Raleigh to replace IBMA World of Bluegrass with its own music festival in 2025
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A band performs during the IBMA World of Bluegrass festival in downtown Raleigh. Photo: Rob Laughter/Visit Raleigh
The Raleigh Wide Open Bluegrass Festival will debut in downtown Raleigh in 2025, following the departure of the popular IBMA World of Bluegrass festival to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Why it matters: For a decade the International Bluegrass Music Association has held its annual conference and music festival in downtown Raleigh, becoming one of the city's most popular annual events.
- But after landing $25 million from the state of Tennessee, IBMA will take its event south to Chattanooga after this year's edition.
Driving the news: PineCone, the Raleigh music organization that has coordinated much of the free music at IBMA's event, will introduce Raleigh Wide Open, resurrecting the branding of a previous street festival.
- The city of Raleigh, the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau and the State Department of Natural and Cultural Resources have pledged their support to the new festival.
- Raleigh Wide Open is set for Oct. 3-4, 2025.
The intrigue: Its name is a tribute to a 2005 Raleigh festival that was launched to bring life to downtown at the time, PineCone says.
- It wasn't an annual event, but IBMA used the Wide Open name from 2014 to 2019 before rebranding to World of Bluegrass.
Zoom in: The goal is that festivalgoers won't feel like Raleigh Wide Open is a completely new festival, executive director of PineCone David Brower says.
- The plan includes a mix of performances along Fayetteville Street and other downtown areas, with sights on keeping it a primarily free event.
- The festival will focus on bluegrass but will also include genres like Americana, alt-country and other folk music, especially those with North Carolina ties, per Brower.
What they're saying: "The goal is to keep the spirit of the event intact, and that spirit and goal is to create a cultural experience that reflects the city of Raleigh," Brower tells Axios. "We consider it a success when we see a family, with the kids, parents and grandparents all enjoying the festival."
What's next: The IBMA's final World of Bluegrass festival in Raleigh will take place from September 27-28.
