Bluegrass Blog: World of Bluegrass, SteelDrivers, Steep Canyon Rangers

Details are shaping up for the IBMA’s World of Bluegrass 2015 event, set for Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 at Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC. Performers Alison Krauss & Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush Band, Jerry Douglas Presents Earls of Leicester, The Gibson Brothers, Blue Highway, and O’Connor Family Band round out the lineup for Wide Open Bluegrass, the weekend festival that takes place as part of the overall World of Bluegrass event.

Performers previously announced for this year’s Wide Open Bluegrass include Steep Canyon Rangers, The Infamous Stringdusters, Balsam Range, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, The Wailin’ Jennys, The Kruger Brothers (with special guests), The Claire Lynch Band, Flatt Lonesome, Band of Ruhks, and performances from the critically acclaimed Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited project.

Wide Open Bluegrass is part of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass event, a five-day annual bluegrass music homecoming/convention. World of Bluegrass also includes the IBMA Business Conference (Sept. 29 to Oct. 1), the 26th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards (Oct. 1), and the Bluegrass Ramble showcases (Sept. 29 to Oct. 1). Additional details and pricing information are available at ibma.org.

New Albums From The SteelDrivers, Steep Canyon Rangers

In other bluegrass news, The SteelDrivers are celebrating the release of their new album The Muscle Shoals Recordings (Rounder) this week. The band performed on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction, at Grimey’s, and at the Grand Ole Opry to kick off the CD release and also traveled to Florence, Ala. the home of singer-guitarist Gary Nichols, for a performance.

And the Grammy Award-winning Steep Canyon Rangers will release a new CD, Radio, Aug. 28 on Rounder Records. Produced by Jerry Douglas, the title track of the album, their ninth studio collection, premiered earlier this week on The Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy blog. The Rangers perform between 125 and 150 dates per year, including tours they share with Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at lhollabaugh@musicrow.com.

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