Bluegrass Museum's summer festival to feature GRAMMY-winners

by Gabrielle Gray, International Bluegrass Music Museum

The International Bluegrass Music Museum's ROMP Bluegrass Roots and Branches Festival will be held June 23-25, 2011 at Yellow Creek Park just outside Owensboro, Ky. Headlining the event are Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Emmylou Harris, Trampled By Turtles, Carolina Chocolate Drops and Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile.

Adult 3-day passes to this annual fundraising event are on sale in advance for $70 each. Museum members receive a $20 discount. Student 3-day passes are available for $55; active military and senior passes are $60. Three-day passes are sold in advance only. Single-day tickets are $25 and are available both in advance and at the gate. Dry tent camping at Yellow Creek Park is free for 3-day pass holders. For tickets, go to www.bluegrassmuseum.org or call 270-926-7891.

In addition to the artists listed above, the festival line-up includes bluegrass heavy hitters Tony Rice performing with Mountain Heart, The Infamous Stringdusters, Pete & Joan Wernick, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Kenny & Amanda Smith, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, GRAMMY-nominee Sarah Jarosz, IBMA Guitar Player of the Year Josh Williams, The 23 String Band, The Professors of Bluegrass , Loose Cannon Bluegrass Band, Bawn in the Mash, King's Highway, and the Museum's own student brigade, the Kentucky BlueGrass AllStars. Showcase bands are yet to be announced.

Museum Director Gabrielle Gray says that ROMP 2011 will undoubtedly be its biggest year to date. The expanded program is part of IBMM's year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass Music, who was born and grew to manhood in nearby Ohio County, Ky. The program will feature a wide variety of bluegrass and bluegrass-related genres including old time, Americana and jamgrass.

"We booked non-traditional acts to illustrate the wide range of influence bluegrass music and Bill Monroe have had-and increasingly continue to have-on today's music culture. We are so fortunate to have these artists coming to the heartland of bluegrass to perform for us," Gray says.

For the first time ROMP festival vendors will focus on local cuisine, with food provided by area chefs. "I think festivals-goers from around the country and the world are going to be impressed with the variety and quality of specialty food items. And of course, we will have local barbeque, for which Western Kentucky is world-famous," Gray says.

In addition to the musical line-up, this year's festival will feature Museum exhibits and a film festival of the Museum's documentaries on the lives of first generation bluegrass musicians. New to ROMP 2011 are late-night jams. "This year at ROMP we'll be having all-night jams around a bonfire after the main stage shuts down each night. It's a great way to make new friends-jamming 'til the sun comes up," Gray says.

For more information see the IBMM's web site at www.bluegrassmuseum.org or call 270-926-7891.

Classic shows on RBI

From IBMA's Nancy Cardwell:

INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC MUSEUM’S INTERNET RADIO TO AIR “BLUEGRASS MUSIC TREASURES”


The International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBMM) has been broadcasting bluegrass
music on their Internet Radio station, Radio Bluegrass International (RBI),
which airs 24/7 on the museum’s website http://bluegrassmuseum.org. They are announcing the
addition of a new show called “Nick’s Tape Treasures,” which will present recordings of live
concerts and festivals, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. The two-hour show will
air Saturdays at 11:00 A.M. and 11:00 P.M. Eastern on RBI starting on April 2,
2011.

The show was developed by veteran bluegrass music broadcaster, Nick Barr, from
Albany NY. He currently hosts a show, “WAMC Bluegrass Time,” over WAMC
Northeast Public Radio, a 22-station public radio network headquartered in
Albany NY. He has hosted WAMC Bluegrass Time for over 10 years, and he has over
25 years of experience in presenting bluegrass music on both public and
commercial radio.

Nick made the tapes while attending the concerts and festivals from the mid-‘60s
to around 1980. In 2008 he donated the original reel-to-reel tapes to IBMM,
along with a digital copy of hundreds of CDs. The process required a transfer
of the original tapes to CD, and then further work to arrange the tapes into
sequential order and then into a timed format to air on RBI.

“These recordings represent a major historical record of bluegrass music during
the period that it went from an obscure regional music to one known worldwide,”
Nick said. “I was pleased to be able to provide these tapes to the IBMM for
their use. It took many hours on my part to get this project onto RBI, but it
is well worth it, knowing that people all over the world will be able to listen
to them.”

The show will start with a series of house concerts held in the basement of a
home in Montvale, NJ from 1969 to 1973. Another series will spotlight concerts
which Nick produced in the Albany NY area from 1974 to 1976. A number of
bluegrass festivals from that era will be broadcast on future shows. Many of
the top names in bluegrass at the time are included on these tapes, but there
are also lesser-known groups featured, showing the diversity of the music.

“I am grateful to Nick, a Lifetime Gold Member and strong supporter of the
Museum, for making these tapes available to us” said Gabrielle Gray, IBMM
Executive Director. “RBI is the perfect outlet for these recordings. They are
totally unique and have tremendous historical value.”

“Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music, was born on September 13, 1911, and
the world is celebrating his centennial this year. As the exact date nears, I
will be featuring music by Bill exclusively,” Nick said. “Of course any
bluegrass music from that era came directly or indirectly from Bill Monroe, so
it is fitting that we make this music available now.”

More info: http://www.bluegrassmuseum.org,- http://www.nickbarr.net

'Huge' Monroe centennial celebrations planned

By KEITH LAWRENCE - Messenger-Inquirer

 ROSINE, Ky. -- When William Smith Monroe was born on Sept. 13, 1911, few people other than the neighbors of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa Vandiver Monroe were aware of it.

After all, the baby, named for two of his uncles, was the eighth child born into the farm family on Ohio County's Jerusalem Ridge.


It was hardly news that Malissa Monroe was having another baby.


But the 100th anniversary of the birth of the man known as the "father of bluegrass music" will be a major event in Rosine, his hometown, and Owensboro, where an emergency appendectomy in 1921 saved Monroe's life.


"I think it's going to be very big for us," Karen Miller, executive director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said recently. Full story here

New Video About the IBMM

Here is a great new video, that is a great introduction to Bluegrass as well as the International Bluegrass Music Museum. (Produced by The World Progress Report, a TV show produced for public TV,)

Owensboro wants larger bluegrass museum

New site would have stage, shops



OWENSBORO, Ky. — City officials are hoping to move their bluegrass museum to a new site and create an entire bluegrass music center around it.
“This could be the biggest thing we do downtown,” Owensboro Mayor Ron Payne said of the proposal to move the International Bluegrass Music Museum into a state office building and expand it into the International Bluegrass Music Center.

The center would feature an indoor/outdoor stage, shops, and a barbecue restaurant, according to the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.

The Western Kentucky city is a fitting spot for the center. Bill Monroe, known as the father of bluegrass music, was born and is buried in Rosine, about 40 miles southeast of Owensboro.

The city's drive to capitalize on bluegrass began 25 years ago when what was then the Owensboro-Daviess County Tourist Commission launched a drive to create a bluegrass festival, a professional bluegrass association, a convention, an awards show and a museum. Full AP story in The Courier - Journal

Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys Converge In Kentucky

Owensboro, Ky., is home to the International Bluegrass Museum and the site of the Blue Grass Boys' musical reunion.

"It's just like you going to a family reunion. I mean, we're all in the same family," Guy Stevenson says. "We was all taught by the same teacher."


Stevenson played with the Blue Grass Boys in 1973. Over the years, there were countless incarnations of the group that backed up Bill Monroe's singing and mandolin-picking. Between its formation at the start of WWII and Monroe's death in 1996, about 175 Blue Grass Boys wore the band's signature Stetson hats. This summer, the International Bluegrass Museum's annual ROMP Festival hosted a reunion for 29 of them. Before ROMP, many of those had never shared a stage together.


Monroe's band included some of the best bluegrass pickers, but not everyone was well-known when they first joined the group. Some couldn't even really play the instruments they were hired to play. Scottie Baugus, for instance, was 29 when Monroe tapped him to sing and play guitar. He had never before worked as a professional musician.


Once he was hired, Baugus says things were stressful — the band hardly ever rehearsed. At his first show, he got to see the set list only 20 minutes before stepping on stage. Luckily, he already knew all the songs from Monroe's recordings. Fiddler Wayne Jerrolds joined the band in 1988; his first gig was the next night at the Grand Ole Opry.


"Man, I got in there about to have a heart attack, 'cause I always wanted to do it," Jerrolds says. "And I thought, 'This is my big chance and I'm gonna blow it; I'll freeze.' But I made it through it. I had to take about three Xanax, or I couldn't have made it, to tell you the truth."


The Father Of Bluegrass?

Some Blue Grass Boys are less... Full NPR story,

News from The International Bluegrass Music Musem

BILL MONROE EXHIBIT OPENS SEPTEMBER 10

Second of Three Exhibits for Monroe Centennial Celebration

We'll be opening our Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibit on September 10, 2010, as part of the worldwide Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration. This event takes place just three days prior to what would have been Big Mon's 99th birthday

Featured in the Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibit are many of his personal artifacts illustrating the impact of his long and eventful career. Showcased are two major artifacts never before displayed in a museum setting: Uncle Pen's fiddle and the famous headstock veneer from Bill Monroe's mandolin.



The Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibit is the second of three special shows that will be open during the two-year Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration. The Bill Monroe Centennial Art Exhibit is the first exhibit in the set, which opened to an overflowing crowd at the museum during the Blue Grass Boys Reunion on opening day of ROMP 2010. ROMP is the museum's summer cultural festival.



The third Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibit will open on his 100th birthday, September 13, 2011, and will feature artifacts of the Blue Grass Boys-those legendary members of Bill Monroe's band over many decades-as well as expand upon the Bill Monroe Centennial Exhibit.



BILL MONROE EXHIBIT TO INCLUDE RARE ARTIFACTS



Uncle Pen's Fiddle

Bluegrass musicians and fans know that this fiddle and its owner, Pendleton Vandiver, were enormously influential in Bill Monroe's life.



