The Raleigh Wide Open Bluegrass Festival will debut in downtown Raleigh in 2025, following the departure of the popular IBMA World of Bluegrass festival to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Why it matters: For a decade the International Bluegrass Music Association has held its annual conference and music festival in downtown Raleigh, becoming one of the city's most popular annual events.
- But after landing $25 million from the state of Tennessee, IBMA will take its event south to Chattanooga after this year's edition.
Driving the news: PineCone, the Raleigh music organization that has coordinated much of the free music at IBMA's event, will introduce Raleigh Wide Open, resurrecting the branding of a previous street festival.
- The city of Raleigh, the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau and the State Department of Natural and Cultural Resources have pledged their support to the new festival.
- Raleigh Wide Open is set for Oct. 3-4, 2025.
The intrigue: Its name is a tribute to a 2005 Raleigh festival that was launched to bring life to downtown at the time, PineCone says.
- It wasn't an annual event, but IBMA used the Wide Open name from 2014 to 2019 before rebranding to World of Bluegrass.
Zoom in: The goal is that festivalgoers won't feel like Raleigh Wide Open is a completely new festival, executive director of PineCone David Brower says.
- The plan includes a mix of performances along Fayetteville Street and other downtown areas, with sights on keeping it a primarily free event.
- The festival will focus on bluegrass but will also include genres like Americana, alt-country and other folk music, especially those with North Carolina ties, per Brower.
What they're saying: "The goal is to keep the spirit of the event intact, and that spirit and goal is to create a cultural experience that reflects the city of Raleigh," Brower tells Axios. "We consider it a success when we see a family, with the kids, parents and grandparents all enjoying the festival."
What's next: The IBMA's final World of Bluegrass festival in Raleigh will take place from September 27-28.
![https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2vQCDb_0uh1ES7M00](https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&url=2vQCDb_0uh1ES7M00)
Raleigh Wide Open logo. Photo: Courtesy of PineCone
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