Downtown Raleigh bluegrass festival gets new name

The Wide Open Bluegrass festival will now be known as IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC. The festival is part of the World of Bluegrass events held Sept. 29-Oct. 3 at various locations in downtown Raleigh.

World of Bluegrass to remain in Raleigh through 2021

IBMA Bluegrass Live! will be held Oct. 2-3 with concerts at Red Hat Amphitheater and on seven more stages throughout downtown.

“We are excited on a number of fronts. The association's branding for this important week in Raleigh has been improved to create more cohesiveness, and better continuity across the different underlying events,” IBMA executive director Paul Schiminger said. “Additionally, we feel IBMA Bluegrass Live! eliminates confusion between World of Bluegrass and Wide Open Bluegrass, while capturing the energy and essence of this incredible festival that has 100+ bands playing to over 200,000 attendees. We are also happy to continue free general admission access to the Main Stage performances along with select reserve seating. The lineup for the festival's Main Stage is shaping up to be incredible once again!"

IBMA Bluegrass Live! will still include free admission to shows at Red Hat Amphitheatre, a tradition that started last year. A limited amount of reserved seating tickets will be offered at Red Hat Amphitheater. Those tickets will start at $50 for IBMA members and $60 for the general public. Tickets go on sale April 7 to IBMA and Pinecone members and on April 21 to the general public.

Additional details about the festival, including acts, will be released in coming weeks.