Billy Strings Announced As Keynote Speaker For IBMA Business Conference
Billy Strings. Photo: Alysse Gafkjen
Bluegrass phenom Billy Strings will be the keynote speaker at the IBMA Business Conference in Chattanooga on Sept. 16.
“Billy Strings in Conversation with Tom Power,” sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation and Turnberry Records, will be presented as a live interview at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The session is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET and Turnberry recording artist and IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards winner Junior Sisk will perform a special set before the keynote, which will feature a conversation with Strings and radio/podcast host Tom Power.
“Through my work on (the podcast) Toy Heart, I’ve had the chance to talk with some of the legends of bluegrass,” says Power. “I’ve spoken with the artists who’ve lived the music and carried it forward across generations. What struck me was how often those conversations, after the mics were off and I was wrapping cables, turned to Billy Strings. Long before the arena shows and awards, they were already calling him a transformational figure. I’m grateful for the chance to talk with Billy now, not at the end of a road but right in the thick of it—to ask about his relationship to bluegrass today, how he moves within it, and what he may have found in this music that’s opened it up to so many in a way we haven’t seen since the earliest days of Bill Monroe.”
“We couldn’t be prouder to present such an influential artist at this year’s conference,” says Ken White, Executive Director of IBMA. “Billy Strings represents the present and future of bluegrass by embracing—and building on—our past. We recommend that conference attendees circle this keynote address on their schedule for Sept. 16; we’re predicting standing room only for this session!”
To attend the in-person keynote on Sept. 16, a conference pass for that specific day is required. Passes for Sept. 16-18 are currently available at the discounted Summer Rate through Aug. 23. After that, prices will increase to the Final Rate. Complete details on pricing, conference sessions, artist showcases, and networking opportunities at the IBMA Business Conference are available at worldofbluegrass.org.
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