Skaggs, Hornsby, McCoury, Fleck, Douglas & more slated for Wide Open Bluegrass 2014

As we mentioned last week, the International Bluegrass Music Association will be sticking with Raleigh through 2018. But moving on to more pressing matters, the initial acts for the big Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on October 3 and 4 have been announced and feature a smorgasbord of bluegrass all stars.

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder with Bruce Hornsby, the Del McCoury Band with special guests, Hot Rize (who have their first new studio album in 24 years due out this year), Gibson Brothers, local stars Steep Canyon Rangers, and Sierra Hull will play the big event. There will also be the Wide Open Jam featuring Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, Bryan Sutton, and Stuart Duncan.

Tickets for the festival are on sale now via Etix.

IBMA Awards, World of Bluegrass conference, Wide Open Bluegrass Festival returning to Raleigh in the fall

After a successful first year in Raleigh in 2013, the International Bluegrass Music Association is returning to Raleigh in in September and October 2014 for the second year of their three-year deal with the City of Raleigh.

Like last year, the week-long event will bring the World of Bluegrass music conference, the annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, and the big weekend Wide Open Bluegrass music festival to downtown Raleigh. This year's event will run from September 30 to October 4.

Tickets for members are already on sale as of March 31 and tickets for non-members will go on sale for all of the events on Monday April 14 HERE.

Indigo Girls & Del McCoury Band to headline spring Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival

The spring installment of the biannual Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Pittsboro is a little over a month away and the festival has just announced the lineup that includes two big headliners.

It will all happen on April 17-20 and will feature headline sets by folk rockers the Indigo Girls and legendary bluegrass group the Del McCoury Band. Other performers will include Donna the Buffalo, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Des Ark, Jim Lauderdale, Phil Cook and the Guitarheels, Morning Brigade, Greg Humphreys Trio, Tonk and many, many more. Check out the full lineup HERE.

Tickets for the festival are on sale HERE for a variety of price points ranging from $23 (single day Thursday or Sunday ticket) to $100 (a four-day pass).

Alison Krauss, Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, Punch Brothers & more coming for Wide Open Bluegrass

As we first mentioned almost a year ago, the International Bluegrass Music Association is bringing their annual World of Bluegrass festivities to Raleigh for three years starting in 2013. Now we have the first details of the bevy of musicians who will be making their way here this fall.

Performances at the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on September 27 and 28 at the Raleigh Convention Center and the Red Amphitheater will include a collaboration between Alison Krauss, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Del McCoury and Tony Rice in addition to Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers with Edie Brickell and Punch Brothers. Abigail Washburn will serve as the mistress of ceremonies for the event.

2011 Merlefest line-up includes Doobie Brothers, Lyle Lovett & more

The annual bluegrass and Americana festival Merlefest has just announced the 2011 line-up that will play Wilkesboro on April 28-30 and May 1.

This year, the festival seems to have veer more towards folk rock with the inclusion of The Doobie Brothers of all people. Other big performers include Lyle Lovett, Del McCoury Band, Cadillac Sky, Jim Lauderdale and Nashville Bluegrass Band. Check out the full line-up below and details on who will be playing each day here.

Tickets for Merlefest will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, November 9 at 2 p.m. here. A four-day pass will cost between $140 and $225 if purchased before March 13, 2011.

Full Duke Performances 2010-11 schedule revealed, more big shows

After the first round of Duke Performances events for the 2010-11 season were revealed a few weeks ago, we were already very impressed. Now there's even more good shows to share with you that the full schedule has been released.

First, New York duo The Books will bring their the new album The Way Out to the intimate Shaefer Lab Theater for two shows (at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.) on Friday, Oct. 1.

Then, The American Beauty Project will perform at Page Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 15. The collective, which includes Ollabelle, Jim Lauderdale, David Mansfield, Catherine Russell and Aoife O’Donovan, will perform songs from The Grateful Dead's classic albums American Beauty and Workingman's Dead.

First Koka Booth show for 2009 announced

The 2008 season at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary isn't even over yet, but the first show of 2009 has just been announced. On Sunday, May 17, bluegrass mainstay The Del McCoury Band will play the outdoor venue with Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver according to Pollstar.

Surprisingly enough, we don't have ticket info yet for a show that is eight months away. We'll keep you posted though.

The Del McCoury Band is featured on a newly released album titled Moneyland which is a collection of songs that take a look at economic injustice in modern times. The album also features Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Hornsby, Dan Tyminski and many others. The album includes a fun cover of The Beatles' "When I'm 64" performed by the McCoury Band.

In more timely news, The Del McCoury Band will play the Shakori Hills Festival in Pittsboro on Saturday, October 11. Shakori Hills has a bunch of great bands lined up this year including The Everybodyfields, Megafaun, The Never and Carolina Chocolate Drops. Check out their site for the schedule.