Uncle Pen's fiddle was acquired by one of the most instrumental people in establishing the IBMM, Terry Woodward of Owensboro, Kentucky, who has gifted the instrument to the museum for the duration of the Centennial celebration. This fiddle has been used in recent recording sessions by fiddlers Ricky Skaggs, Stuart Duncan, Fletcher Bright and Tim O'Brien, among many others, to record a soundtrack for a motion picture being made of Bill Monroe's life starring Golden Globe-nominated actor Peter Sarsgaard as Monroe, his real-life wife Maggie Gyllenhaal as Bessie Lee Mauldin, T-Bone Burnett as music director and Callie Khouri as script writer. Sounds like an Oscar-winning combination to us!!



Monroe's Famous Mandolin Headplate

The other major artifact, the original headstock veneer from Bill Monroe's world-famous Gibson 1923 F-5 Lloyd Loar mandolin, is part of a legend well-known to fans and considered by some to be the quintessential bluegrass relic. Following a disagreement with Gibson, Monroe removed the company's name from the headstock with a pocketknife, leaving only the word "The."

The veneer was auctioned at Christie's in New York City in December of 2009. The IBMM's executive director, Gabrielle Gray, made the trip from Owensboro hoping to be the top bidder and acquire the artifact for the museum. She was outbid by Laura Weber Cash, an accomplished vocalist and national award-winning fiddler, who, along with her husband, John Carter Cash, graciously agreed to place it on loan to the museum for the duration of the Centennial celebration.

More museum news, including new accuissions, possible new location for museum, and more here.

Bluegrass Museum’s Bill Monroe Exhibit to Include Rare Artifacts‏

Uncle Pen’s fiddle and Monroe’s famous mandolin headstock spotlighted

Owensboro, Ky—The International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBMM) will open its Bill Monroe Exhibit as part of the worldwide Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration on September 10, 2010, just three days prior to what would have been Mr. Monroe’s 99th birthday. The opening will begin at 6:00 p.m. (CST) at the IBMM, 217 Daviess Street, Owensboro, KY 42303, and will include a reception with food and drink, as well as an all-star bluegrass concert.
Tickets to the Exhibit Opening & Reception are $10. Tickets to the concert only are $20 and are limited to 125, so reservations are recommended. Tickets for persons attending both the Exhibit Opening & Reception and the All-Star Faculty Concert are $25. Call 270-926-7891 for tickets.
Featured in the Bill Monroe Exhibit are many of Monroe’s personal artifacts and clothing, records and other items, illustrating the impact of his long and eventful career, which spanned nearly seven decades and resulted in the creation and global propagation of one of America’s scant original musical genres. Showcased in this exhibit will be two major artifacts never before displayed in a museum setting: Uncle Pen’s fiddle and the famous headstock veneer from Bill Monroe’s mandolin.
Bluegrass musicians and fans know that this fiddle and its owner, Pendleton Vandiver, were enormously influential in Bill Monroe’s life. After the death of his parents, Bill, then age 16, lived with his Uncle Pen, who taught him mountain and Celtic fiddle tunes which Bill transposed onto the mandolin, making him one of the first to play the mandolin in this manner.
Uncle Pen’s fiddle was acquired by one of the most instrumental people in establishing the IBMM, Terry Woodward of Owensboro, Kentucky, who has gifted the instrument to the museum for the duration of the centennial celebration. This fiddle has been used in recent recording sessions by fiddlers Ricky Skaggs, Stuart Duncan, Fletcher Bright and Tim O’Brien to record a soundtrack for a motion picture being made of Bill Monroe’s life starring Golden Globe-nominated actor Peter Sarsgaard.
The other major artifact, the original headstock veneer from Bill Monroe’s world-famous Gibson 1923 F-5 Lloyd Loar mandolin, is part of a legend well-known to fans and it is considered by some to be the quintessential bluegrass relic. After a disagreement with Gibson, Monroe removed the company’s name from the headstock with a pocketknife, leaving only the word “The.” He performed with the mandolin in that condition from around 1951 until 1980 when Gibson replaced it along with completing several other repairs. It was thought to have been lost or scrapped until recently.
The veneer was auctioned at Christie’s in New York City in December of 2009. The IBMM’s executive director, Gabrielle Gray, made the trip from Owensboro hoping to be the top bidder and acquire the artifact for the museum. She was outbid by Laura Weber Cash, an accomplished vocalist and award-winning fiddler, who has agreed to loan it to the museum for the centennial celebration.*
Coinciding with the Bill Monroe Exhibit opening will be the 5th annual Bill Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp, which draws campers from around the world to learn the legendary, virtuosic, idiosyncratic mandolin style that Monroe created and perfected over many decades. Campers are treated to an annual concert—essentially heaven for mandolin players—with some of the best instrumentalists in the world playing music in the manner Bill Monroe made famous.
The All-Star Faculty Concert begins at 8:00 p.m., also in the RiverPark Center Complex, and is open to the public. The concert features mandolin camp faculty members, including Camp Director Mike Compton, Associate Director Dr. Richard “Richie” Brown, Bluegrass Hall of Fame member Bobby Osborne, Skip Gorman and David Harvey, as well as special guests Danny Jones (former Blue Grass Boy), Dave Peterson (band leader), luthiers Will Kimble and Paul Duff, and others yet to be announced.
The Bill Monroe Exhibit is the second of three special shows that will be open during the two-year Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration. The Bill Monroe Centennial Art Exhibit is the first exhibit in the set, which opened to an overflowing crowd at the museum on opening day of ROMP, the museum’s summer cultural festival.
The art exhibit is comprised of visual artwork by dozens of artists inspired by the music of Bill Monroe. The various forms of art depict specific songs or lyrics. The songs play in the exhibit hall and lyrics are posted beside the art. This exhibit will remain at the museum throughout the centennial celebration period. All works are for sale, with the museum receiving 40% of the proceeds.
The third Bill Monroe Centennial exhibit will open September 13, 2011, his 100th birthday, and will feature the artifacts of The Blue Grass Boys—the legendary members of Bill Monroe’s band over many decades—as well as expand upon the Bill Monroe Exhibit.
The International Bluegrass Music Museum is located in downtown Owensboro in the RiverPark Center Complex, 217 Daviess Street. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. For information call 270-926-7891 or visit the museum’s website: http://www.bluegrassmuseum.org/

