Bringing Bluegrass in the Future

IBMA World of Bluegrass 2023 Photos by Ricky Davis “I hear banjos.” Even Sir Walter Raleigh was wielding one. But music lovers sought no deliverance. The sound was coming from the streets of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina that were bursting with bluegrass during the last week of September for the IBMA conference and World of Bluegrass festival. Inside the Raleigh Convention Center, an elaborate, multi-story sculpture made of banjo parts strung together like dinosaur bones hung in suspended animation. The air was charged with excitement that turned into bewilderment as the announcement was made that the festival would be searching for a new home in 2025. But even if the bluegrass ball of the year’s coach was prognosticated to turn into a pumpkin at midnight, 2024, the music was too shiny and compelling to keep those with bluegrass in their blood from filling their dance cards. At least for the time being, IBMA was still in the south, so attendees just channeled their in