Wow! What a great week in Raleigh for the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention! It seems to have taken me this long to decompress and reflect enough to write a little about it!
First off, Raleigh was a great host! I must admit that I wasn't a fan of moving it, for my own selfish reasons, but Raleigh won me over pretty much the first day!
IBMA is always fun, but this year some pretty incredible things happened, the least of which was having a song on the ballot and on Balsam Range's Papertown, which ended up winning album of the year! From Noam Pikelny's speech to start the week off to Tony Rice's amazing acceptance speech, it was a monumental week. If you haven't seen his speech yet, you should go and watch it on youbute right now. It was an incredible! The room got suddenly very still, everyone had tears in their eyes and looks of sheer astonishment frozen on their faces. I still get chills just thinking of it. I could tell you all about it, but its not something easily put into words, so do yourself a favor and watch it here.
It was wonderful to get to see many old friends, make new ones, play music with some pretty fun people, run all around Raleigh and hear many of my friends and favorite musicians play! I was so honored to have had a song on the ballot and so pleased that Papertown and Balsam Range won album of the year! Love those guys!
The theme of this year's gathering seemed very much one of acceptance and keeping the spirit and essence of bluegrass music alive, and I'd say it was the best year yet!
Here are a few pictures from the week:
First off, Raleigh was a great host! I must admit that I wasn't a fan of moving it, for my own selfish reasons, but Raleigh won me over pretty much the first day!
IBMA is always fun, but this year some pretty incredible things happened, the least of which was having a song on the ballot and on Balsam Range's Papertown, which ended up winning album of the year! From Noam Pikelny's speech to start the week off to Tony Rice's amazing acceptance speech, it was a monumental week. If you haven't seen his speech yet, you should go and watch it on youbute right now. It was an incredible! The room got suddenly very still, everyone had tears in their eyes and looks of sheer astonishment frozen on their faces. I still get chills just thinking of it. I could tell you all about it, but its not something easily put into words, so do yourself a favor and watch it here.
It was wonderful to get to see many old friends, make new ones, play music with some pretty fun people, run all around Raleigh and hear many of my friends and favorite musicians play! I was so honored to have had a song on the ballot and so pleased that Papertown and Balsam Range won album of the year! Love those guys!
The theme of this year's gathering seemed very much one of acceptance and keeping the spirit and essence of bluegrass music alive, and I'd say it was the best year yet!
Here are a few pictures from the week:
| Everyone getting settled at the awards show 
Last set with Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys | With Garian Vigil and Jessica Smith in the lobby 
Before the awards show with Robyn Taylor and Whitney Campbell 
|
Now I'm back in Nashville, getting settled into my new place, working on some new songs, playing around town and really enjoying the beautiful fall weather!
Take care, and stay tuned for more updates!
Ashleigh
Take care, and stay tuned for more updates!
Ashleigh
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