BIG NEWS for the MUSEUM‏ (IBMM)

                        


From: Gabrielle Gray - Exective Director,  (gabrielle@bluegrassmuseum.org)

Sent: Thu 7/08/10 10:55 AM

To: tties91@hotmail.com
International Bluegrass Music Museum
July 8, 2010
Dear IBMM Members:
In light of the much-heralded announcement made to the press by the City of Owensboro last night to make their newly-acquired 60,000 square foot building at the intersection of Main and Frederica Streets available to the International Bluegrass Music Museum for a new International Bluegrass Music Center, today we have been fielding phone calls and emails from people who are very excited by the possibilities (as indeed we all are). This letter will attempt to give information regarding the proposal, and as many answers as we have at this time.
The proposed Center would house the museum as well as other elements relating directly to bluegrass i.e. (POSSIBLY) a Bluegrass Opry, concert hall, bluegrass library, international center, recording studio, radio station, outdoor amphitheater, etc. Each element will be priced and either planned or not, according to what we can do with the funding we receive and raise. Most important, of course, is planning for posterity, for preservation of our current and growing collection of artifacts, and continuing the important work we're already doing such as gathering, digitizing, and cataloguing the video oral histories of the early practitioners of bluegrass music.
It's necessary for everyone to understand that the details are yet to be worked out, and that the museum's Board of Trustees has yet to vote to accept the building as the museum's new home. Much planning will need to be done by our board, museum staff and city planners to determine exactly what the new Bluegrass Center will look like, what it will house, what elements will be incorporated into the plan, and then financing over and above what the City is going to donate will have to be found. These costs are as yet undetermined and will continue to be thus until such time as plans for the new International Bluegrass Music Center are solidified and budgeted.
Our first step is a feasibility study that will begin almost immediately to determine whether or not the museum can sustain the increase in general operating expense inherent with occupying and maintaining a building three times the size of our current museum and staffing the new center appropriately to handle the plans as-yet-to-be adopted.
The proposed timeline for completion of the new riverfront development is the summer of 2012. Construction is to begin on the hotel and convention center by mid-2011. If the museum moves to this new location, it's possible that both the renovation and move could be completed in a year -- that is optimistic but not unreasonable, provided the funding is found, architectural renderings are approved, and the renovation goes smoothly.
The City of Owensboro and Daviess County Fiscal Court also publicly announced last night that they intend for the focus of Owensboro henceforth to be "Bluegrass". This is not surprising as this has always been a mega-bluegrass-supportive environment, thanks primarily to Terry Woodward's vision, leadership and generosity. What is a surprise, and a delightful one, is that they would help us move to the best block of real estate in town, in a building they would own and maintain, in the absolute kingpin location of a massive riverfront redevelopment project that spans 1.1 miles from the existing RiverPark Center all the way to English Park, incorporating the old Executive Inn property in approximately the center of that expanse. This is such an affirmation of Bluegrass Music and the Bluegrass Museum that it's impossible to put into words how elated this makes us feel. But of course, there is the money to raise!
Current potential plans have a large new Hampton Inn across one street, a new convention & events center across the other street, and the Ohio River running in front of it all. Current plans also have the convention center incorporating the pier structure on the river (from the old Executive Inn Showcase Lounge) into the new convention center, recapturing memories of all the great music shows that have taken place in that exact location over many decades.
All of this comes at a time when we are in full-scale planning for the Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration in 2011. SO, we are going to be BUSY, and again, if you can volunteer to help, please put us in your schedule. Maybe you can find a week in the winter of 2010 or the spring/summer of 2011 to spend here in O'boro making some significant dreams come true for current and future generations to enjoy.
As plans progress, we will keep you posted. Garian Vigil is the museum's publicist, so please stay tuned to her posts, as many of our announcements will come through her.
Thanks for everything each of you do to make bluegrass music so exciting that this city would take on such a large financial commitment to make an even-more marvelous home for the music we all love.
We welcome your input and suggestions. Please let us hear from you
My best to all,

Gabrielle

270-926-7891 (Call to volunteer!)

