CMT News

More than 30 bluegrass acts -- including the Del McCoury Band, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage and the Johnny Staats Project -- so far have been confirmed to perform during the International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass Week, Oct. 16-22, in Louisville, Ky. Bill Ivey, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and former executive director of the Country Music Foundation, will give the keynote address at a luncheon on Oct. 18.

The World of Bluegrass Week is made up of the IBMA Trade Show (Oct. 16-19), the International Bluegrass Music Awards (Oct. 19) and Bluegrass Fan Fest (Oct. 20-22).

The IBMA estimates that more than 20,000 people will attend. Except for the awards show, which will be held at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, the activities will take place at the Galt House hotel.

Other acts scheduled to perform are IIIrd Tyme Out, Lonesome River Band, the Lynn Morris Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Blue Highway, Tim O'Brien, Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, Mountain Heart, Dale Ann Bradley & Coon Creek, the James King Band, the Isaacs, the Lilly Brothers, Blueridge, New Vintage, Dry Branch Fire Squad, the Chapmans, Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show, Jerry & Tammy Sullivan, the Jeff White Band, Hazel Dickens, Robin & Linda Williams, Lost Highway, Country Current (U.S. Navy Band), Fragment, the Bill Evans/John Reischman Band, Mark Johnson & Friends, Country Ham and Linda Thompson & Dan DeLancey.

The Kathy Chiavola Band and guests will perform a tribute to the late Randy Howard, who last year won the IBMA's fiddle player of the year award.

Seminars to be offered as part of the trade show include Producing Indoor Bluegrass Festivals, Playing the International Bluegrass Market, The Legal Rights of Songwriters and Music Publishers, Internet 101, the Internet and Distribution of Digital Music, Marketing Plans, How to Be a Better Broadcaster, What's New in Sponsorship: 20 Great New Ideas, Marketing Bluegrass to Younger Audiences, Managing a Bluegrass Band, Soundscan and the Success of Bluegrass at Retail, Basics of Festival Operations (a roundtable discussion), The Founders Reflect on the IBMA, Staying Healthy on the Road and Bluegrass Youth Programs That Work.

The International Bluegrass Music Awards show will be broadcast on more than 300 U.S. radio stations and on 14 foreign networks.

Details on participating in and attending the World of Bluegrass Week are available at www.IBMA.org.