Most of the BluegrassJournal.com staff will be attending a couple different bluegrass festivals over the weekend.

Bob Dieterlen and myself are off to the Franklin Music Festival in Franklin, Ky., for the weekend. Should be another great festival. This year’s lineup is stronger than last year’s featuring some of the best Bluegrass has to offer. Williams and Clark Expedition, IIIrd Tyme Out, The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Cherryholmes, The Isaacs, Nothin’ Fancy & The Martins are all on the bill this year.

We’ll have plenty of pics, interviews and more starting next week.

Our Senior Editor, Dan Tackett, who’s been feverishly cranking out the IBMA spotlight features as of late, is taking the weekend off to head to the Traditional Music & Bluegrass Festival at New Salem State Park near Petersburg, IL. This 2-day festival features some of the regional bluegrass talent Illinois has to offer and is a jammers paradise with plenty of shade tree pickin’ sessions happening.

In addition to festival coverage, we’ll have no less than 3 more categories of the 2008 IBMA nominee feature articles online along with the latest bluegrass news.

- BluegrassJournal.com