More From Tim Custer at IBMM

As a follow up side story to IBMM... while visiting the museum, I noticed a life sized 'mock' display of the side of a motorhome. There were statues of pickers under an extend awning portraing a jam session. On the walls surrounding the display, were life sized photographs of actual jams at various festivals from around the country. I was plaesantly surprised to see Western Pennsylvania well represented with the attached photos. Those I recognized in the photo are Francine Michaels, Shirley & Ray Niehenke, Claudia Phillips and possibly Mark Reid (?) Again sorry for the poor quality from my cell phone camera. I think it's wonderful that we've got several local folks in the IBMM.

Tim

Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers at ROMP - Photos

(Mac Martin & The Dixie Travelers were honored to be part of The Legends concert at the River of Music Party (ROMP,) last weekend. Mac is considered by the IBMA and IBMM, as a first generation artist, to be one of the founders of Bluegrass Music. Curly Sechler had requested to sing with Mac.)

A note and photos from Tim Custer:

Here's a photo of Mac & the DT's at ROMP.


Also one of me and Curly Sechler.

Norm's wife took photos with her camera of us on stage with Curly but I don't have them yet.

It was a great time.

Mac was well received and properly honored.

It was also a huge honor to play with Curly.

For a few moments when he & Mac were singing, I felt a little like Earl Scruggs! Ha-ha!

They also have a nice display of pioneers which includes Mac, hanging on the wall in the International Bluegrass Museum.

He's right there between J.D.Crowe, The Boys From Indiana, The Lilly Bros. and others.

Sorry that photo is of poorer quality... it's from my cell phone

Thought you'd enjoy.

Tim

Thank you Tim.

Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers at ROMP

ROMP

(River of Music Party)

Mac Martin And The Dixie Travelers will be the featured bandat the Bluegrass Legends concert  Thursday June 24.

Joining the band for this show will be Bluegrass legend Curly Sechler.Curly and Mac sang together last year and Curly asked to sing with Mac again this year.

Mac is on the International Bluegrass Music Museum's list of Bluegrass Pioneers.

The ROMP Bluegrass Festival is sponsored by the International Bluegrass Music Museum and is a major fund raiser for the Museum.

The mission of the International Bluegrass Music Museum is to develop and maintain an environment in which people of all ages can discover the richness of bluegrass music.Owensboro, KY
The International Bluegrass Music Museum is located in the RiverPark Complex at the foot of "the blue bridge" in downtown Owensboro, Kentucky. As you draw near, you'll hear the sounds of bluegrass music emanating from the museum's radio station, RBI, with audio speakers taking the music to the streets. Only a few hundred feet from the museum's entrance, the sound of music drifts downstream via the mighty Ohio River, the subject of more than a few memorable bluegrass songs.
Bluegrass is the official State Music of Kentucky, and Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" shares with Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home" the honorable distinction of being the official Kentucky State Songs. The infectiously energetic style of dance that grew up around bluegrass and old time music is clogging, the official Kentucky State Dance. This museum, established to preserve the history of the music Mr. Monroe created, is located 30 minutes from the little town of Rosine, Kentucky, and Jerusalem Ridge, the homeplace where he was born and grew to manhood, and where he and members of his family now rest in peace.
 
Source WPBGC

Musicians rally to help International Bluegrass Music Museum

Saturday, March 20, 2010
By Keith Lawrence, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer
Mark Humphrey/Associated PressThe International Bluegrass Music Museum keeps alive the legacy of the late Bill Monroe, known as the father of bluegrass music. Like many nonprofits these days, the museum in Owensboro, Ky., is struggling to survive.OWENSBORO, Ky. -- The International Bluegrass Music Museum in this western Kentucky city 40 miles from Bill Monroe's birth and burial places is struggling financially like most nonprofit organizations.

But a group of bluegrass musicians is coming to the museum's rescue with a series of what will soon become weekly concerts featuring some of the top names in the business.

James King, known for his "mountain soul," is slated to perform in the museum's Bluegrass Unlimited Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday. More...

Tickets are $10. They can be ordered by calling the museum at 1-888-MY-BANJO.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10079/1044183-388.stm#ixzz0ija9cC6F

Museum has a sound past

Visitors to Owensboro can hear the melodic sounds of bluegrass music drifting down the Ohio River from one the city's key tourist attractions, the International Bluegrass Music Museum, just a two-hour drive from Louisville.
Founded in 1991 and located in the city's RiverPark Complex, the museum houses such artifacts as a Pete Seeger banjo and exhibits of historic instruments; the Bluegrass Hall of Fame recognizes industry notables; and a special section is dedicated to Bill Monroe, the legendary father of bluegrass music.
The International Bluegrass Music Museum is at 1117 Daviess St., Owensboro, Ky., and is open Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. (central time) and Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More.

