Bluegrass International

Europe (and the rest of the world) at IBMA's World of Bluegrass

2008-09-17T03:11:00.001-07:00

IBMA's World of Bluegrass 2008 begins in Nashville on Monday 29 September. An important event in the schedule will be the International Summit meeting (30 Sept.-1 Oct.), aimed at reaching a new consensus on IBMA's priorities for assisting the growth of bluegrass worldwide. Europe is strongly represented, with over half of the thirty members attending the Summit.

European musicians at World of Bluegrass will include the G2 Bluegrass Band (Sweden; #1 European Bluegrass Band 2007) andJohnny Butten (UK; current holder of the Guinness Records title 'World's Fastest Banjo Player'). The EBMA will again be hosting the International Suite showcases at the Nashville Convention Center (NCC), Room #104. The schedule is:

Tues. 30 Sept.
11:00 Janet McGarry (Canada)
11:30 G2 Bluegrass Band (Sweden)
12:00 Widow Maker (Canada)
12:30 The Toy Hearts (UK)
01:00 Lilly Drumeva (Bulgaria)
01:30 Johnny Butten (UK)

Wed. 1 Oct.
11:00 Red Wine (Italy)
11:30 C-Denny Band (Canada)
12:00 April Verch (Canada)
12:30 J.B. Rochat & Joost van Es (Switzerland/Netherlands)
01:00 Johnny Possum (New Zealand)
01:30 Tabea Anderfuhren, Aaron Till, & Steve Ledford (Switzerland/USA)

For details of other showcase appearances at World of Bluegrass by European performers, see the individual artists' websites.

G2's schedule in the US begins on Sunday 28 September at the world-famous Station Inn, Nashville, and includes an interview (with music) on Bluegrassradio.org (1 Oct.) and a slot on the main IBMA Fan Fest programme (4 Oct.). Red Wine, as well as playing in the main evening showcase programme (30 Sept.), will play for the IBMA Awards Reception Party (2 Oct.) and will go on to play at the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival (3-4 Oct.) and - for the second time - at the massive Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festivalin San Francisco (5 Oct.).

Europe challenged on banjo speed record

2008-09-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

In response to yesterday's mention of Johnny Butten (UK) as world's fastest banjo player, Erio Meili (originally of Switzerland, but now head of the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Music Association in Brazil and leader of the South American Bluegrass Network), reports:

Howdy folks,

Here comes our Southern challenge for a new record for world fastest banjo player, pre-qualified in the Livro da Guineia(Guineia Book) and hopefully running now for Guinness. Check it out on YouTube. The tune is 'Sunday', home-made and faster than Johnny Butten's 'Duelling banjos'. For our alternative duelling banjos spot, watch our 'Titanic deviation medley' here.

And only last week, all we had to worry about was that the world might be destroyed by the Large Hadron Collider...

Irish Bluegrass in Brazil

2007-09-28T02:02:00.000-07:00

Our friend from Ireland, Richard Hawkins, reports a fascinating story on his Bluegrass Ireland Blog. An Irish bluegrass night in Brazil!

Bluegrass at Expomusic Trade Fair in Brazil

2007-09-28T02:01:00.001-07:00

Erio Meili of the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Music Association reports that bluegrass was well received at the Expomusic2007 Trade Fair, the largest annual trade fair for music in South America.

Here are some photos of the event.

International Suite at IBMA's World of Bluegrass 2007

2007-06-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

As reported earlier, this year the European Bluegrass Music Association EBMA will again present the International Suite which will feature bluegrass bands from outside the USA. Rienk Janssen will be in charge of organising the International Suite and he informs us that the Davidson Brothers from Australia are among the first bands scheduled to perform.

International Bluegrass Bands

2007-06-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

The World International Bluegrass Band, which will be performing in the USA later this year and which we featured in recent news, has a forerunner.

Erio Meili of the São Paulo Bluegrass Association has reminded us of the International Band that performed at the 1997 IBMA FanFest. The personnel included Claudio Vescovi (guitar; Milan, Italy), Erio Meili (banjo; São Paulo, Brazil), Helmut Mitteregger (mandolin; Vienna, Austria), Katarina Mitteregger (bass; Vienna, Austria), Katsyaki Miyasaki (mandolin; Kyoto, Japan), Marilyn Barclay (guitar; Munich, Germany), Markus Stadler (banjo; Munich, Germany), Monika Schwentner (mandolin; Zurich, Switzerland), Paul Graham (mandolin; Jerusalem, Israel), Richard Hawkins (banjo; Dublin, Ireland), Thierry Schoysman (banjo; Brussels, Belgium).

Further research by EBMA's European Bluegrass Blog has uncovered that the group was assembled and organised for the performance by the late Eric Hoogstad of the Netherlands. The picture below shows Eric (right) and Erio holding the framed artwork for the 1997 World of Bluegrass.

A world of bluegrass at the World of Bluegrass

2007-06-20T03:12:00.001-07:00

The World International Blue Grass Band

2007-06-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

EBMA' European Bluegrass Blog reports that banjo player, former Blue Grass Boy, and author Butch Robins is forming a World International Blue Grass Band as a statement of cooperation, goodwill, and peace.

