RALEIGH, NC — Sierra Ferrell and Steep Canyon Rangers are among the headliners for this fall’s IBMA Bluegrass Live! events, organizers announced Wednesday.
Steep Canyon Rangers will be joined by special guests Chatham County Line for their set. Additional headliners for the Sept. 27-28 event at Red Hat Amphitheater in downtown Raleigh include Sierra Hull, Sam Bush, Rhonda Vincent & the Rage, Danny Paisley, Amythyst Kiah and Crying Uncle.
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.
Bluegrass Live! is part of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass, which includes a business conference, showcases and the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards.
As in years past, events during IBMA World of Bluegrass will take place at the Raleigh Convention Center, the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, the Red Hat Amphitheater and at various venues in town.
After a decline in Raleigh, IBMA announced last year that the long-time festival would be leaving the City of Oaks for the 2025 event.
At the time Loren Gold, Visit Raleigh’s executive vice president, said the city put forth a “competitive bid,” but IBMA still chose to go in a different direction.
Gold explained that two years impacted by COVID-19 and then Hurricane Ian in 2022 didn’t help. Still, the annual IBMA World of Bluegrass event has raked in about $88 million for Raleigh over the last 10 years.
In 2025, organizers say they plan to create a new Raleigh music festival with a broader range of music with Carolina roots.
The event will be a coordination between Visit Raleigh, PineCone and the Raleigh Convention Center with the intention to bring a new Americana-style music festival to downtown Raleigh starting in 2025.
The new 2025 festival will be run by PineCone, a Raleigh based non-profit that has produced the downtown bluegrass festival since it arrived in Raleigh in 2013.