Bill Monroe's mandolin continues to make history

By Keith Lawrence
Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer
(MCT)

OWENSBORO, Ky. — A 7-inch mandolin headstock veneer defaced by Bill Monroe nearly half a century ago sold at auction Dec. 3 for $37,500.
That's $5,357.15 an inch.
Christie's auction house in New York City had estimated that the piece would sell for between $5,000 and $7,000.
She wasn't the buyer, but Gabrielle Gray, executive director of the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Ky., was the last bidder to drop out before the piece of bluegrass history was sold.
"People at Christie's were shocked at the price," she said Thursday. "But it's folklore. It's one of a kind. It came from the most famous mandolin in the world. It's at the heart and soul of bluegrass music. It could have sold for $100,000."
Gray did come away from the auction with a 14 ½-inch statue that was presented posthumously to Monroe when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
More.

Bluegrass museum gets assist from musicians

OWENSBORO, Ky. — Musicians are pitching in to raise money for Owensboro's International Bluegrass Music Museum to help spread the following for bluegrass music far beyond this country's borders.
Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, a Tennessee-based band, will kick off a series of benefit concerts for the museum on Dec. 10, the Messenger-Inquirer of Owensboro reported.
Gabrielle Gray, the museum's executive director, said Smith is the first of several artists who have announced plans to come to the western Kentucky city to assist the museum.
"The International Bluegrass Music Museum is preserving an important part of America's musical history in a very welcoming, interactive, fun, yet classy way," Smith said in a statement.
The Grascals, the International Bluegrass Music Association's 2006 and 2007 entertainers of the year, are also planning a concert here to raise money, Gray said. Dates have not yet been finalized.
Jimmy Mattingly, a Leitchfield native who has played fiddle with the Grascals, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, among others, is also talking about an Owensboro show for the museum, Gray said.
The Dec. 10 concert will be webcast live over Radio Bluegrass International, the museum's online radio station, Gray said.
Gray said the fundraisers are ways to help the museum expand its boundaries.
She's already working on creating an international Bluegrass Museum Ambassadors Program.
Every bluegrass association in the world is being asked to select an ambassador.

Full story.

4th Annual Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp

International Bluegrass Music Museum

Owensboro, KY September 11 - 13 2009

The International Bluegrass Music Museum will host its highly anticipated 4th annual Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp on Sept. 11- 13 in Owensboro, KY. Grammy Award winning Mike Compton has been named camp and curriculum director. Compton is hailed as one of the world's pre-eminent mandolin teachers.
The new classes will reflect his experience after three years at the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp. In an effort to help preserve the performance art of Bill Monroe, "The Father of Bluegrass", Mike Compton will lead the 2009 faculty in presenting new classes and workshops related to the development and execution of Bill Monroe's mandolin style, songwriting and musical influences.
Dr. Richard Brown will serve as associated director of the camp. Special guests will include Monroe historian/author/performer Tom Ewing and luthier Will Kimble. Faculty members include Skip Gorman, Tim O'Brien, Jody Stecher and Butch Waller along with Compton and Brown.
At the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp, you will spend three days with six of the finest mandolin players from all over the country. With registration capped at 50, the camp's intimate environment allows for ample opportunities to receive personal, hands-on instruction from each of these legends of Monroe-style mandolin.
New to this year's camp on Friday is an All-Night Pickin' Party and Bluegrass Invitational, which will bring local and regional musicians together with campers for a non-stop jam session and barbeque feast.
Returning to the 2009 Monroe-Style Mandolin camp is a class on Mandolin Set Up and Maintenance by Kimble of Kimble Mandolins.
The 2009 All-Star Faculty Concert will be amazing. Each member of the faculty is an internationally known performer with his own band. Tom Ewing, Monroe's last guitarist with the Blue Grass Boys, adds vintage authenticity and historic relevance as well as great vocals and rhythm guitar. Campers are invited to an exclusive wine reception at the museum prior to the concert.
The camp package includes:- Intensive group lessons in Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels. Choose one level or migrate throughout the weekend.- An all-night Pickin' Party and Bluegrass Invitational with a feast from the world-famous Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn. Learn why they call this part of Kentucky "The Bluegrass and Barbeque Region".- Lunch on Saturday and Sunday at the museum.- Lodging Friday and Saturday at the Hampton Inn or Sleep Inn. Continental breakfast included.- A reserved seat at the All-Star Faculty Concert featuring all instructors plus Tom Ewing. It's open to the public but campers get the closest seats.- A group photo.- Free admission to the museum on Thursday and Monday, before and after camp.- An International Bluegrass Music Museum instrument case decal.- The special edition t-shirt and poster.
Join us Saturday evening, Sept. 12th (the eve of what would have been Bill's 98th birthday) for our All-Star Faculty Concert at Woodward's Cafe, across the foyer from the museum's entrance. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Showtime is 7:30. The concert is open to the public and features all six instructors plus Ewing, editor of The Bill Monroe Reader. Tickets are $20 (included with campers' tuition), available in advance or at the door. After campers are seated, only 50 seats remain, so reserve your ticket(s) early by calling the museum: 270-926-7891 or visit The Mando Camp Website.

