June 2-3-4, 2011
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See you next year!
... Quote ... 10 YEARS OF EWOB double CD: "What an amazing project- how far-reaching!" - Paula Puglisi, Maryland |
Press information European Bluegrass Music Association Award-winning festival starts again on Thursday, May 1st Voorthuizen, the Netherlands – On May 1, 2 and 3 the eleventh European World of Bluegrass Festival will take place in the Dutch village of Voorthuizen. Bluegrass has developed from American traditional folk music, in which banjos, mandolins and fiddles feature as the main instruments. Typical for this style of music is the harmony singing in two, three, or four parts, which is called ‘high lonesome’ because of its piercing sound. At the festival at least 42 bands from 12 different European countries, and the USA, will perform on stage. Also there will be workshops, a Trade Show, a children’s programme, and of course people can ‘jam’ together to their heart’s desire. In 2003 this festival won the annual award of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) as ‘best event of the year’ – an extraordinary achievement. From Thursday until Saturday this renowned festival will put bluegrass music in the spotlight. Bands from Western Europe, but also from more exotic countries such as Estonia, Czech Republic and Spain will be part of the programme. Different styles of bluegrass will be featured, ranging from the strictly acoustic and traditional to sounds influenced by gospel, modern jazz, or even pop music. Among the guests from the USA this year are singer/songwriter are Sally Jones & The Sidewinders, performing contemporary bluegrass music, while Dick Staber & Judith Chasnoff will play more traditional bluegrass. Soon the complete programme will be announced. The schedule is to be found on the website. The initiative to this European festival is taken by the overall European bluegrass organization EBMA. The festival is known to provide a varied programme. During the workshops, experienced musicians will answer all sorts of questions about instrumental skills, singing techniques or beginner’s pitfalls. Again this year there will be classes for banjo, mandolin, guitar, fiddle and dobro, for players on any level. We also have individual lessons on various instruments, 20 minutes at the low fee of 5 euros. And because of its success in previous years, once again the bluegrass karaoke will be featured. Musicians and upcoming talent can demonstrate their skills, while being backed up by a professional band. At the Trade Show a wide variety of musical instruments, CDs, sheet music, magazines and bluegrass knick-knacks is offered. For the very young ones there will be a special children’s programme on Thursday and Friday, hosted by professional musicians. The children will receive a hands-on music lesson. An important element in the European World of Bluegrass Festival is the DIY factor: since many (if not all) visitors bring their own instruments, the festival is also a gathering of a large amount of guitars, banjos, mandolins, fiddles and double basses. With people jamming and pickin’ in all corners of the festival grounds, it is one of the liveliest events in the Netherlands. At the end of the Saturday night concert the title ‘European Band of the Year 2008’ will be awarded, based on the voting of all musicians performing at the Festival. The winning band will perform as guests at the annual IBMA convention, Trade Fair, and Fan Fest in the USA. It was at that same convention that the Voorthuizen festival won the ‘Event of the Year’ award in 2003, because of its unique contribution to bluegrass music in Europe. fact: 11th European World of Bluegrass festival (EWOB) European Bluegrass Music Association |
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