IBMA’s World of Bluegrass returns to downtown Raleigh. Here’s what you need to know.
After a year of mostly silence, live music is coming back to Raleigh in the biggest way possible.
This week, the International Bluegrass Music Association will hold its annual conference, awards, Bluegrass Ramble, and the street music festival, IBMA Bluegrass Live, for the first time in two years.
Last year’s World of Bluegrass was held virtually, with the conference and live performances streamed online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic preventing large gatherings.
But this week, from Tuesday to Saturday, the twang of banjos and guitars returns to downtown Raleigh. Here’s what to know about World of Bluegrass 2021.
Bluegrass basics
Raleigh has played host to the IBMA World of Bluegrass since 2013, annually bringing legends of bluegrass through the city for a week of awards, jamming and picking on the street and concerts.
“It’s the world’s biggest bluegrass event,” IBMA executive director Pat Morris tells The News & Observer in an interview. “This is the culmination of a lot of work that goes on throughout the year. Everybody looks forward to it.”
In past years, the week of events has brought at least 200,000 people to downtown Raleigh.
Morris said crowds are a mix of bluegrass fanatics, the bluegrass curious and those simply looking to have fun at a festival. Yet, Morris expects to make bluegrass fans out of everyone.
“Everyone loves bluegrass, but not everyone knows it yet,” Morris said. “What’s amazing about it is the depth of bluegrass. The folks who play it are really great at what they do and they’re fans of the music.
“There’s a line in bluegrass that’s blurred between the fans and participants. There’s a closeness between fans and the folks who play that’s unique to bluegrass. And there’s such an appreciation for how good the musicianship is. These are some of the best instrumentalists in the world, and audiences recognize that.”
Planning a music festival during COVID
With last year lost, bluegrass organizers said every effort was made to hold an in-person version of World of Bluegrass in 2021.
“After a tough couple years, everybody is looking forward to hearing live music again,” Morris said. “Live music is unique, it’s the interaction with the audience, the creativity, the spontaneity. You can try to duplicate it, but it’s not the same as being there.”
But planning has been a moving target as case counts and restrictions have evolved throughout the year.
“We’ve all learned to be nimble and plan for contingencies and adjust to meet the challenges,” Morris said. “We’ve watched the (COVID) landscape and watched what the City of Raleigh was doing, and following state and federal health authorities.”
David Brower, executive director of PineCone, one of the festival producers, said the COVID vaccine allowed an in-person event to be planned, despite the delta variant causing a renewed surge in cases and hospitalizations this summer.
“There was that glorious six-to-eight week window in the summer, that was the window when it felt like we were going to make it out,” Brower said. “But as you know, and as the virus would have it, it wasn’t as easy as we thought.”
Events that require COVID-19 vaccine
The arrival of a vaccine for people over 12 years old means that there is a vaccine requirement for some events.
Anyone attending a ticketed event this week will have to show proof of their COVID-19 vaccine. That includes the IBMA conference, the Bluegrass Ramble showcase series, the annual IBMA Awards and the ticketed main stage events at Red Hat Amphitheater.
That includes performances with Steep Canyon Rangers and Bela Fleck.
“It was a difficult decision to make, and in the end, I think it’s a good one,” Brower said. “One hundred percent of the musicians you’ll see playing are vaccinated. Every banjo player, everyone playing the guitar, everyone.”
Masks are also required for all indoor events to comply with City of Raleigh mask requirements. For the outdoor street festival on Oct. 1 and 2 (the non-ticketed shows), proof of vaccination isn’t required, but mask wearing is encouraged.
Morris said the IBMA board of directors decided to require proof of vaccination in August, as COVID case counts began to climb once again.
Unlike some events and venues that also accept a negative COVID-19 test, that isn’t the case here.
How to get IBMA tickets
Tickets to the main Bluegrass Live concerts Friday and Saturday evenings at Red Hat Amphitheater are sold as single-day or two-day passes. Tickets range from $15 for lawn seats to $60 for top reserved seats. Tickets are still available for all of the festival’s main shows.
Red Hat Amphitheater show schedule
These are ticketed concerts with vaccine requirement. For a full schedule of Bluegrass Ramble and street festival shows, go to worldofbluegrass.org.
Friday
4 p.m. Tray Wellington Band
4:55 p.m. Mile Twelve
6 p.m. Sister Sadie
7:30 p.m. Bela Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart featuring Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz & Bryan Sutton
9:30 p.m. The Del McCoury Band
Saturday
4 p.m. The Gina Furtado Project
4:55 p.m. The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
6 p.m. Jerry Douglass, Odessa Settles & Edgar Meyer
7:30 p.m. Steep Canyon Rangers
9:30 p.m. Yonder Mountain String Band
Virtual is still an option
While last year’s World of Bluegrass was an all-virtual affair, those who would prefer to avoid the thousands of people in downtown Raleigh can still see live bluegrass concerts.
The IBMA is offering a virtual music pass for the entire week of events. All streaming events are completely free, but must be viewed live.
To sign up, visit worldofbluegrass.org/tickets.
Festival stages have new locations
Fayetteville Street is the heart of the World of Bluegrass in Raleigh. In typical years, the closed-off street is lined with hundreds of vendors, thousands of people and a handful of stages. All of that is expected for 2021, as well, but organizers have shifted stages out of their usual spots, aiming to allow more space between crowds.
The Come Hear NC stage, usually the largest stage for the festival’s free concerts, has been moved out of City Plaza and into the parking lots in front of the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on East South Street.
City Plaza now will host the Youth Stage, and and the Capitol Stage will be moved up a block on Fayetteville Street, to offer more space near Exchange Plaza (between Hargett and Martin streets).
There will also be a stage on East Davie Street, set back from the Fayetteville Street intersection.
“We set up stages in places that allow a little more distancing,” Brower said. “People naturally want to take care of themselves. Some people might want to be closer to the stage, but others might feel comfortable off by themselves….This is a free event.
“The dabblers want to have fun downtown. You can come downtown and if you or your family or friends feel like leaving, you can. But my hope is you’ll feel safe and get sucked in and enjoy the show.”
Food trucks will also be set up in spaced out areas. Instead of along Fayetteville Street, food vendors will set up on South Street, next to the Duke Energy Center, and on Martin Street.
IBMA Awards
This week is also the time for the IBMA to recognize the year’s best bluegrass music at the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. The awards ceremony, on Thursday, also will see the induction of three Hall of Fame inductees and Distinguished Achievement Award recipients.
The five nominees for Entertainer of the Year are Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, the Del McCoury Band and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys.
The Hall of Fame inductees are Alison Krauss, Lynn Morris and the Stoneman Family.
Awards, voted on by the professional members of IBMA, will be presented at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
IBMA reveals Bluegrass Music Awards nominees and Hall of Fame inductees. Find out more.
Learning from other festivals
The World of Bluegrass looks to be the largest in-person event held in Raleigh since the pandemic began. Brower said organizers looked to Merlefest, the North Carolina Folk Festival in Greensboro and Hopscotch Music Festival, held earlier this month in Raleigh, for insight into holding a festival during a pandemic. Hopscotch and Merlefest both had vaccine requirements.
He said he found that most people are eager to follow the rules.
“The biggest thing we learned is that people are generally cooperative and want to do the right thing,” Brower said. “People want to do what’s right and safe and what’s asked of them.”
More details
For other information, go to worldofbluegrass.org.
