Update: Hear the broadcast Wednesday night, September 25, 8-10 p.m. on WUNC and WAMU Bluegrass Country.
Later this month bluegrass musicians toting their banjos, mandolins and fiddles will flock to Raleigh for the International Bluegrass Musician Association's 24th annual awards event and conference. This marks the first of three years that the IBMA events will be held in Raleigh. "World of Bluegrass Week" runs September 24-28 with scores of bluegrass concerts scheduled across Raleigh. Last year the IBMA conference was held in Nashville, TN.
You can think of the Raleigh IBMA event as the Grammys for bluegrass, in addition to being a tradeshow and conference for performers and a near week long series of concerts across Raleigh.
As part of this year's festivities and in partnership with WAMU's Bluegrass Country, WUNC will present two hours of live music on Wednesday September 25 from the IBMA featuring Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Grass Cats, Joe Newberry, and, Big Medicine. The programs will air from 8-10 p.m. and originate from WUNC's studios at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver formed in 1979 as a bluegrass and gospel quintet. Many of their albums were released originally by Sugar Hill Records, a label based in Durham until 2007. Last year Lawson was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
Joe Newberry, nominated for IBMA "Song of The Year," will also appear with his band mates, Big Medicine. These North Carolina performers are joined by another group from the state, The Grass Cats. All these musicians are often featured on WUNC's Back Porch Music.
This special broadcast will be available on-air and streamed online on both North Carolina Public Radio and WAMU's Bluegrass Country in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia. The full IBMA schedule is available for download (pdf).
