has been a strong advocate for the music originating from within Europe. Now, it is time to recognise that EBMA, as an association of members, is not sustainable.

The Board has set in motion a plan to close down EBMA over the coming months in accordance with its rules and to meet its financial and legal obligations.

It is reported that a more comprehensive and detailed statement will be sent to all EBMA members for their comments; that the EBMA has no financial problems; that all moneys received since 1 Jan. 2022 are being refunded; that any remaining financial assets will be distributed to organisations with similar aims through a clear and transparent process; and that as the EBMA is constituted under Swiss law, all appropriate procedures will be followed.

There have already been responses urging that the EBMA can and should be continued, and further developments are sure to come. Since its foundation in 2001, the EBMA has shown its recognition of bluegrass in Ireland: in 2013 Niall Toner received the first ever EBMA award of European Bluegrass Personality of the Year (see the BIB for 10 Mar. 2013), and two years later two gifted young Irish banjo-players, Evan Lyons of Co. Tipperary and Tabitha Agnew of Co. Armagh, were awarded the first two EBMA Youth Scholarships to attend the 2016 Sore Fingers Week in England (see the BIB for 13 Nov. 2015). In 2014 the EBMA received the International Bluegrass Music Association's Distinguished Achievement Award.

© Richard Hawkins

Shane Hennessy - coming events

Carlow guitar maestro Shane Hennessy announces that he will be playing with the great Tommy Emmanuel (above, right), his friend and mentor, at two dates in Germany at the beginning of the coming week: in Darmstadt tomorrow (Mon. 7 Nov.) and Munich on Tues. 8 Nov. Shane will not now he playing the Dresden date (Wed. 9 Nov.) announced earlier. Tickets are available for his free-entry show at the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone, on 27 Nov. On the poster (right), Tommy Emmanuel is quoted: 'Shane transcends the guitar the same way Muhammed Ali transcended boxing'.

Shane will also be appearing as an official showcase artist at the 35th annual Folk Alliance International Conference, to be held in Kansas City, MO, on 1-5 Feb. 2023.

© Richard Hawkins

EBMA needs YOU!

The European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) announced on its Facebook on 23 May:

In recent years EBMA was restructured to proactively support fans, bands and artists, festivals, young musicians and commercial partners.

In addition to providing information and being a focal point for bluegrass in Europe, EBMA has financially supported young musicians through the Youth Scholarship programme; it has created a musicians network; it has contributed prize money for the European bluegrass band competition at La Roche, as well as making grants available for band projects and new events. Member bands and artists, festivals and commercial partners also have their own dedicated pages on the EBMA website.

Now that life is getting back to somewhere near normal, EBMA is also coming back to life.

… But!! we do not have enough resources within the EBMA Board to maintain this level of commitment and so we need more people to join the EBMA Board and take an active role in the following Business Areas:

Membership - Membership administration and members point-of-contact. Promoting EBMA, increasing membership and developing cost effective proposals for members benefits.

Member Bands and Artists - Regular contact and liaison to promote their activities and CD reviews. Updates for their EBMA website pages and promotion on social media.

Member Festivals - Regular contact and liaison to promote their activities. Updates for their EBMA website pages and promotion on social media. Listings other festivals on the events agenda.

Commercial Partners - Regular contact to promote their products and services, updates for their EBMA web pages and promotion on social media.

Youth Scholarships - Processing and approving applications. Regular contact and liaison with the organisers of workshops and camps. EBMA point of contact for the new initiative 'Kids on Bluegrass Europe'.

Audio and Video Broadcast - Point of contact and development. EBMA already has an Internet radio outlet for European bluegrass and has been invited to participate in an Internet video channel for acoustic music.

Newsletter - Define the content and produce a regular newsletter in coordination with the webmaster.

Social Media - Developing EBMA presence on social media, and coordinating with other business managers and the webmaster.

Finance - Support the Finance Manager with overall financial control and annual audit.

Without more support, EBMA will not be able to do all that it should be doing and may even have to close.

If you are interested in the future of European bluegrass and feel you might be able take on the work involved, then for further information and more detail on what it would involve, please email us at board@ebma.org.

BIB editor's note: The very first EBMA Youth Scholarships went in 2015 to two young banjo-players from this island: Evan Lyons of Co. Tipperary and Tabitha Agnew of Co. Armagh. See the BIB for 13 Nov. 2015.

La Roche 2022 (3-7 Aug.) - lineup and complete schedule announced

Thanks to the European Bluegrass Music Association Facebook for the news that the lineup and full programme schedule for this year's La Roche Bluegrass Festival, on the edge of the French Alps, can now be seen online. At the top of the bill are Missy Raines & Allegheny (see the BIB of 21 Jan.), among half-a-dozen US acts and some of the cream of bluegrass bands from all parts of Europe.

