Wide Open Bluegrass Fest Rain Update

 

The ticketed portion of this weekend's Wide Open Bluegrass festival will be moved from the Red Hat Amphitheater into the Raleigh Convention Center in Exhibit Halls A & B. All current Red Hat Amphitheater tickets will be honored. Friday's performances are sold out; tickets are still available for Saturday and can be purchased via Etix.com or at the door at the event.

 

"We are grateful for our strong partnership with the City of Raleigh. It allows us to move forward with the Wide Open Bluegrass main stage performances as planned," said Paul Schiminger, Executive Director of the International Bluegrass Music Association.

 

In addition, the local organizing committee, in partnership with the IBMA, has a contingency plan for all free performances to move indoors to the Raleigh Convention Center, along with all vendors and other festival activities, if the current weather forecast holds. Organizers finalized the plans this afternoon and will make a final call tomorrow morning by 10 a.m. whether to implement the plan.

 

Our primary concern is for all event participants--attendees, performers, vendors, and sponsors--to be safe, and to have a jammin' good time.

 

Updated information will be made available via wideopenbluegrass.com, on the festival app, and via IBMA's and various local social media channels and platforms. 

 

The final call for StreetFest will be made on Thursday morning, October 1, so stay tuned for updates.   

 

Additional Artists Announced for the World of Bluegrass Festival

 

Additional artists have been announced for the Wide Open Bluegrass festival, which takes place October 3-4 in Raleigh, North Carolina; the list includes Yonder Mountain String Band;  Jerry Douglas presents The Earls of Leicester with Shawn Camp, Tim O'Brien, Johnny Warren, Charlie Cushman and Barry Bales;  Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn;  Balsam Range;  Lonesome River Band;  Chatham County Line;  Noam Pikelny & Stuart Duncan;  Della Mae; Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out;  The Grascals;  Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice;  Special Consensus; Town Mountain;  The Deadly Gentlemen;  James King Band;  Larry Stephenson Band;  Mustered Courage; The Roys and The Davidson Brothers. Of special note in the WOB lineup are two legendary bluegrass artists: Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Jesse McReynolds, from Virginia, and North Carolina’s own Bobby Hicks, a ten time Grammy award winning fiddler who recently received the prestigious North Carolina Heritage Award from the North Carolina Arts Council. For his set, Hicks will be joined by musicians Tony Williamson, Ron Shuffler and other special guests.

These artists will join the previously announced Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder with Bruce Hornsby, Del McCoury Band with special guests, Hot Rize (with Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers), Gibson Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, Sierra Hull, The Kruger Brothers with Kontras Quartet’s world premiere of new concerto “Lucid Dreamer” and the Wide Open Jam, featuring the superstar lineup of Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, Bryan Sutton and Stuart Duncan as the performers for the ticketed portion of the two-day music festival.

“We’re so pleased that, once again, Wide Open Bluegrass will present such a diverse, acclaimed lineup of artists at both Red Hat Amphitheater and the Raleigh Convention Center this fall,” said William Lewis, Executive Director of PineCone (the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music) and Wide Open Bluegrass producer. “And, in the weeks to come, we may have an additional guest or two to add to this esteemed roster.”

Performers for the free Street Festival portion of Wide Open Bluegrass will be announced in the coming months.

Wide Open Bluegrass is part of International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass 2014 event, which takes place September 30 – October 4 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

IBMA’s World of Bluegrass event, an annual bluegrass music homecoming, consists of four parts: the IBMA Business Conference, September 30 – October 2; the 25^th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, scheduled for Thursday evening, October 2; Wide Open Bluegrass, October 3-4 (which includes both free stages and ticketed festival performances) and the Bluegrass Ramble, an innovative series of showcases, taking place September 30 – October 2 in downtown Raleigh and at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Those wishing to obtain tickets for the ticketed portion of Wide Open Bluegrass (which takes place at Red Hat Amphitheater and Raleigh Convention Center Ballroom Stages), Bluegrass Ramble Showcase passes, IBMA Business Conference registration, IBMA Award Show tickets and hotel reservations should go to IBMA’s website, ibma.org. Single day general admission for the ticketed portion of Wide Open Bluegrass starts as low as $50, with a three-day Bluegrass Ramble pass available for $75. Additional details and pricing information are available at the website.



Press Release Courtesy of IBMA, Nashville, TN