Bluegrass is hungry work: in the kitchen at IBMA in Raleigh
String Fever listeners hear a lot about the IBMA — International Bluegrass Music Association. Every year the trade organization holds a week-long conference and music festival, providing opportunities for artists to connect with agents, DJs, record labels, and their fans. It also provides an opportunity for artists, DJs, agents, and other music industry folks to network with each other.
This is my second time around for IBMA week, now held in Raleigh, NC. Folks here seem very courteous, warm and generous; the traffic isn’t too bad, and the weather is great.
A little later in the week I’ll tell about the people I’ve met, interviewed, and learned from, but for my first day in town, I volunteered to prepare food for a fundraising reception for Leadership Bluegrass, a professional training segment of IBMA which encourages greater participation and promotion of the bluegrass music genre. I’d like to participate in the class someday, but for this year, I volunteered in the kitchen. This is where Day 1 in Raleigh begins for me:
I’m at the Raleigh, NC law firm of Williams-Mullen. They have offered to host our reception. This is one of the many conference rooms on the 17th floor, with beautiful views of the city.
It’s time to get to work, and the food is almost all set to go:
I’ve been chopping, slicing, dicing (and shopping!). Things are looking pretty good here… and the view is amazing.
This has been my view for most of today:
This is the catering kitchen – I wish we had one of these at NCPR!!
The crowd is gathering in that beautiful lobby. The food is going over well, and bluegrass players, supporters, and alumni of Leadership Bluegrass are having a great time:
Plenty of networking going on here. These women are from all across the US.
Old friends are just arriving for the conference, and catching up.
Hey! Isn’t that guy in the hat Bill Knowlton of WCNY in Syracuse? Yes it is! He’s visiting with a friend from the Boston Bluegrass Union, a radio host & bluegrass photographer from Maine, and the band Nu-Blu from North Carolina. You never know who you’ll run into during IBMA week.
Meet The Bankesters, our entertainers for the evening. They’re a family band that you’ll be hearing more of on String Fever!
“Fill The Fiddle Case” was the theme of the reception. With money, that is. In other words, bluegrass supporters need to keep the next generation of bluegrass leaders moving forward.
Sound much like public radio??
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen….
Meet Mary Burdette, my travel mate and hostess for this opening reception.
Now that the kitchen work is done, I’m ready to dig into some great bluegrass music and meet some new musical friends. I’ll check back soon with another postcard from Raleigh.
Meanwhile, if you have a favorite musician you’d like me to interview, please email me – [email protected] – and I’ll do my best to record it this week. Check back here for more updates on what happened at the IBMA .
The annual IBMA Awards night is this Thursday — I’ll tell you ALL about it as soon as I can, and you can also stream the show live online via the IBMA website, IBMA.org. There are several other award recipients that are recognized through the week, including new members of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. I’ll keep you posted.
See you on the radio, and thanks for tuning in!
Tags: bluegrass, IBMA, Raleigh, String Fever
