The Bluegrass Blog will be providing “live blog” coverage during the IBMA World Of Bluegrass week in Nashville from October 24-30, 2005. In case the term is not familiar, “live blogging” means that we will be posting throughout the week from on site, and will pass along news and information about what is going on at IBMA. We will have press credentials with largely unrestricted access to the exhibit areas, the seminars and the various showcases – both official and unofficial.

Our plan is to post regular updates during the course of each day, most probably featuring a few dozen new posts daily. We think that this coverage will have benefits to two distinct groups of people:

For anyone who is attending the IBMA week functions, our coverage will allow for instant updates about evening and off-site events. If your organization or company will be hosting a showcase or hospitality suite, we can list your roster as well as time/location info. Bands can pass along their showcase schedule daily and we will attempt to make all this information available on the site as provided – including last minute changes as they occur. With IBMA week events spread out this year over a number of different venues – and many being scheduled or modified at the last minute – this central resource can be quite valuable for attendees, exhibitors, artists and even event staff.

Exhibitors who want to announce artist availabilities or special offers at their booth can pass them along to us for posting. We will be promoting our presence both prior to and during the World Of Bluegrass and expect that a large percentage of attendees will be aware of our event coverage and be checking the site daily. We will also promote the coverage to the Nashville media as most exhibitors and artists are hoping to reach the many music industry folks who work in the area, but may not be immediately inclined to attend the convention. We would be delighted if our live blog coverage is able to bring more local residents to the event, and expect that it will be effective in doing so.

Of course, bluegrass lovers worldwide who are unable to attend will be able to savor the flavor of IBMA via The Bluegrass Blog as we will include lots of descriptions as well as photos, audio and video from all aspects of the World Of Bluegrass.

We expect to be able to announce some more exciting news about our “live blogging” plans at IBMA soon. Stay tuned…