La Roche (as its website proudly claims) is the largest festival in Europe dedicated exclusively to bluegrass music and all concerts are completely free of admission charges.

© Richard Hawkins

European bluegrass CDs wanted for new EBMA radio show

CONGRATULATIONS to Ronnie Norton (left) of Dublin, ace bluegrass photographer, critic, reporter, and radio presenter, who is taking up a major role in promoting the cause of bluegrass in Europe.

The board of directors of the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) announce to EBMA national representatives and supporters:

European Bluegrass has been very quiet these past months, as you might expect. However, we do have some good news for you and the European bluegrass community.

We are very pleased to announce a regularly scheduled EBMA internet radio show dedicated to promoting European bluegrass. The show will go out on 2 July on the established platforms of WorldWideBluegrass.com and BluegrassCountry.org.

Ronnie Norton, who has recently joined the EBMA board together with Mats Wikström, will host the show. Ronnie is an experienced and well-known broadcaster on country and bluegrass internet radio stations.

We are currently compiling a list of European bands to invite them to submit CDs. Please check for your country and fill in any gaps for bands that we have missed. We need the name of the band of course, as well as the name of the person to contact and the contact email address.

Check band list here.

Please add it directly to this shared sheet above if possible or send your input to webmaster@ebma.org.

Thanks for your help and commitment to European bluegrass.
It may be some time before we return to 'normal'.

Stay safe!
EBMA Board

Update 8 June: Ronnie has some up-to-date news on the airing of the show, which we hope to be able to post very shortly.

Tony de Boer

The BIB learns with regret of the death of Tony de Boer, 'grandfather of Canadian bluegrass', on 20 May. Tony was born in the Netherlands eighty-one years ago; and though his family moved to Canada when he was 9, he always gave a very warm welcome to the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) contingent attending IBMA's World Of Bluegrass events over the years, and saw to it that the EBMA's hospitality suite was well supplied with Canadian beer. His much greater achievements for bluegrass in Canada, over nearly half a century, are indicated on Bluegrass Today.

The EBMA takes a further step forward

Thanks to Eugene O'Brien, chairman of the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA), for a copy of the following message which has been sent to selected EBMA members throughout Europe:

Dear Bluegrass Friends,

As its main priority, EBMA is focused on sustaining and growing European bluegrass by actively promoting European bands, festivals, commercial activities, concerts workshops/camps and any other bluegrass-orientated events or activities.

Having been quiet for some time we now have a new dynamic website, with a musicians network and individual pages for Member Bands and Partners. We have negotiated discounts for Paige capos, Banjo Newsletter, and the Station Inn TV, with hopefully more to come. We continue with Youth Scholarships and are partnering the La Roche Festival with prize money in the European Band Competition.

We are creating a network of national/regional representatives who will be a full part of the EBMA structure; to be the EBMA link at local level for members, festivals and events, as well as being an 'advisory group' for the EBMA Board, and with the power to post directly on the EBMA Facebook pages. Each will have a listing on the website as the National/ Regional Representative.

Some specifics:

• Identify anything within their country or region that needs to be publicised.
• Offer feedback and ideas to the EBMA Board.
• Help with recruiting new members and distributing flyers at festivals and concerts etc.
• Contribute to the newsletter.
• Post directly on the EBMA Facebook pages.
• Identify potential scholarship students.

You have already been approached, or have volunteered, or have even been electronically kidnapped to become an EBMA National/Regional Representative. This is not to be an isolated task but in full coordination with the EBMA Board and the plans for the future.

Please let me know if you are still interested and we can get things going.

Very Best Regards

Eugene
EBMA Chairman

BIB editor's note: Anyone in Ireland who is an existing or prospective member of the EBMA and wishes to take up Eugene's offer will have the BIB's blessing and support in doing so.

The EBMA needs you!

The European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) announces:

We are looking for enthusiastic, talented and energetic people to join the EBMA Board in growing European bluegrass. The EBMA Board operates as a team, but the small team that we have right now cannot do everything. We need YOUR help!

Specifically, the EBMA is keen to take on a newsletter editor (or preferably two), a membership manager, a partners manager, and a bands manager. The Board emphasises:

Nobody on the Board works in isolation; we all contribute to the overall aims and decision, and a helping hand from each other will always be there. For more information and to have a chat, mail us at info@ebma.org.

Application forms can be filled in and sent from here.

IBMA showcase applications open from 3 Feb. 2020

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announce that bands and artists wishing to appear on the official showcase schedule at this year's World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC, can submit applications in the period 3-29 Feb. 2020:

Selected acts will have the opportunity to perform on multiple stages during the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble and IBMA Business Conference. With countless stages and thousands of attendees, this is the premier platform to share your music with talent buyers, industry leaders, and fellow world-class musicians.

