EWOB 2008, Voorthuizen, Holland

The 11th European World of Bluegrass Festival took place in Holland from May 1st - 3rd, 2008. EWOB is organized by the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA), and is known as the highlight of the annual EWOB Month that features bluegrass music all over Europe.

The first EWOB Festival was held in Lichtenvoorde, and later moved to Voorthuizen, a small, pretty town in the middle of Holland. The big campground where we stay is a good place for musicians to meet and jam.

Sally Jones & the Sidewinders. Photo by Denise Rankwiler
Sally Jones & the Sidewinders. Photo by Denise Rankwiler


EWOB is a big event that goes on for 3 days. No matter where you go, there`s something to see or do. From morning till night, people are jamming; there are different instruments to try and buy at the trade show; we eat and drink at the bars, visit different workshops, and of course, we go to see the concerts. On the big stage there are more than 40 bands performing during this weekend.

EBMA is represented by several countries. Everybody works hand in hand; during these 3 days the atmosphere is peaceful and relaxed.

The idea behind EWOB is to bring bluegrass closer to people and to give bands a chance to perform. Every band that performs is also part of a competition where they can either win the Audience Popularity Award or the #1 European Bluegrass Band Award. The winner of the "#1 Award" will be performing at the EWOB the following year on Saturday and also travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to perform at IBMA's World of Bluegrass.

This year`s #1 European Bluegrass Band is Acousticure from Hungary, while the Audience Popularity Award goes to the Czech formation Bluegrass Cwrkot.

My personal highlight of the EWOB Festival was to be able to play on the mainstage myself, filling in for a band that wasn't able to perform. What a wonderful experience to be singing here, seeing the big audience, and being supported by an excellent sound engineer, Pieter Groenveld.

We have a wonderful weekend, and most of the time we enjoy warm and sunny weather. Only the nights in the tent can be a little cool.

With a lot of great new impressions, not quite enough sleep, but our heads full of music, we get ready to go home to Switzerland. We`ll be thinking of this weekend for a long time. Smile

Contributed by Tabea Anderfuhren
Reprinted by permission from CMC Newsletter, Country Music Club of Switzerland

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