The band consists of Kazuhiro Inaba from Japan (guitar); Arnold Lasseur from the Netherlands (mandolin); Jan Johansson from Sweden (fiddle); Hamish Davidson from Australia (fiddle); Sean McKerr from Ireland (acoustic bass); and Butch himself on banjo. His father, the late Calvin Robins, who was a close friend of Bill Monroe, was a major influence in introducing Butch to visitors from outside the US and encouraging him to make contact with different cultures.

The World International Blue Grass Band will be playing shows in autumn 2007, including appearances at the IBMA's World of Bluegrass Business Conference, Award Show, and Fan Fest in Nashville, TN.

So far, the following performances have been confirmed:

September 27, 2007 Jefferson Center, Roanoke, VA
September 29, 2007 Richards, VA
October 2-7, 2007 IBMA World of Bluegrass

International Bluegrass Media News

2007-06-14T01:54:00.000-07:00

IBMA publishes a bi-monthly newsletter entitled International Bluegrass. Find its current (May/June 2007) international section here.

The EBMA also edits a bi-monthly magazine, BLUEGRASS EUROPE. You can find past issues here.

International Bluegrass in Nashville

2007-06-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

The European Bluegrass Music Association will once again be coordinating the International Suite at the World of Bluegrass in Nashville, TN. There will be two shows, on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings - October 2 & 3 - starting at 10:45 pm.

We will welcome any non-US bluegrass group that will attend the WoB, to perform in the International Suite, preferably from all over the world. Several European bands that performed at the EWOB Festival 2007 already have indicated that they will be present.

If your group would like to participate, please contact Rienk Janssen at rienk@ebma.org.

Check out the International Suite's blog regularly for updates on the 2007 International Suite's program.

Bluegrass Pioneer Tatsuo Arita Passes

2007-06-14T00:20:00.000-07:00

Saburo 'Sab Watanabe' Inoue of Japan sends via the IBMA-L list the sad news that Japanese bluegrass pioneer Tatsuo Arita passed away today while on a tour cruise in the Mediterranean. Although not a musician, he played a key part in creating the first bluegrass-like band in Japan, the East Mountain Boys, in October 1958. There was no tradition in Japan at the time of stringband music or even fiddle and banjo, but from his knowledge of how a bluegrass band should sound, Arita encouraged Don Sano to play banjo and the Ozaki Brothers to play bluegrass-style mandolin and guitar.

While staying in New York in 1961 he heard the loudspeaker of a car (it belonged to the Stanley Brothers) yelling: 'The bluegrass show is in town!' so he went there and met David Freeman, who later founded County Records. The two men quickly became friends and went to 'Bluegrass Day' on 4 July 1961 at Luray, Virginia, the first ever all-bluegrass all-day event, produced by Bill Clifton.

The contribution made by Mr Arita and the Ozaki Brothers is on record as part of the IBMM Video Oral History Project, thanks to Fred Bartenstein. Sab adds:

Personally, I fell in love with bluegrass when I heard a single EP record which Mr Arita loaned to my brother Toshio in the early '60s - Flatt and Scruggs's 'Old home town'. Since the day I heard it, my life changed forever.

Mr Arita was behind the Japanese bluegrass scene since its heyday of the '60s, so not many people know him. However, the people who were inspired by his love of music will never forget what he gave me and us... to Japanese people, the bluegrass music.

New member of IBMA staff

2007-06-04T01:14:00.000-07:00

The International Bluegrass Music Association announces that Katy Leonard joins the IBMA staff today, Monday 4 June, as administrative assistant. Her responsibilities will include helping to manage information systems, member services, event planning, and operations.

Katy Leonard, as well as being a devoted bluegrass fan, has previous experience in the legal, education, business, music, and customer service fields. She has a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from Birmingham-Southern, Alabama, and a Master of Arts degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Limerick, Ireland, where her work included research into the Irish bluegrass scene.

Katy recently completed coursework for her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Brown University. She is now the first member of the IBMA staff to have an international background.

IBMA's International Outreach Program Funds Available for 2007: DEADLINE APRIL 16

2007-03-08T01:16:00.000-08:00

Over the last three years, IBMA has made financial resources available to foster the development of bluegrass music outside of the U.S. Twenty-nine grant applications have been funded during that time for a total of $50,000.00.

For 2007 the board allocated $20,000.00 in additional funds earmarked toward achieving two main goals:

Use IBMA World of Bluegrass events to expose international attendees to professional development opportunities and worldwide connections in the music.
Offer direct support to bluegrass professionals and organizational development efforts which foster the music's opportunities outside the USA.

Of the total allocated this year, $13,000.00 will be made available as scholarships for World of Bluegrass events (which may be used for registration fees, travel and/or accommodations), as well as other international activities which may be hosted during the convention. The remaining $7,000.00 will be available to fund new bluegrass projects which foster international cooperation and development outside the U.S. IBMA's International Outreach Program was introduced through the initiative of IBMA International Representative Paolo Dettwiler, chair of EBMA.

For further information see http://www.ibma.org/Articles/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=388