The World of Bluegrass shows will go on, but virtually. Here’s how to watch.

When it became clear that the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) wasn’t going to be able to bring its annual World of Bluegrass event to Raleigh in person this year, every alternative was on the table — including just skipping it altogether.

But no one involved — IBMA, the City of Raleigh and local traditional music nonprofit PineCone, which books the events’ public performances — cared much for that idea, so in June the announcement came that the show would go on, virtually. The business conference starts Monday (Sept. 28), with the Awards Show on Thursday (Oct. 1) and two days of free concerts Friday and Saturday (Oct. 2-3).

“We just decided, as an association, that it was best that we try to deliver as much as we can to our community, because we know that they’re hurting,” said IBMA Executive Director Paul Schiminger from his home in Nashville. “We know that they need an association, they need the education, the connection, they need to play music. They need to have music in front of fans. And we figured that’s our responsibility to do that in any way we can.”

And so World of Bluegrass, which brought 218,000 people to downtown Raleigh last year, will still feature performances from bluegrass’ biggest names, industry workshops, a star-studded awards show and chances to check out up-and-coming bands. But instead of packing Red Hat Amphitheater, the Raleigh Convention Center and the full length of Fayetteville Street, fans will take it all in from home.

Just like last year’s Wide Open Bluegrass — the Friday and Saturday performances at the amphitheater and along Fayetteville Street — attendance is free. (Wide Open Bluegrass has since been renamed IBMA Bluegrass Live!).

People can tune in to performances via a platform called Swapcard, as well on local media channels. (More info on how to watch below.) Donations are requested, but not required, to support IBMA and its programs to support bluegrass musicians.

Concerts filmed in advance

To keep musicians safe and minimize technical glitches, the performances were filmed in advance. Some take place in musicians’ homes or yards and have a DIY feel, but several that feature North Carolina artists were professionally filmed in and around Raleigh, ensuring the city retains the place it has enjoyed in the spotlight since World of Bluegrass came to town in 2013.

Among the hometown settings are the rooftop of the Dillon building in downtown’s Warehouse District, underneath the new sculpture in front of the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and the front porch of a Raleigh home where the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, lived for a time.

“They’re shot with the city of Raleigh in mind so that the city can be kind of equal part star of the performance as the music and the band,” said David Brower, PineCone’s executive director.

It won’t be the same as hearing music pouring out of hotel rooms or happening upon jams on downtown street corners during World of Bluegrass week, he acknowledged, but organizers wanted to keep the feel of live music front and center. And they wanted Raleigh to have a role, even if people are watching via screens all over the world.

“[World of Bluegrass] has really become a part of the cultural landscape in Raleigh, and it was very important to us to preserve that,” Brower said. “The festival is produced for music lovers and the pickers themselves, people who like to play it, but then also music likers and people who just like the scene and like the aesthetic of acoustic music being played in their town. And I think by putting bands on rooftops and on street corners and under hopefully soon-to-be-iconic art sculptures, it says something about the city as well as the music itself.”

A ‘paradigm shift’

While much is lost without an in-person event bringing people and their wallets to Raleigh, there’s something to be gained as well, organizers said.

Brower is excited about the wider accessibility an online festival opens up, with its events and performances viewable now to people who may not have been able to travel for them.

“I’m really hopeful that we as music presenters will be learning from this and will be able to use what we learned from presenting this festival when we get back to having audiences of some size,” he said. “I think this does provide an accessibility component for people who either, because of the weather they don’t want to get out or because of mobility issues or some other reason they can’t get out to a live event, then they can experience the performing arts.”

Schiminger foresees a “paradigm shift” for music events going forward, where the in-person experience is back but an online counterpart is made available for those who can’t attend for physical or financial reasons. And he’s excited about the potential this year’s virtual event has for attracting new fans to the music and to the event in future years.

“World of Bluegrass is now going to be accessed by people who have never been. In the past, you had to be there in person to experience it,” he said. “So now people from their homes, either through their computer or their tablets, their phones, whatever, they can get a sense of the breadth of content that goes on during a World of Bluegrass. … So I think we’re going to have new people come to Raleigh in the future because of now getting to experience a taste of what it is that we do.”

The contract keeping World of Bluegrass in Raleigh runs through next year, with extension discussions underway that would stretch the partnership through 2024.

It’s hard to feel truly connected through a screen, to replicate the feel of shaking a favorite musician’s hand or making a new friend in the audience of an incredible show. But music has a way of helping listeners and makers alike through hard times, and it can bring to mind the brighter days to come, Brower said.

“We also want to evoke the feeling of nostalgia for better times, when we are able to all come together on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh and experience this wonderful cultural thing all together.”

How to watch

IBMA Bluegrass Live! performances

Taking place online Friday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 3, this is the virtual version of the main event we’re used to seeing along Fayetteville Street and in Red Hat Amphitheater. Performers include The Travelin’ McCourys with Del McCoury, Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle performing together, and Jerry Douglas with singer Odessa Settles.

North Carolina-based acts on the schedule include Steep Canyon Rangers; Chatham County Line; Chatham Rabbits; Hank, Pattie & The Current; and the Kruger Brothers. View the full schedule at worldofbluegrass.org.

How to watch: All IBMA Bluegrass Live! performances can be viewed for free via an online platform called Swapcard. To access the videos there, first register for a free IBMA World of Bluegrass Music pass at worldofbluegrass.org. Some of the performances will also be streamed on WRAL.com and aired via radio on That Station – 95.7 FM.

Shout & Shine

Now in its fifth year, the Shout & Shine Showcase celebrates the diversity in bluegrass and traditional music’s roots and among the people who play it today. This year’s event takes place Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m. and features performances from Kaïa Kater, Amythyst Kiah, North Carolina residents Rissi Palmer and Tray Wellington and more. Update: The show will not be rebroadcast as previously announced.

How to watch: Catch Shout & Shine on The Bluegrass Situation’s website, its Facebook and YouTube pages, or via Swapcard.

Bluegrass Music Awards Show

The 31st annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show was recorded at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and will be broadcast Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. Sierra Hull, Tim O’Brien, Rhonda Vincent and Raleigh’s own Joe Newberry are hosts.

All six Entertainer of the Year nominees will perform — Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Sister Sadie and Special Consensus. There also will be musical segments marking the 75th anniversary of bluegrass music, a tribute to North Carolina’s Doc Watson and a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack.

How to watch: The awards show can be viewed for free on Swapcard (register first at worldofbluegrass.org/awards) or via a live broadcast on IBMA’s Facebook page.

Business Conference and Showcases

For folks in the music industry or hardcore fans, the World of Bluegrass business conference kicks off Monday, Sept. 28, and offers five days of informational sessions, networking events, music showcases and a keynote address from singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz. Registration is $99 for IBMA members and $149 for nonmembers. (Music showcases are free and do not require conference registration.)

How to watch: Visit worldofbluegrass.org/conference for a full schedule and to register. All sessions will be viewable via Swapcard. Musical showcases can be accessed free; first sign up for a Music Pass and then view through Swapcard.

This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 1:11 PM with the headline "The World of Bluegrass shows will go on, but virtually. Here’s how to watch.."