Historic Ryman Auditorium To Host 2005 IBMA Awards For First Time

(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
The historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville will play host to the 2005 International Bluegrass Music Awards. The radio broadcast show is slated for October 27, in conjunction with World of Bluegrass week October 24-30, marking the first time the week-long bluegrass celebration will be held in Nashville.

“Few internationally recognized art forms that I’m aware of can pinpoint their actual birthing room and we’re thrilled to be hosting bluegrass music's biggest night of the year on the Ryman stage," IBMA Board Chairman David Crow.

Eddie Stubbs, renowned WSM Grand Ole Opry Announcer said, “The Ryman Auditorium is a sacred entity when it comes to the history of the Grand Ole Opry, country music, and especially bluegrass which was born there. When you think about all of the great bluegrass music that was played on that stage from the middle 1940s through the early ‘70s with the likes of Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Jim & Jesse, and the Osborne Brothers, all Grand Ole Opry members, it’s almost overwhelming.

"There is no other hall like the Ryman Auditorium," he continued. "The music sounded great in that room years ago, and it still sounds great there today. In tandem with the 20th anniversary of the IBMA, the 40th anniversary of the first multi-day bluegrass festival, the 80th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry, and most importantly the 60th anniversary of the birth of bluegrass, one couldn’t ask for a more perfect venue than the Ryman.”

The IBMA Awards are syndicated to over 320 radio stations worldwide, making it the largest syndicated radio special of its kind, in addition to broadcasting live on the Sirius Satellite Radio network. A televised broadcast of the awards show is also being explored.

IBMA’s weeklong World of Bluegrass event includes a music industry convention, the awards show and Bluegrass Fan Fest. All events except the awards show will be hosted at the Nashville Convention Center across the street from the Ryman and are expected to draw more than 20,000 over seven days. The events have been held in Kentucky since 1986. — Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner