Promoter’s Dilemma

Every person promoting a bluegrass festival is confronted with the dilemma of balancing artistic excellence with business concerns within the context of varying audience tastes as well as willingness to pay. This dilemma creates a constant pull between wishing to...

Promoters: Why IBMA Is For You

The other day I was talking to a promoter of a small festival in the midwest. His event is reputed to be a good one that people enjoy attending and artists like working for. He commented that he needed to do something to strenghten his lineup and reach out more...

Promotional Idea

First, let me thank all of you who signed my candidate’s petition for the Board of Directors election. I will do my best to live up to your expectations. Recently there was a suggestion posted on the Message Board for increasing membership in the association, to wit,...

Provincialism and Bluegrass

I read somewhere that in a national study commissioned by IBMA about a variety of measures exploring the popularity and penetration of bluegrass music there were approximately twenty million people claiming to listen to bluegrass music. That’s a lot of people,...

Punch Brothers

Dear friends, Happy Monday morning. I’m giving today’s Welcome over to my boy Marty. I’m looking forward to seeing the Punch Brothers show with him this coming Thursday in San Francisco. I’m also happy to mention that he will be performing with Billy and Sarah, and...