An event that has been anticipated by many folk, the joy and excitement can be felt around the streets from the people that have traveled all across the world to be a part of a week full of bluegrass history and tradition.
Let us take you back 400+ years in time, when immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, and England were getting settled in the southern colonies, sometimes remote locations tucked away in the farmlands or mountains. Their culture never left and the music they created was a reflection of that, every string, every word that was spoken came from the heart, an expression of their everyday lives was being turned into songs that would forever shape American music.
The songs were referred to as “mountain music”, since that is where the sound resonated from, it took over the ears and airwaves of surrounding areas with lyrics about the simple joys in life. There is no question about it, these musicians are some of the best storytellers and masters of this craft, virtuosos on their instruments, and the southern charisma everybody loves.
Conference, showcases, and workshops are events that are mainly held in the Raleigh Convention Center from 8:00 am until late afternoon, after that, the party kicks in!, with ramble nights and late night shows that begin at 6:00 pm and can go up until 1:00 am. The Pour House Music Hall & Record Shop, Lincoln Theatre, Jimmy V’s, and The Vintage Church are some of the venues that host ramble nights, if you are feeling adventurous you can skip from one place to the other and catch a new and different act everytime!. We recommend that, it is so much fun, and hey, you may even make a friend on the way there.
One of the random little gifts that life gives us was a man sitting by the entrance of the Raleigh Marriott, we heard a banjo echoing in the distance and had to find out who was making those strings vibrate through the halls. An anonymous player serenaded bystanders and employees, definitely one of those moments that hardly repeat themselves in a lifetime.
The Lincoln Theatre has also had the privilege to host the talented musicians from around the globe, and at their astonishing stage, we were lucky enough to delight our ears with Hayde Blue Orchestra all the way from Norway.
There are free scheduled events for Friday September 29 and Saturday October 1 that were originally going to take place around Fayetteville st. in downtown Raleigh, NC. These events are still happening but they are being moved indoors due to the weather our city will be experiencing, below is the official post from IBMA’s instagram with all the information regarding location and times.
We hope to see y’all in these next few days (or hours) at the numerous events, let us know what singers or bands we need to keep our eye on, meanwhile we will be working on part 2 of this blog for the IBMA World of Bluegrass 2022.
Hey! Raleigh 