World of Bluegrass festival to stay in Raleigh through 2024. Here’s this year’s lineup.
There’s plenty of bluegrass left in Raleigh.
Raleigh will keep the Wide Open Bluegrass festival through 2024, hosting the International Bluegrass Music Association’s premier event for an additional three years, IBMA announced Tuesday.
“Raleigh is welcoming, flexible and creative, and has become the essential stop each year for those in the bluegrass community,” said Pat Morris, incoming executive director of the IBMA, in a statement.
IBMA also announced this year’s headliner acts for the concerts that draws bluegrass and live music fans to downtown Raleigh.
Raleigh has hosted IBMA’s annual bluegrass festival, awards and conference since 2013, when the event was moved from Nashville. Typically held in late September, the festival attracts some of the most legendary acts to ever strum a banjo and fills Raleigh’s streets with thousands of people.
This year’s festival and conference will run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, with headlining concerts performed Oct. 1-2.
Following the cancellation of last year’s Wide Open Bluegrass festival due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Morris said this year’s return will mark a significant moment for bluegrass and for Raleigh.
“As our community emerges from some of the most challenging times in modern memory, this year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass takes on added importance,” Morris said in a statement. “We urge everyone who loves bluegrass to be at this fall’s event and re-engage with others, share fresh ideas, and learn innovations — some launched because of the pandemic. Most importantly, it’s the chance to get fully immersed in what we all sorely missed in 2020: live music.”
The current contract between the IBMA and the City of Raleigh was set to expire this year, but city and festival officials signaled an extension was likely. Last month, the Raleigh City Council approved a new $180,000 festival funding commitment from the city over the next three years.
“Raleigh is proud to once again host the IBMA World of Bluegrass,” said Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin in a press release. “We’re especially thankful that we’ll be in person this year, where we can experience the fabulous music, talent, art and fellowship that this group brings to our city. IBMA is one of our signature events — and my favorite event of the year.”
2021 festival headliners
This 2021 World of Bluegrass festival will be a hybrid event, combining in-person shows and streamed concerts. The 2020 festival was exclusively held online.
Headlining this year’s festival, known as IBMA Bluegrass Live!, are some of bluegrass music’s biggest acts, including Bela Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart, the Del McCoury Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, Sierra Hull, Yonder Mountain String Band and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. My Bluegrass Heart is Fleck’s supergroup of sorts, featuring Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz and Bryan Sutton.
These shows will be ticketed events, performed at Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater. In 2019, the last in-person festival, some free tickets were available for Red Hat shows. Festival organizers said that isn’t possible this year, due to expected health and safety measures.
“Pricing for several sections in the venue, as well as pricing for the lawn, will be kept very affordable so that the event remains accessible to all,” said IBMA director of operations Eddie Huffman in an email.
Acts also were announced Tuesday for the Bluegrass Ramble, dozens of concerts played at six venues throughout downtown Raleigh. The ticketed showcase features up-and-coming talent.
There will also be free concerts throughout downtown Raleigh with those acts to be announced at a later date.
The IBMA awards ceremony and conference also are on the schedule.
Tickets are now on sale for IBMA and PineCone members. Tickets go on sale for non-members June 15. Go to worldofbluegrass.org/festival. There are day passes and two-day passes available for both the Ramble and IBMA Bluegrass Live!
The festival has become one of Raleigh’s signature events and is one of the country’s largest bluegrass festivals, setting record attendance every year and spurring even greater economic impact to the Triangle. Since the festival’s move to Raleigh, the city estimates total attendance at 1.3 million and that $80 million has flowed into Wake County as the event’s host.
In 2019, the last year the full festival was held, Raleigh estimates 218,000 people attended shows, leading to an $18.65 million economic impact.
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 7:00 AM with the headline "World of Bluegrass festival to stay in Raleigh through 2024. Here’s this year’s lineup.."
