IBMA in North Carolina:

[300win]

Any of ya'll going ?

[Bigtuna]

I'll be there Friday.

[Mandosummers]

Too far for me... Wish they'd kept it in Nashville.

[Michael Ramsey]

I'll be there all week. I've participated in cities such as Owensboro, KY, Louisville, KY, Nashville, TN and now I'll be in Raleigh, NC. Oh, That's all the cities the WOB has been held in, EXCEPT for the short-lived (only once), possibly Spring event in Greensboro, NC.

[adgefan]

Yep. Wednesday onwards.

[Pete Martin]

I'm very interested in getting feedback from folks on the new location. I went to the first one they had in Nashville and hated it. "No jamming" signs everywhere. Haven't been back since.

[pickloser]

I'm there. All five days. Would love to see you, Jeff! (I'm Laura who took some very helpful lessons from you a few years ago.) I'll be wearing my Cafe hat, and I would enjoy meeting you folks.

[Sweetpea44]

Could someone enlighten me to which event(s) that week require a purchased ticket, and which event(s) if any are free to the public? For example, can I bring my kids downtown to enjoy some music that week, or does everything require a ticket? Thanks!

[mandolirius]

The IBMA does not belong in Nashville.

[Phil Goodson]

Could someone enlighten me to which event(s) that week require a purchased ticket, and which event(s) if any are free to the public? For example, can I bring my kids downtown to enjoy some music that week, or does everything require a ticket? Thanks!

Here's a description that might be helpful.

[f5loar]

There are jammin' rooms and non-jammin' rooms at this one. I'll be there from Tuesday to Sat morning. First time I've stayed all week and paying to go. Others I only did one day and didn't pay a dime but you only get to see the hall jammin' not the scheduled concert shows. One year in Louisville the show in the halls was better than what was on stage anyway.

[Stephen Cagle]

We will be there too.

[Sweetpea44]

Here's a description that might be helpful.

Thank you for the link!

[kudzugypsy]

from what i can see here in NC - they are really going to try and go all out on this one - ie, its a big deal to get it, lots of press & participation by the city and an enthusiastic grass roots ground campaign.
since its an hour away from me, i'm going.

[JimKo]

I am traveling out from the borderlands of Az. to help my old pal and band-mate Sam Farris at his Tranjo booth. Stop by so we can have some intelligent mando conversation instead of just banjo stuff. I am not strictly a grasser but with all the pickers, instruments, and especially the State Whole Hog Bar - B -Q contest this event sounds like a blast to me.

[300win]

I'm there. All five days. Would love to see you, Jeff! (I'm Laura who took some very helpful lessons from you a few years ago.) I'll be wearing my Cafe hat, and I would enjoy meeting you folks.

I remember you Laura. I and the missus will keep a lookout for you. I'll probably be wearing a Tractor Supply cap or some such. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. You gonna take your mando ? I don't think I will, too much trouble to keep up with all the time, and I plan on spending a great deal of my time in vendors tents if any are there. We decided some of Friday's line-up was what we wanted to see/hear, some on Saturdays you'd have to pay me to listen to them. Hope we see ya'.

[Danny Clark]

i have been every year since 2006 ,seems its got a little worse every year ,less venders etc ,a few years Gibson did not even have a booth in there home town which i thought was weird , 06-08 lots of small shop builders with mandos to try out ,not anymore ,just a couple
NC is to far for me to drop $1000
Danny

[Mike Arakelian]

It's a two hour drive for me, so I'm planning on Friday and Saturday. I wouldn't want to pass this up!

[Steve Sorensen]

Looking forward to it! We'll be bringing some mandolins (including the new SXS). Booth 105.

Steve

[f5loar]

Less vendors in the last 5 years? Could well be due to a recession. Gibson not there? Could be due to the flood taking out their entire bluegrass division. No need to set up a booth with Les Pauls and ES335s at a Bluegrass gathering. Price kept getting higher too for the vendors and the spectators. Raleigh should correct a lot of those problems they hope. Recession according to those in the media is over, Gibson back to at least building mandolins and Twinkies have come back. Should be a good year for IBMA.

[Bigtuna]

Looking forward to it! We'll be bringing some mandolins (including the new SXS). Booth 105.

Steve

I look forward to seeing some of your mandolins in person!

[StaceyConley]

Any of ya'll going ?

Oh yeah I'll definitely be there! My first visit was last year, all week in Nashville. I had a blast! I'm a vocalist and was in town recording my first album. Martino Coppo did tracks for me and showed me around a bit and I got to crash some pretty cool parties! Raleigh is rolling out the red carpet for IBMA, it's gonna be great! I'm so excited that Punch Brothers is going to be there! Yeee- haaaaw!

[JimKo]

Has a list of vendors been posted yet? Can't seem to find one. Thanks

[MK in NC]

Those of us who live and work in Raleigh welcome you! My office is about 3-4 blocks away from the fun.