Monroe - Style Mandolin Camp, 09

Owensboro Ky - March 6 2009
Contact Gabrielle Gray

270-926-7891

International Bluegrass Music Museum

4th Annual Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp

OWENSBORO, KY- March 6, 2009 - This museum will present the 4th annual Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp this coming September 11-13 2009 in Owensboro, Kentucky. Our goal in hosting this camp is to preserve the unique, historic performance art of Bill Monroe, "The Father of Bluegrass," by teaching his style of mandolin playing and songwriting to a new generation of players. Our Faculty Mike Compton, Camp & Curriculum Director Dr. Richard Brown, Associate Director Skip Gorman, Tim O'Brien. Jody Stecher, Butch Waller, Special Guests

Tom Ewing, Monroe historian, concert performer, Will Kimble, luthier.
The 2009 curriculum has been revised by Camp Director Mike Compton, one of the world's pre-eminent mandolin teachers. The new classes will reflect his experience after three years at the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp and ongoing conversations with campers and faculty. He will lead our 2009 faculty in presenting new classes and workshops related to the development and execution of Monroe's mandolin style, songwriting, musical influences, and more.
At the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp, you will spend three days with 6 of the finest mandolin players and 50 of the coolest mandolin campers on Planet Earth. With registration capped at 50, the camp's intimate environment allows for ample opportunities to receive personal, hands-on instruction from each of these legends of Monroe-Style mandolin.
New to this year's camp on Friday is an All-Night Pickin' Party and Bluegrass Invitational which will bring local and regional musicians together with campers for a non-stop jam session and barbeque feast.
New to this year's camp on Saturday between 4:30 and 5:00 will be six 30-minute private master classes, one with each member of the faculty. All campers' names will be put in Red Smiley's hat. Six names will be drawn at the opening session Friday at noon. (If your name is drawn and you don't want or need this master class, we can either re-draw or you can gift it to a friend.)
Returning in 2009 is a class on Mandolin Set Up and Maintenance by Will Kimble of Kimble Mandolins. Will is available Friday and Saturday for basic set ups and fret work. He will charge for materials and a reasonable fee for each work order. Please request a WORK ORDER FORM from Brenda Smith at the museum: 270-926-7891. Your mandolin will get an "appointment" based on the estimated time required to perform the requested service.The 2009 All-Star Faculty Concert will be amazing. Each member of the faculty is an internationally known performer with his own band (see bios). Tom Ewing, Monroe's last guitarist with the Blue Grass Boys, adds vintage authenticity and historic relevance as well as great vocals and rhythm guitar. Campers are invited to an exclusive wine reception at the museum prior to the concert.
Jam with new friends. Eat great barbeque. Experience rare performances, onstage and off. Enjoy a total immersion in bluegrass music's homeland, history and future at the world's only bluegrass music museum dedicated to preserving the international history and performance art of bluegrass music...all the while surrounded by rare bluegrass artifacts and memorabilia. Compare, sell or swap mandolins with other players. Trade live non-commercial bootleg recordings with other collectors. Be part of the museum and let it become an integral part of your life and music.The camp package will include:
Intensive group lessons in Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels. Choose one level or migrate throughout the weekend.
An all-night Pickin' Party and Bluegrass Invitational with a feast from Moonlite. Learn why they call this part of Kentucky "The Bluegrass and Barbeque Region".
Lunch on Saturday and Sunday at the museum.
Lodging Friday and Saturday the Hampton Inn. Continental breakfast included.
A reserved seat at the All-Star Faculty Concert featuring all instructors plus Tom Ewing. It's open to the public but campers get the closest seats.
A group photo and a bootleg tape/CD trading session.
Free admission to the museum on Thursday and Monday, before & after camp.
An International Bluegrass Music Museum instrument case decal.
The special edition t-shirt and poster (they rock this year).
Faculty Concert Join us Saturday evening September 12th (the eve of what would have been Bill's 98th birthday) for our All-Star Faculty Concert at Woodward's Cafe, across the foyer from the museum's entrance. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Showtime is 7:30. The concert is open to the public and features all six instructors plus Tom Ewing, editor of The Bill Monroe Reader and former Blue Grass Boy. Tickets are $20 (included with campers' tuition), available in advance or at the door. After campers are seated, only 50 seats remain, so reserve your ticket(s) early by calling the museum: 270-926-7891. MAKE YOUR RESERVATION TODAY! (Tuition is non-refundable)Available for additional charges will be:
Signed copies of Tom Ewing's book The Monroe Reader.
Signed copies of all instructor CDs and materials.
Basic mandolin set ups and fret work by Will Kimble
A commemorative Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp Poster ($10.00.)*
A commemorative Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp t-shirt ($20.00.)*
* Free if registered before May 1st, 2009 Bill Monroe's influence on modern bluegrass and mandolin music is inestimable. One needs only to look at the skills of our faculty and other leading contemporary mandolin players to realize that they became what they are today due in part to their in-depth study of Monroe's music and performance style, and by trading Monroe-isms with others through the years. The Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp is the ultimate gathering spot for Monroe enthusiasts. Satisfy your desire to "Know Monroe" by spending the anniversary of his birth and passing at the museum and the camp dedicated to preserving his legacy.
Mando Camp 09 Website

Year End Message From YOUR Museum

Year end message from The International Bluegrass Music Museum.

