press RELEASE APRIL 2009
The 12th European World of Bluegrass Festival will be held in Voorthuizen, the Netherlands, on May 21-22-23, 2009.
The EWOB Festival creates a unique opportunity for the best bluegrass bands from Europe and the USA to play side by side for promoters, agents, DJs, and press. The 3-day EWOB Festival is the apex of the month-long European World of Bluegrass, busy weeks of festivals and concerts mostly concentrated in the "Worldwide Bluegrass Month" of May. The EWOB Festival is always held in the Netherlands (Holland), and typically features 42 bands, including 4-5 guests from the USA & Canada.
Special U.S. guests at EWOB 2008 will include White Mountain Bluegrass, the Fayssoux McLean Band, JB's Band (featuring Tom Gray, Mike Stevens & Raymond McLain), Naomi Sommers & Phil Rosenthal, Hunter Robertson, and the Phil Rosenthal Band. European groups showcasing will include Sid Griffith & the Coal Porters, Jiri Kralik & the Rowdy Rascals, Blackjack, Dawgmatic, Rawhide, Kreni, Thunderbridge Mountain Boys, Lonesome Mountaineers, Gravity, 4-Wheel Drive, Goodwill, Half a Turn, Sunny Side, and many more. On Saturday night you can enjoy the wonderful #1 European Bluegrass Band 2008, Acousticure, from Hungary.
Luthiers and music shops sell their goods at the EWOB Trade Show. The festival features a veritable bluegrass school of workshops that include the various bluegrass instruments, children's programs, bluegrass vocal workshops, professional band workshops, and this year will include a special workshop in Appalachian clog dancing by Julie Black from Mississippi. Bluegrass event promoters, music press, radio DJs, musicians and bluegrass lovers come from around the world to see the bands. In 2003, EBMA's European World of Bluegrass Festival received IBMA's coveted "Bluegrass Event of the Year" Award.
EWOB stages and CDs have featured Europe's finest bands alongside an impressive array of special guests from the "Bluegrass Homeland" that has included Dan Paisley &
the Southern Grass, John Reischman & the Jaybirds, the Chapmans, Kate MacKenzie Band, Bill Clifton & Pick of the Crop, Randy Waller & the Country Gentlemen, Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, Laurie Lewis & her Bluegrass Pals, the Claire Lynch Band, Sally Jones & the Sidewinders, Mike Stevens & Raymond McLain, Hickory Project, Liz Meyer with Nugget, Si Kahn, Andy Owens with Druha Trava, Kristen Grainger & Dan Wetzel, Tammy Fassaert Band, the Abrams Brothers, and many more.
But EWOB is much more than a festival! Like IBMA in the United States, EBMA is a trade organization that works hard to equip our bands with professional tools to build
their careers. And every year, THE MUSICIANS who play at EWOB choose our most exciting band as the #1 European Bluegrass Band for one year, that EBMA sends to Nashville to play at IBMA's World of Bluegrass. Come to EWOB 2009, and see bluegrass music in all its brightest colors!
The European World of Bluegrass Festival is sponsored by the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA). www.ebma.org
