IBMA’s World of Bluegrass 2012 – Preview

The popular DJ taping sessions have been replaced by a DJ & Artists Reception, a meet and greet, on Tuesday afternoon at 2:30. A new DJ/Press room (quiet) has been established in room 207 of the Convention Hall where DJ’s can make appointments with artists to record  interviews and those all important station ID announcements “starring” bluegrass artists. Sounds like a good idea, since the DJ taping sessions were something of a zoo.

For early risers who would like to hear and share stories about the giants who were lost this year,  there willl be early morning story-telling sessions about Earl Scruggs, Doug Dillard, and Everett Lilly as well as a later hour called “The Doc Watson Hour.” While bluegrass music may be experiencing an evolution in its sounds and subject matter, it continues to celebrate the pioneers who made it what it is. Last year each of the sessions devoted to Bill Monroe was well-attended despite the early hour. Convenient coffee and buns may make it more enjoyable.

After Hours Showcases aren’t “after hours” at all, they’re just late at night, earning the sobriquet that “IBMAstands for ‘I’ve been mostly awake.” Offered during the hours from 10:00 PM – 1:30 AM, the after hours showcases generally feature five bands and are sponsored by recording companies, regional bluegrass associations, manufacturers, or others wishing to give bands an opportunity to showcase. They represent a fine chance for talent buyers, recording industry execs, fans, and other musicians to see bands which have chosen or been invited to showcase. Even individual bands may rent a room and offer themselves or a group of bands for showcases.  These events are always fun with people wandering from showcase to showcase to see particular bands and gathering in the hallways to network (read schmooz or chat), meet and greet, or visit.

  A strand of the conference has been dedicated to songwriters after a long campaign. Sessions for song writers include a songwriter showcase and song circles on Tuesday and a workshop on writing bluegrass gospel songs on Wednesday. There’s also a new special award to be given on Thursday for bluegrass songwriter of the year. Since this is the first year this will be given, there’s a huge backlog of deserving song writers and only three nominees per year. Songwriters are such an integral part of bluegrass music, its about time such an award has become a part of IBMA.

The Exhibition Hall is open during various hours from Tuesday through Thursday, closing early on Thursday afternoon for changeover to the Exhibit Hall for Fan Fest on Friday and Saturday. For people staying the enite week, the changeover between the two versions of the Exhibit Hall is remarkable. During the Business Conference Exhibits focus on instruments, equipment, and booths provided to showcasing bands. During the last few years, with attendance down, largely because of the state of the economy but also because of member dissatisfaction with the leadership and direction of the organization, the Exhibit Hall has been a bit dreary. It will be interesting, in this last Nashville World of Bluegrass, to see whether the Exhibit Hall returns to its more exciting incarnation.

April Verch Tries Out a New Fiddle

 

A word of caution is appropriate here. If you attend IBMA, you’re going to spend a significant amount of money for registration and hotel fees. If you showcase, you’re going to be spending even more. Musicians are musicians because they love to play and make music together. Bluegrass is a participatory music. Spend some time thinking about what your goals for IBMA’s World of Bluegrass week are. If you’re there to grow your career, don’t use all your energy jamming all night and then expect to benefit from all the week has to offer.

This year, Distinguished Achievement Awards will be given to the following people.

 Conclusions: I’ve been informally polling participating bands and individual musicians for several years now. I hear a good deal of grousing from some musicians that IBMA events held in Owensboro and Louisville were much more fun, filled with jamming and excitement. Others who were there characterize events there as out of control drinking and carousing by people who came in from the streets to join the jammers without any controls or direction. I’ll leave it to others to judge which description is more accurate. Meanwhile, bands I’ve spoken with, whether they’re well-established or emerging, tell me that when they use World of Bluegrass as part of a well-coordinated campaign to raise their visibility, widen their range, and get more bookings, it seems to them to be a worthwhile investment. This is particularly true when they coordinate their efforts as a band to learn new approaches from others in the profession and associated industries to increase their skills in emerging areas. In a sense it’s like this blog. I can’t point to specific sales of CD’s or purchases of tickets that have been directly generated by appearing here. All I can say is that promoters and artists seem to think my writing and photographs benefit them.  Similarly, good bands seem to move up the ladder when they invest not just money, but themselves in making IBMA part of total program of advancement.