WELCOME
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Welcome to the official web site of the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association (MBOTMA), a 501c3 nonprofit, volunteer-based organization serving Minnesota and the Midwest. Our mission is to preserve and promote bluegrass and old-time string band music in Minnesota.
Our activities include four annual festivals, plus numerous concerts, dances, jam sessions, workshops, and educational programs. Our events and programs keep people who love to play and listen to traditional acoustic music busy all year around throughout the state of Minnesota. Check out our calendar of events for a full list of what is coming up. We encourage you to become a member of MBOTMA and welcome you at all of our events!
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Spring really is on the way and so is the Minnesota Homegrown Kickoff on May 31st through June 2nd at El Rancho Manana near Richmond MN. Twenty bands are on the Mainstage Schedule for the mainstage, plus workshops, Jam With The Bands, Ranch House Live, the Gathering Place, and lots of campground jam sessions. Watch for updates coming soon on all the activities planned for this kickoff to the summer festival season. Tickets are on sale now. Our volunteer schedule is ready for your help too. And you can download a copy of the Kickoff Program.
Need more to plan for? You can download flyers to sixteen regional music festivals on our Minnesota Bluegrass magazine page.
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The Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival has been nominated three times as Event of the Year by the IBMA in Nashville. It is no surprise then that the 2013 MBOTMA Festival will feature the IBMA Entertainers of the Year, The Gibson Brothers. Other award winning acts on the 2013 line-up include Darin & Brooke Aldridge (Emerging Artist nominees), Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice (Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Male Vocalist nominee), and The Claire Lynch Band (Female Vocalist nominee). Fifteen more acts complete this award winning line-up. Get the details on the entire line-up on our About The Bands page. Schedules will be posted soon.
On August 8th through 11th at El Rancho Manana there will be over 30 hours of mainstage shows, plus workshops, showcases, dances, Ranch House Live, The Young Talent Stage, the Gathering Place, and plenty of campground jam sessions. Plus three pre-festival instructional camps this year; bluegrass, old-time, and our new sound reinforcement workshop. Watch for all the details to be posted soon. Tickets are on sale now, and our volunteer sign-up is open.
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Registration is open now for the 2013 Minnesota Flatpicking Guitar & Duet Championships, taking place at the Minnesota State Fair on August 30 and 31. New this year - entry fees have been reduced for both contests. The price is now $20 until August 15, $25 after August 15. Save $5 and register early! Space is limited — we have room for up to 15 duets and up to 17 flatpicking guitarists. To sign up, go to our registration page.
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Funding for Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Assocation events is provided in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and private funders. |
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