IBMA Bluegrass Live! returns to Raleigh this weekend

IBMA Bluegrass Live! returns to Raleigh this weekend with two full days of bluegrass music. WRAL is a proud sponsor.

On Friday and Saturday the festival spans five blocks in downtown Raleigh with six stages and 100+ bands stretching from Martin Street to the Martin Marietta Energy Center for the Performing Arts at 2 E. South St.

The IBMA Bluegrass Live! StreetFest includes free music performances, an arts market, an exhibit hall, masters workshops, youth performances, food trucks, beer vendors and more. Around 200,000 people are expected to attend the event over both days. View the full music schedule here.

Tickets are available online starting at $50 for the performances at Red Hat. Performances at other stages in downtown Raleigh's City Plaza and along Fayetteville Street are free.

Meet WRAL at IBMA Bluegrass Live!

WRAL journalists, anchors and meteorologists will be passing out giveaways at a booth next to the festival's Capitol stage each day from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 29

• 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.: WRAL anchor Brian Shrader
• 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.: WRAL 5 On Your Side's Keely Arthur
• 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.: WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner

Saturday, Sept. 30

• 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.: WRAL reporter Matt Talhelm
• 2 p.n. to 5 p.m.: WRAL Tar Heel Traveler Scott Mason
• 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: WRAL anchor Ashley Rowe

Event map

• Main stage at Red Hat Amphitheater, 500 S. McDowell St.: Find a schedule of performers below. Buy tickets online.
• City Plaza Youth Stage: Fayetteville Street at Cabarrus Street: Cotton Pickin’ Kids, UNC's Carolina Bluegrass Band, and others
• Davie Street Stage: Beside City Plaza Youth Stage: Sister Sadie, Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band and others
• Martin Street J.A.M. Stage: Various bluegrass artists at corner of Martin and Wilmington streets
• Capitol Stage: WRAL meet-and-greet, bluegrass artists. Stage located between Market Plaza and the City of Raleigh Museum.
• Workshop Stage & Expo: Instrument workshops and guitar showcase at Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S. Salisbury St.
• Art and vendor market: Located all along Fayetteville Street
• Come Here NC Stage: Food trucks and interactive art, in front of the Martin Marietta Energy Center

Schedule of performances at Red Hat Amphitheater

Friday, Sept. 29

• 5 p.m.: Kids on Bluegrass
• 5:55 p.m.: AJ Lee & Blue Summit
• 7:05 p.m.: Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• 8:30 p.m.: Mighty Poplar
• 10 p.m.: The Del McCoury Band

Saturday, Sept. 30

• 5 p.m.: Missy Raines & Allegheny (with special guest Alison Brown)
• 6:10 p.m.: Jake Blount, Kaia Kater & Tray Wellington
• 7:20 p.m.: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
• 8:30 p.m.: Kruger Brothers play Doc Watson (with special guest Jerry Douglas)
• 10 p.m.: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Come Hear NC Stage

Friday, Sept. 29

• 12:00-12:45: Becky Buller & Ned Luberecki
• 1:15-2:00: U.S. Navy Band Country Current
• 2:30-3:15: Hillary Klug
• 3:45-4:30: Gospel Jubilators
• 5:00-5:45: Jason Carter
• 6:15-7:00: Hank, Pattie & The Current
• 7:30-8:15: John McEuen
• 8:45-9:30: Henhouse Prowlers
• 10:00-11:00: Jim Lauderdale

Saturday, Sept. 30

• 12:00-12:45: Tall Poppy String Band
• 1:10-1:55: Jake Blount
• 2:20-3:05: Darin & Brooke Aldridge
• 3:30-4:15: Tray Wellington Band
• 4:40-5:25: Unspoken Tradition
• 5:50-6:35: Compton & Newberry
• 6:50-7:35: The Dukes of Drive
• 7:55-8:40: Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road
• 9:05-9:50: Stillhouse Junkies
• 10:15-11:00: Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley

City Plaza Youth Stage

Friday, Sept. 29

• 12:00-12:30: Zach & Caleb McNabb
• 12:45-1:15: Bluegrass & Company
• 1:30-2:00: Stoneface Mountain
• 2:15-2:45: The Arizona Wildflowers
• 3:00-3:30: Mountain Highway
• 3:45-4:15: 5 South
• 4:30-5:00: The Loblollies
• 5:15-5:45: Catfish in the Sky
• 6:00-6:30: Ferrum College’s Orchestra Appalachia
• 6:45-7:15: ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band
• 7:30-8:00: Denison University Bluegrass Band
• 8:15-8:45: Warren Wilson College Bluegrass Band
• 9:00-9:30: Clemson University’s Tigertown Roots
• 9:45-10:15: UNC Greensboro Old Time Ensemble
• 10:30-11:00: Berklee College of Music Bluegrass Ensemble

Saturday, Sept. 30

• 12:00-1:15: Kids on Bluegrass
• 1:30-2:00: Holt & Cabe
• 2:15-2:45: Headin’ Home
• 3:00-3:30: Bluegrass Pythagoras
• 3:45-4:15: Cotton Pickin’ Kids
• 4:30-5:00: Shiloh Creek Girls
• 5:15-5:45: The Burnett Sisters Band
• 6:00-6:30: UNC’s Carolina Bluegrass Band
• 6:45-7:15: UNC Asheville Bluegrass Band
• 7:30-8:00: Colorado College Bluegrass Band
• 8:15-8:45: Morehead State University Mountain Ambassadors
• 9:00-9:30: Lawrence College Bluegrass Band
• 9:45-10:15: East Kentucky University Bluegrass Band

Davie Street Stage

Friday, Sept. 29

• 12:15-2:15: Kids on Bluegrass
• 2:45-3:30: Hubby Jenkins
• 4:00-4:45: Full Cord
• 5:05-5:50: Big Fat Gap
• 6:20-7:05: Never Come Down
• 7:30-8:15: East Nash Grass
• 8:45-9:30: Darin & Brooke Aldridge
• 10:00-11:00: Nu-Blu

Saturday, Sept. 30

• 12:00-12:45: The Price Sisters
• 1:15-2:00: Sister Sadie
• 2:25-3:10: Kaia Kater
• 3:35-4:20: Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band
• 4:45-5:30: Gail Caesar
• 5:55-6:40: U.S. Navy Band Country Current
• 7:05-7:50: Jared Payton & The Voices
• 8:15-9:15: Missy Raines & Allegheny
• 9:45-11:00: Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass

Martin Street J.A.M. Stage

Friday, Sept. 29

• 12:15-1:00: The Workman Brothers
• 1:15-2:00: The Lilly Anne Band
• 2:15-3:00: Newfound Gap
• 3:15-4:00: Roan Street Ramblers
• 4:15-5:00: Trakas, Moore & Jenkins
• 5:15-6:00: The Burnett Sisters Band
• 6:15-7:00: The Biscuit Eaters
• 7:00-7:45: Catfish in the Sky
• 8:05-8:50: Fair Black Rose
• 9:10-9:55: Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band
• 10:15-11:00: Sister Sadie

Saturday, Sept. 30

• 12:00-12:30: Dante Flores
• 12:45-1:15: Karlee Hamm & Friends
• 1:30-2:00: Ettore Buzzini
• 2:15-2:45: Falling Timber
• 3:45-4:15: Catfish in the Sky
• 4:30-5:00: Sullivan Sisters
• 5:15-6:00: Ryn Riley & Appalachian Roots
• 6:15-7:00: Carson Moore Collective
• 7:00-7:45: Jerron Paxton
• 8:05-8:50: Thomas Cassell
• 9:10-9:55: Steve Smith & Tim May

Capitol Stage

Friday, Sept. 29

• 12:30-1:15: Jerron Paxton
• 1:45-2:30: Zoe & Cloyd
• 3:00-3:45: Country Gongbang
• 4:15-5:00: Hubby Jenkins
• 5:30-7:30: Street Square Dance with The Onlies; Nancy Mamlin, caller
• 7:55 – 8:40: Tray Wellington Band
• 9:05 – 9:50: AJ Lee & Blue Summit
• 10:15 – 11:00: Rick Faris Band

Saturday, Sept. 30

• 12:30-1:15: Nixon, Blevins, & Gage
• 1:45-2:30: Broken Compass Bluegrass
• 3:00-3:45: Nefesh Mountain
• 4:15-5:00: Gospel Jubilators
• 5:30-7:30: Street Square Dance with The Earl White String Band; Nancy Mamlin, caller
• 8:00-8:45: Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
• 9:10-9:55: The Tan & Sober Gentlemen
• 10:15-11:00: Into the Fog