Full details are on this IBMA e-newsletter. The band pictured above is Mile Twelve, already well  known over here from their tours, whose mandolinist David Benedict (second from left) married Tabitha Agnew, banjoist of Armagh's Cup O' Joe, in May 2019. Mile Twelve have just released a video of 'Rocky Island', recorded by Ralph Stanley is 1974, and eighteen years earlier (under the title 'Ho, honey, ho') by the Osborne Brothers & Red Allen. The video can be seen on Bluegrass Today and also on YouTube.

JigJam: tours in Germany and the USA

Tullamore's JigJam, founders of I-Grass, are now several gigs into a tour in Germany that will last till Sunday 19 January - shortly after that, they will be touring in the USA till the middle of April. Full details of the tours are on their website, and their dates in the USA are shown on the poster image (right), designed by Eric Larson.

JigJam write: 'Germany is going to be a place that we want to tour every year. We're already planning our follow-up tour for January 2021. Any suggestions?!' On this and many other matters, the band invite input from their fans and friends. Their next trip, immediately after the tour in Germany, will be to the 32nd Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans (22-26 Jan. 2020).

The EBMA newsletter is back!

The European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) announces its December 2019 newsletter, with this table of contents:

- Changes in EBMA memberships
- La Roche band competition 2019
- EBMA's interview with Missy Raines at La Roche
- Adiaha’s 2019 Bluegrass Camp - Pick your passion
- Bluegrass Jamboree 2019
- Sore Fingers 2020 - 25th Anniversary Week
- Bluegrass Festival Freiolsheim

- and includes a reminder that standard EBMA membership is FREE till the end of March 2020. The Freiolsheim festival report, by the way, includes an account of the headliners, the Sons of Navarone, who will be touring here in January together with performing at the 21st Shannonside Winter Music Festival.

Much more is on the newsletter. Check out the completely remodelled EBMA website as well.

IBMA awards show streaming from 00:30

The 'biggest night in bluegrass music', the IBMA Awards Show, takes place tonight from 7.30 p.m. at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, NC. The hosts will be Del McCoury and Jim Lauderdale, and you can see them both psyching up for the evening in this brief YouTube video. Better yet, the entire event is being streamed live on the IBMA Facebook. The time difference between Ireland and North Carolina is five hours, so start watching at half past midnight (or earlier, if you're keen to soak up the atmosphere).

New start, new look, new facilities from the EBMA (UPDATE)

The website of the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) has been completely reorganised and redesigned, following a basic restructuring of the organisation. (Cup O' Joe from Co. Armagh are among the bands shown on the website's front page, listed under the heading 'EBMA bands and artists'). The EBMA board announce on the EBMA Facebook:

Dear Follower or Member of the EBMA,

We are fully aware that there has recently been some silence about EBMA's activities. Due to personnel changes, we were in a restructuring process and took time to reflect on how we want to handle our support for European Bluegrass in the upcoming future.

What's new?
As a first step of improvement we are excited to announce our new website www.ebma.org with the first European Directory of Bluegrass Musicians, Bands, Events and Commercial Partners.

Create your own musicians-listing to let the world know you are there! Help other people connect with you and find out where other musicians live. As a 'Band Member' you can now easily list and promote yourself.

EBMA is dedicated to the development of European Bluegrass and the promotion of Bluegrass around Europe. Therefore we are seeking partnerships with all the big bluegrass festivals and events, the luthiers, the bluegrass camps, the radio stations and many more. As a member you may benefit from discounts and special offers.

Are you already an EBMA member?
Due to our new membership administration it is necessary to register to our new website once. It helps us to minimize administrative work. Best of all: Standard Membership - it’s free until March 2020!

Help us to build-up this online community!
Join in and help the European Bluegrass community to grow. It’s all there in our database.
Thanks a lot for your continued support!

BIB editor's note: The BIB is now subscribed to receive the EBMA's e-newsletter. The first of these gives essentially the same text as above, and also includes a screen shot of the new online interactive directory - on which the image of Cup O' Joe is clearly visible. The news blog on the EBMA website also includes a feed from Bluegrass Today.

Showcases and familiar faces

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announces that bands wishing to take part in the official showcase programme of this year's World of Bluegrass (24-28 Sept.) can send in applications from 15 January to 28 February. More than one band from Ireland has already appeared in IBMA showcases. Further details are on the latest IBMA e-newsletter.

The BIB notes with pleasure that the home page of the IBMA website is designed as a photo-collage of people from the bluegrass world, with (of course) Bill Monroe in the centre - and the Niall Toner Band in the left-hand bottom corner.

