International Bluegrass Music Association

Whatcha doin’ in late September 2012?

If you’re a bluegrass fanatic or part of the industry, you can mark your calendars now. The International Bluegrass Music Association has entered into a new three-year contract to host the annual World of Bluegrass events through 2012, the organization said in a recent statement.

The business conference, IBMA Awards and Bluegrass Fan Fest will continue to be hosted in the heart of downtown within the Nashville Convention Center and nearby hotels and other venues.

Through that year, here are the dates for IBMA’s World of Bluegrass:

• 2009 – Sept. 28-Oct. 4
• 2010 – Sept. 27-Oct. 3
• 2011 – Sept. 26-Oct. 2
• 2012 – Sept. 24 – 30

In making the announcement, IBMA leaders also tried to address some rumblings from its membership that attending and participating in the Nashville gatherings had become too costly.

More than a year ago, the IBMA board formed a site selection task force whose objectives included preparing a request for proposals and investigating options for hosting the events, according to an IBMA news release. The task force studied input from members and event attendees and requested detailed proposals for possible dates ranging from the beginning of September through November in each year.

The number of cities requested to submit proposals was the largest ever for the events. The invitation list included Baltimore, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Dallas, Greensboro, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville (downtown and fairgrounds), Nashville (downtown and Opryland), Northern Kentucky, Raleigh, St. Louis and Washington D.C. Several cities on the list submitted bid proposals.

The information from prospective host cities involved considerable time in gathering, analyzing and preparing for board decisions. To summarize—of those who chose not to offer a proposal, the reasons included lack of space or appropriate facilities, expectations that their rates would be too high, no appropriate dates for any or all of the three years in question or an inability to accommodate the unique requirements of IBMA events.

Of those that did offer a proposal, some would have required using multiple facilities spread over large areas, some could only offer inconsistent date patterns, some were unable to clearly accommodate space requirements and some were significantly higher in cost.

IBMA, in a press release, said its leadership fully understands that the cost of attending the events, including hotel accommodations, is significant. This was a primary reason for looking broadly for potential savings.

“None of the prospective host cities that could accommodate our space needs in the date ranges requested were able to offer rates that were significantly less expensive than downtown Nashville,” the statement said. “And several were slightly to considerably more expensive. … Contrary to some opinions, Nashville is not more expensive than other comparable options that can meet the unique needs of the events.”

The board guided the process on potential event dates by giving a fairly wide berth – from early September to the end of November. IBMA would ideally prefer to avoid any significant conflicts, especially with other bluegrass events as well as holidays.

Each prospective host city was asked to identify all of its open dates to accommodate the events and the board spent a significant amount of time discussing this factor, the organization’s statement said.
“With its decision, the board believes it has chosen the best dates available in a consistent time pattern at facilities and rates that are most affordable to accommodate attendees,” said IBMA.

“After a lengthy review of options, IBMA is excited to continue hosting the events in Nashville and on dates, at facilities and at rates it believes most advantageous to our members and to accomplish the purposes of the events,” the statement continued. “The final decision was based on a lengthy process and after thorough comparison with all prospective cities that included other factors like geographic accessibility, music industry connections, etc.”

The next site selection process for these events will be for the 2013 and beyond events, which will likely begin in 2010.