Americana Music Association

IBMA World of Bluegrass Move to Chattanooga

So, the announcement was made this past week that the IBMA World of Bluegrass Conference will be held in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the 2025 through 2027 seasons. The choice surprised a few in the bluegrass community, as most thought that it would be moved back to Kentucky.

The IBMA stated that it would make the announcement much earlier in the year, so being this late made many lose interest in where the conference would be located in the future. Once the announcement was made that 2024 would be the last year that WOB would be held in Raleigh, North Carolina, the bluegrass community was talking heavily on a new location, which included Louisville, Lexington, or Owensboro, KY, Dayton, OH, or even St. Louis, MO. Very little talk was of Chattanooga, but one can see a few positives to the choice:

More centrally located. While still in the South, Chattanooga is closer to other bluegrass-oriented cities such as Nashville, Knoxville, Louisville, and Dayton. As a mileage note, Chattanooga is about a 9.5-hour drive from Detroit, while Raleigh is closer to 13 hours (I still don’t plan on going, more on that later).
Investment. Chattanooga is planning on investing $25 million into promoting tourist and convention marketing. We are fully aware that conferences such as WOB can pull in millions of dollars to a city’s economy, so I would venture that with WOB being there for three years, it will be a hefty return on investment, not even considering other conventions and tourism outside of WOB.
Weather. During WOB’s tenure at Raleigh, there were two instances where hurricanes affected the conference, with one cancelling a large amount of events or forcing re-scheduling. A fan registered for WOB that just paid a few hundred dollars to attend, as well as hundreds more for hotel and food, expects a whole week of entertainment without Mother Nature screwing up things. Yes, maybe a day can be a disappointment (we’re used to it at bluegrass festivals), but to be in fear of dangerous weather the entire time is not worth the trip.

The first WOB in Chattanooga is scheduled for September 16-20, 2025. Oddly enough, that is usually the same week that the Americana Music Association schedules its AmericanaFest conference in Nasvhille. While there is not a lot of conflict, some bands and fans do attend both conferences, so one would wonder how much of a loss either association would feel if both were to be held on the same week. I would imagine that the AMA would probably hurt more, albeit not a large amount. Also, would anyone even consider the two-hour drive between the two cities to attempt to attend both? Highly unlikely.

As I stated above, I don’t plan on attending WOB in the near future, unless drastic changes are made in the philosophies of the IBMA, especially its political leanings. Because they moved so far left in thought since the George Floyd riots, I not only stopped becoming a member, but also resigned my position as a member of Leadership Bluegrass. Granted, I have also left the Americana Music Association for similar reasons, so whatever happens to the conferences over the next few years does not concern me. What I care about is the quality of music, not the diversity/equity of the artists. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at SPBGMA this past January because there was no politics, just a bunch of people enjoying music and jamming, and it allowed me to network without having to deal with conflicting attitudes.

In a related note to end this blog, I was going through some thumb drives a few evenings back, and came across a folder marked “IBMA 2011.” I believe this was one of the last years that WOB was held in Nashville, as well as one of the last times that I attended. One of the themes that year was Del McCoury’s 70th birthday. The Del McCoury Band performed live outdoors near the Ryman Auditorium and had a number of special guests, including Vince Gill, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, and Dierks Bentley. I actually got to hang out with Dierks for a while after his appearance, which he proved to be a true gentleman. I remember taking this photo and sending it back to two female co-workers. They were so jealous that they wouldn’t talk to me for days!

Chew on it and comment.

So Long, AMA!

Well, with a heavy heart but no regret, I have decided to not attend this year’s AmericanaFest, and I am not renewing my membership to the Americana Music Association. My decision is similar to why I left the International Bluegrass Music Association.

The AMA has decided to for a committee to find ways to promote musicians based on race, gender choice, and sexual preference. The IBMA launched a similar program a few years back. Both were supportive of the BLM movement (a Marxist organization that it fully admitted to on its website until recently when the co-founder was caught red-handed purchasing five homes around the country), yet when the BLM/Antifa riots reached Nashville last summer and vandalized the Bill Monroe statue outside of the Ryman Auditorium, neither organization did anything to either condemn the crime nor help support the clean-up.

I left the IBMA a few years back,, but I remained in the AMA primarily due to my friendship with other members, board members, and staff. However, I had been on the fence the past two years because of the organization’s political involvement. This recent decision by the AMA helped make my decision to bow out. I had been a member for over 20 years, and had served in a volunteer capacity for about 15 years. This included stage management, chauffeuring, showcase organization, and a dozen other jobs. I met a lot a good people along the way, including artists, managers, booking agents, and publicists. The networking was great, to say the least. However, the time had come where I had to decide between my beliefs and going with the flow.

Music organizations such as the AMA and the IBMA are there to promote music first and foremost. The color of one’s skin or the choice of one’s personal identity should not matter if the talent is there. Both organizations have reneged on their original philosophies and are now more interested in an artist’s identity instead of the talent. Political correctness has led to being woke.

With the AMA, one can see that it would eventually lead to that direction. Many of the artists come from a more liberal background. Being a member for over 20 years, I could see that it was an almost inevitable move. I highly doubt that my leaving will affect anything. I will miss going to Nashville and working the conference, seeing old friends and making new ones, but I have my standards as well.

In the case of the IBMA, I have gone over this before, but the direction it is taking may have different consequences. The bluegrass community is a wonderful melting pot. Liberals and conservatives, hippies and rednecks, traditionalists and progressives, all coming together for the enjoyment of acoustic music. Debates consist of musical matters (Percussion? Electric bass? No banjo?), not anything about the race, creed, sexual orientation, or political views. A few years back, the powers-that-be discreetly began implementing more woke philosophies and actions. Now, most of the IBMA membership only care about concerts and such, but are dumb to how the organization is spending membership dues. There were a few like me that left, including one or two A-list bluegrass performers. The IBMA marches on, but it will be interesting to see what it will be like in five or so years as the organization becomes more woke. I don’t see too much negativity happening with the AMA as it moves in that direction.

So I leave the AMA. The only national music organization that I am currently a member is the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America, which has much smaller representation than the IBMA but is much more dedicated to the music. There are a few local groups that I belong to, such as the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association and the Michigan Fiddlers Association. For now, I will work harder with those groups to promote the music that I love.

Chew on it and comment.