The annual event has made Raleigh its home since 2013

As the World of Bluegrass festival kicks off its 11th year in Downtown Raleigh this week, the organization behind the event says 2024 will be its final year in the city.

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) will no longer hold its five-day conference and festival in Raleigh beginning in 2025, organizers announced Wednesday following the IBMA 2023 Momentum Awards luncheon.

While the event has been a big driver of tourism and economic activity downtown since 2013, its numbers have fallen sharply since the pandemic. Raleigh officials say the plan is to replace the event with a new festival with an expanded scope.

The IBMA’s board of directors is conducting a site search and will announce a new host city by the end of the year.

In the meantime, organizers of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass, taking place Sept. 26-30, 2023, in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, say they are looking forward to a “normal” year after surviving two hurricanes and a pandemic over the past 11 years the festival has been held in the state’s capital.

This year’s weeklong bluegrass conference and festival offers both ticketed performances at Red Hat Amphitheater, the Raleigh Convention Center, the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts and other venues scattered throughout downtown as well as five additional free StreetFest Stages during WideOpen Bluegrass on Friday, Sept. 29-30. 

The 11th annual event kicked off Tuesday with the annual Bluegrass Ramble Showcase and Business Conference. The award-winning band Special Consensus along with special guests launched the musical performances on Tuesday evening at the Lincoln Theatre.

“When the festival is in town every third person has a fiddle, guitar or banjo on their back,” said David Brower, festival producer and executive director of PineCone, the Raleigh-based non-profit that helps IBMA produce the festival. “It’s one of the best times of the year in downtown Raleigh.”

Bluegrass music’s self-described biggest event of the year is set to run in Raleigh through 2024 after which it will move on to a yet undisclosed location, organizers said during Wednesday’s Momentum Awards luncheon, sponsored by Campbell University School of Law. For the 11th year, PNC Bank returns as the presenting sponsor of IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC.

The 2023 winners of the Momentum Awards are: 

Band of the Year – Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band of California

Vocalist of the Year – Carley Arrowood-Thrailkill

Instrumentalists of the Year – Bass player Maddie Dalton of Sister Sadie and Resophonic Guitar and Banjo player Gaven Largent of East Nash Grass

Mentor of the Year – Dan Boner, artist, director and professor at Eastern Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies and IBMA Board Chair

Momentum Industry Involvement Award – Matt Hutchinson, host/producer of Bluegrass Jam Along podcast

The Industry Awards and the 34th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show, presented by Yamaha, will be announced on Thursday, Sept. 28, with hosts Ketch Secor and Molly Tuttle.

The Main Stage performances at Red Hat Amphitheater for this year’s festival will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The daily lineup for the Main Stage performances at Red Hat Amphitheater includes:

Friday, Sept. 29

The Del McCoury Band

Mighty Poplar

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

AJ Lee & Blue Summit

Kids on Bluegrass

Saturday, Sept. 30 

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Kruger Brothers play Doc Watson (with special guest Jerry Douglas)

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (with special guest Bobby Osborne)

Jake Blount, Kaia Kater & Tray Wellington

Missy Raines & Allegheny (with special guest Alison Brown)

“We are proud that IBMA Bluegrass Live! continues to provide stellar bluegrass music to more fans than any festival in the world,” said IBMA Interim Executive Director Paul Schiminger. “It is truly a celebration of our great music! The lineup on this year’s main stage at the Red Hat Amphitheater is an exciting mix of Hall of Famers and some of the most dynamic and creative artists in bluegrass. Don’t miss these unique and incredible performances!” 

Brower added, “There’s a little something for everyone. The main stage at Red Hat Amphitheater has multiple Hall of Fame members, a brand-new super group, hot rising stars and a celebration of 100 years of Doc Watson. And then wait until folks see the lineup for the StreetFest stages that will line the streets of downtown Raleigh. You’re gonna be able to walk around and celebrate where we’ve been as a genre and at the same time get a sneak peek of where we might be headed.”

ABOUT IBMA

IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC is part of the five-day IBMA World of Bluegrass event, billed “The Most Important Week in Bluegrass,” which also includes the IBMA Business Conference, the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble showcase series and the 34th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. Tickets and hotel reservations are open now for the general public. More information is available at the IBMA World of Bluegrass website.