IBMA World of Bluegrass Festival takes final bow in Raleigh this week

This weekend, the IBMA World of Bluegrass festival will fill the streets with dozens of musicians on multiple stages for the final time.

After a decade in Raleigh, the International Bluegrass Music Association’s long-time festival, which includes a week of bluegrass conferences, workshops and a free two-day street fest, will depart the City of Oaks for the 2025 event, which will be held in Chattanooga, Tenn., through 2027.

Bluegrass will still fill the streets this year with events planned Tuesday through Saturday in downtown Raleigh.

Things will kick off on Tuesday with the IBMA Business Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center. The conference will run through Saturday and includes development sessions for budding bluegrass musicians. Registration online is closed but people can still register and pay and admission fee at the door.

Also starting Tuesday is the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble, which feature showcases from various artists at locations through downtown. The ramble will be held nightly through Thursday. Tickets are $65 for all three days and $30for a single day pass. There is a slight discount for IBMA members.

On Thursday, the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards will be held at the Martin Marietta Performing Arts Center.

The current IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Entertainer of the Year, Billy Strings, is once again nominated for the honor. Strings will face off against Del McCoury Band, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Sister Sadie and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys for Entertainer of the Year.

Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame: Alan Munde, Jerry Douglas and Katy Daley will be inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. The IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award will be presented to Cindy Baucom, Laurie Lewis, Richard Hurst, ArtistWorks and Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival.

Tickets for the awards ceremony range from $50 to $110 and can be purchased online.

The week will wrap up with the IBMA Bluegrass Live! on Friday and Saturday.

Sierra Ferrell and Steep Canyon Rangers are among the headliners for this year’s event. Steep Canyon Rangers will be joined by special guests Chatham County Line for their set. Additional headliners at Red Hat Amphitheatre in downtown Raleigh include Sierra Hull, Sam Bush, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Danny Paisley, Amythyst Kiah and Crying Uncle.

Tickets are required for the Red Hat Amphitheater shows and range from $10 to $80. Children 5 years and younger are admitted free on the general admission lawn.

In addition to the headliner stage, there will be six more stages throughout downtown Raleigh during the free street festival. Performers playing those stages include Balsam Range, Barefoot Movement, Hank, Pattie & the Current, Jim Lauderdale, Sister Sadie, The Tan & Sober Gentlemen and Tray Wellington Band.

WRAL is a proud partner of IBMA World of Bluegrass.

What’s ahead for 2025

Raleigh-based nonprofit PineCone is teaming up with the city for a new event next fall. The Raleigh Wide Open Festival set for Oct. 3-4, 2025. The event name is a callback to the Raleigh Wide Open festivals which were popular in the mid-2000s in downtown.

“There’s something magical that happens when old friends get together to play music together. It’s an incredible thing to witness and is at the center of our plans for this sacrosanct weekend of music in Raleigh,” PineCone executive director David Brower said of the new event. “We’re excited for this new chapter of our region’s largest festival and look forward to dancing the late summer nights away with all our 100,000+ closest friends.”