Now that IBMA week is in the books, it’s time to get ready for EWOB, the European World Of Bluegrass, held in Voorthuizen, the Netherlands, May 13-15, 2010.

Bands interested in showcasing at the EWOB festival can apply between now and November 20. A total of 42 showcase spots are available and though bands are not paid for these appearances, some travel expenses are offered to European bands. Event producers and music press from all over Europe are typically on hand for these shows.

The festival also hosts a European Bluegrass Band Awards competition, with winners chosen on two separate tracks. The primary award is chosen by the other musicians in attendance, and a second trophy is awarded by the fans, an Audience Popularity Award. The winner of the European Bluegrass Band Award each year is offered the opportunity to perform at the following year’s IBMA convention in Nashville.

Application details can be found on the European Bluegrass Music Association web site, where you can also find sponsor, vendor and volunteer information.

Jan de Mooy sent us another fine batch of photos from this month’s 2009 European World Of Bluegrass festival, just as he did last year.

Thanks Jan!

            

            

            

            

May is Bluegrass month and accordingly, the European Bluegrass Music Association held its 12th annual EWOB Festival in Voorthuizen, The Netherlands. One of the highlights of the EWOB festival is the voting for European Bluegrass Band of the Year. There are actually two awards given in this category. The first is voted by the performers present at the event. The second is voted by the audience present at the event.

The winner of the first award will be invited to perform at next year’s (2010) IBMA World of Bluegrass in Nashville, TN.

Here are this year’s winners.

#1 European Bluegrass Band 2009:
1. Downtown Ramblers, Sweden
2. G-Runs ‘n Roses, Czech Republic
3. Kreni, Czech Republic

Audience Popularity Award 2009
1. Blackjack, CZ
2. Bluegrass Stuff, Italy
3. Sunny Side, Czech Republic

We posted a report last month about the recent European Bluegrass Summit held in B?ºhl/Baden (Germany) in early February. The summit was convened to allow for closer collaboration among European bluegrass associations, and to further the promotion of bluegrass music in Europe.

One of the first fruits of this conference has been announced, the work of the ‘booking issues’ group. They have created a notice board, posted on the EBMA web site, where bands planning a tour in Europe can announce their tour dates in a central place for promoters and venues to view them.

John Sheldon, secretary of the Scottish Bluegrass Association, has written an open letter to any artists who might be interested in this service:

Planning a European tour?  Do you have a European festival booking and are you looking for some more follow on gigs? Do you have a gig offer in Europe and are you looking to build up a tour?

If you are acting as your own agent and organizing your own tour you can put your dates forward to me with a request for enquiries to be routed  to your e-mail/telephone number etc. This will be placed on the On Line Notice Board. This can be accessed from a button on the EBMA site, and more links are being established with bluegrass promoters, European Music Festivals and European National Bluegrass Associations.

What I am looking for is a fairly concise notice about your tour with links to your own site. You can put this notice forward to me as your own representation, or if you have an agent/manager I’m happy to accept information from your representative.

Information can be submitted to Sheldon by email.

Other members of the booking issues group who worked on this project include Christopher Howard-Williams, organizer of the
European Bluegrass Festival at La Roche-sur-Foron, Chris Keenan, organizer of the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival at Longford, Ireland, Dagfinn Pedersen, organizer of the Ris??r Bluegrass Festival in Norway, and Rienk Janssen, International IBMA Board member, EBMA board member, and coordinator of events throughout Europe during European World of Bluegrass.