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

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.).