A dream come true - and a bright future

Thanks to Uri Kohen of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival (above, in yellow cap, among fellow delegates) for this very positive news from his recent experiences in the States:

Last April, I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in the 'South Arts - American Sounds' program in the USA. The program included eight delegates from Ireland, England, Australia, Serbia, Belgium, Switzerland, and France who were invited to see and hear the current bluegrass talents and to give our views of how to better promote American acts outside the USA.

The program started in Raleigh, NC, where we had workshops, exhibitions, and many showcases of the best bluegrass around at the moment. We were also lucky enough to see some of the greatest bluegrass acts on the planet - this was a dream come true for me. Our last two days in Raleigh were during the IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass Festival, probably the biggest bluegrass event on the planet, with over 100 acts and more than 250,000 people over two days.

We then flew to Orlando, Florida, where we took part in another program - Performing Arts Exchange - and were introduced to many art forms based in the South as well as bluegrass.

The whole experience was a big eye-opener, but also a stamp of approval that we are doing the right thing. I forwarded the message, on behalf of all of us, that Ireland is open for business and we will welcome with open arms every bluegrass act that wants to make the trip to our shores.

Last but not least - I booked some existing acts for the 2019 Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, and I truly believe that the future of the Irish bluegrass scene is very bright.

Conor Daly launches the Global Bluegrass Jam Hub

Thanks to Conor Daly, longtime stalwart of the Dublin bluegrass scene and banjo setup maestro, for news of an important new initiative he has taken. Conor writes:

I've started a new Facebook group called the Global Bluegrass Jam Hub. With so many jams everywhere these days, I thought this would be helpful for pickers. The idea is to get as many people as possible to join up and as many groups as possible to link to it, so information about jam sessions all over the world can be shared.

For example, if someone arrives or is planning to arrive at some new location and they want information on local bluegrass or old-time jam sessions, they can post a query and hopefully someone from the location, or with knowledge of it, would provide the requested details such as dates, times, locations, travel information, song lists, etc.... This may be augmented by a bulletin board and/or dedicated website at some stage in the future.

I've attached the link for it (www.facebook.com/groups/309212956527076/) and would appreciate if you could put it up on the blog.

We're happy to do so: the Global Bluegrass Jam Hub meets what is already a long-felt want here, and should indeed be a boon to pickers all over the world. Thanks to Conor also for the image below, used as the cover picture of the new Facebook group; taken fairly recently, it shows the weekly Dublin bluegrass jam at Sin E in full swing.

JigJam (and other familiar names) on IBMA WOB showcase schedule

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announces its official showcase schedule for this year's World of Bluegrass (25-9 Sept.) in Raleigh, NC. The roster of artists playing the showcases can be seen on this e-newsletter, and it includes several names familiar to audiences in Ireland.

Among the US groups who have been here several times - such as the Special Consensus, Cedar Hill, and Jeff Scroggins & Colorado - are Tullamore's* own JigJam (below). Also taking part are the hot UK band Flats & Sharps from Cornwall, who (we believe) were on the same evening concert with JigJam at a past Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival.

JigJam

*Bluegrass Today says they're from Fermoy, Cork, but pay no attention to that. JigJam's own website says plainly that all four members are from Tullamore.

An Irish contribution to the new IBMM?

Thanks again to Deborah Fillman of the International Bluegrass Music Museum and Hall of Fame (IBMM) located in Owensboro, Kentucky, for exciting news. As previously announced, this coming autumn the IBMM will complete construction on a $15-million, state-of-the-art museum dedicated solely to the preservation and history of bluegrass music.

The Grand Opening for the new centre has now been scheduled for the three days 18-20 October 2018. Details will be announced in due course. The IBMM has always placed a strong emphasis on the 'International' in its title, so bluegrass supporters from outside the USA will be welcome.

Individuals, companies, associations, industry, and other donors who wish to contribute to the new IBMM can do so through the Museum's website. The simplest and most direct way for an individual is through this link. Another option, under the title 'Take Your Seat!', allows the donor's name or that of their organisation to be engraved on a permanent brass plate on a seat in the IBMM theatre. The price tag on this is $1,000.

Think of the possibilities: if a hundred supporters of the music in this island were each to put in ten dollars, there could be a plate in the IBMM theatre with an inscription commemorating Ireland's support. Or (another option) it might commemorate the late Rodney McElrea of Omagh, Co. Tyrone, one of whose many achievements was to ensure that Charlie Poole had a proper memorial. The BIB editor would be glad to learn, through e-mail, how readers feel about this.

Update 4 Apr.: See this feature on Bluegrass Today by John Curtis Goad on the new IBMM.