Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association

WELCOME

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, educational programs, and a monthly magazine called Inside Bluegrass. 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.
 

 The Lonely Pines Concert Series will be featuring four time IBMA award nominees Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice plus the three time SPBGMA Entertainers of the Year The Expedition Show. Concerts will be in Maple Lake on February 12, Bemidji on February 13, Stillwater on February 14, Mankato on March 19, Duluth on March 20 (part of a weekend long "Cabin Fever Reliever" festival), and in Savage on March 21.

 The Minnesota Bluegrass Community Concert Series has just been announced and tickets are on sale now. The Mark Kreitzer Band will be in Nisswa on February 19, New York Mills on February 20, and Grand Rapids on February 21. Duck For The Oyster will be featured in a combination concert and dance in fergus Falls on April 9 and East Grand Forks on April 10. The Whistlepigs will be in Moose Lake on April 15, Nisswa on April 16, Bemidji on April 17, and Grand Rapids on April 18.

Are you coming to the Winter Bluegrass Weekend: A Festival Of Bluegrass & Old-Time Music & Dance on March 5th through 7th? Over forty groups arer already scheduled to perform on the three stages at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center in Minneapolis. A tentative list of groups is posted on the Showcase of Bands schedule page. The Saturday Night Headline Concert will feature The Chapmans and the Dance Hall will feature The MacRae Sisters. Order your tickets. For lodging call the Radisson at 763-559-6600 or the nearby Kelly Inn at 763-553-1600 and ask for the Minnesota Bluegrass package rate.

The Harvest Jam Acoustic Music Experience 
It was a great time picking, SweetGrass won the Race For A Place, and Laurie Lewis put on a fabulous show. It was Friday through Sunday, November 20-22, 2009 at the Marriott Minneapolis West Hotel. Three days of concerts, jam sessions, workshops, contests, vendors, and fun — featuring Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands, The Whistlepigs, Pert' Near Sandstone, The Mill City Grinders, Bob & Lynn Dixon, Due North, Hello Stranger, and Kip's Live. A lot of people got a room and made it a stay-cation. They didn't want to leave this acoustic music experience.
   The Tom O'Neil Endowment Fundaiser was held Friday and Saturday January 29th & 30th at Dulono's in Minneapolis with six groups performing each night. All proceeds benefited our educational endowment fund that helps support our Grass Seeds Music Academy, in-school presentations, and more. The entire schedule and other details of the event are available on the event page (click on fundraiser link at the beginning of this paragraph).

 

   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.