Dear Friend in Bluegrass Music:

Since its inception, the International Bluegrass Music Museum has set about to establish a vibrant center for bluegrass music to ensure that the rich legacy of this remarkable music we all love will have a permanent and safe home. To that end, and with your continuing support, we've built and now operate a remarkable bluegrass cultural center on the banks of the Ohio River in Owensboro, Kentucky not far from Rosine, the birthplace and resting place of Bill Monroe. We feel, as many of our ancestors did about their native lands, that we are indeed on Holy Ground.

This museum, though, is so much more than a splendid sanctuary and exhibition space for the priceless, unique artifacts of bluegrass. It is more than a state-of-the-art resource center for serious devotees of bluegrass music. We sustain the invaluable stories and contributions of the Pioneers of Bluegrass through filmed documentaries in our Video Oral History Project (VOHP); annually introduce quite literally thousands of youngsters to bluegrass instruments in elementary schools through our Bluegrass In The Schools & BlueGrass Music Makers programs; offer group lessons to hundreds of aspiring musicians of all ages on Saturday mornings; host the Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp to preserve the performance style of Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass Music; catalog, digitize, preserve, exhibit, and host amazing events...

If you've not experienced our museum firsthand, or if you've yet to attend our festival, ROMP, the River of Music Party and the Pioneers of Bluegrass Gathering, then you must visit us at www.bluegrassmuseum.org where you'll not only find more information on all our programs but also one of the finest bluegrass music internet radio stations, RBI: Radio Bluegrass International, emanating 24/7 from the hallowed walls of this museum.

For all of us, the current economy is creating huge difficulties, and the bluegrass museum is no exception. But unlike all other museums, we know there is a huge reservoir of affection for the people who play, write, listen to and preserve bluegrass music. We ask you now to translate your love of this music into financial support for the museum by clicking here.

The Bluegrass Museum belongs to you. So please consider the value of bluegrass--and the bluegrass people in your life--and respond by becoming a member of the International Bluegrass Music Museum. If you cannot join at this time, please consider a donation, say the price of a CD, or even $5, to see your museum through these hard times. Every gift, large and small, is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,
Mary Tyler Doub, Chairman of the Board of Trustees

All gifts to the International Bluegrass Music Museum are fully tax deductible.

New Host for Banks of Ohio

GEORGE MCKNIGHT TO BECOME HOST OF "BANKS OF THE OHIO" On November 29, 2008, a new voice will greet internet and broadcast listeners to "Banks of the Ohio: Music from the Homeplace of Bluegrass." The weekly internet and broadcast radio program is a production of the International Bluegrass Music Museum, which is located adjacent to the Ohio River in Owensboro, Kentucky.

George McKnight, the new host of "Banks of the Ohio," is a veteran in syndicated bluegrass broadcasting, a festival and event emcee, and stage manager, presently based in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. McKnight's current program, "Uptown Bluegrass" begun in 1982, is broadcast by a string of mostly Canadian radio stations, and has been streamed on the World Wide Web since 2003.

"Banks of the Ohio" was initiated by the International Bluegrass Music Museum in 2002 to expand the Museum's global outreach and awareness.Beginning with American University's BluegrassCountry.org webcast service, the program is now heard on eight radio stations in the US and the Museum's own webcast outlet, Bluegrass Radio International. The founding host, Fred Bartenstein, a noted bluegrass historian, writer, and broadcaster, will continue his involvement with the Museum in other capacities.

McKnight looks forward to expanding the listener base and worldwide audience for bluegrass. He said, "I am deeply honored to be given the opportunity to bring bluegrass music to the listeners of 'Banks of the Ohio.' I know I have a big job to even begin to fill Fred's shoes and I trust and hope the listeners will continue to enjoy the music we present in the regular time slot. Yes, there will be some differences in the program and I hope we'll all have fun with our favorite music each week."

Museum executive director Gabrielle Gray said, "The trustees and I are grateful to Fred Bartenstein for conceiving 'Banks of the Ohio,' building its huge and worldwide base of devoted listeners, and dedicating six years of painstaking effort to its production. In George McKnight, we know we also have an excellent broadcast spokesperson, who will positively represent the Museum and delight audiences."

For further information: Gabrielle Gray: Executive Director, International Bluegrass Music Museum,(270) 926-7891, gabriellegray@bluegrass-museum.org

George McKnight: Host, Banks of the Ohio, (250) 852-0595, Wgeorgemcknight@telus.netebsite