Alison Krauss & Union Station, Sam Bush Band & Jerry Douglas to headline Wide Open Bluegrass 2015

Earlier today the International Bluegrass Music Association unveiled more performers for the 2015 Wide Open Bluegrass festivities returning to downtown Raleigh this fall, including the two headliners for the big shows at Red Hat Amphitheater.

Alison Krauss and Union Station will headline the amphitheater on Friday, October 2, with Steep Canyon Rangers, Balsam Range, The Gibson Brothers, Claire Lynch Band, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen Orthophonic Joy and Blue Highway rounding out the lineup.

The Sam Bush Band and Jerry Douglas presents Earls of Leicester will headline on Saturday, October 3, with Infamous Stringdusters, The Wailin' Jennys, Kruger Brothers with special guests, Band of Ruhks, O’Connor Family Band and Flatt Lonesomewill rounding out the lineup that day.

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.

Tony Rice awes at Raleigh's first IBMA Awards Show

Photo by Justin Weber

They’re already starting to call it the “Miracle in Raleigh.”

Tony Rice – known as one of the greatest guitar players of all time and a classic bluegrass baritone who started with J.D. Crowe and The New South and went on to a storied solo career – spoke in his real voice for the first time in two decades in front of an awed Memorial Auditorium crowd during the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards show.

Rice was inducted into the IBMA Hall of Fame last night. It was clear all night it would be a special moment. People cheered at every mention of his name. Nobody knew just how monumental it would be.