The 2025 World of Bluegrass conference has begun in its new home in Chattanooga, TN. The business conference kicked off with a Leadership Bluegrass master class. There was a panel discussion by Teresa Gooding (California Bluegrass Association), Stephen Mougin (Sam Bush Band and Dark Shadow Recording), and C.J. Lewandowski (The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys), with Ross Willits (Minnesota Bluegrass Association) serving as moderator.
Willits began by listing three goals that the Bluegrass Master Class has set to be achieved by 2035. They are:
- Artists will make a viable living in bluegrass.
- Bluegrass organizations will be striving and sustainable.
- Audiences will be growing and engaged across generations.
The panel took turns discussing each of these goals in depth.
C.J. started…
“Strategies have changed. Artists have a more managerial position. In the next 10 years, I feel like we’re going to have more managers and more booking agents. So we [artists] can still do what we do for you and make a living at it. If you look at the national average and the poverty level, we’re not too much above that. There’s room to grow.
I think we’re in the right mindset and on the right path because Billy Strings is selling out amphitheaters. I tried to listen and learn from people I see doing really cool things. You’re not stealing it, you’re applying it to your craft.
Everything that is traditional now was progressive at one time. Don’t let a glass ceiling keep you from trying something. Don’t be afraid to go and try new places. Take what you do and take it to places where it shouldn’t go. The next 10 years is going to prove that there is a place for bluegrass music outside of Bean Blossom, Rosine, KY, and even Chattanooga. We’ve got to look forward.”
Stephen addressed the audience in a similar vein.
“Everybody take out their cell phones. Go to your favorite streaming platform, locate your favorite bluegrass artists, and hit the follow button, the like button, the heart button. This is one of the ways folks are going to make a living in the future. Streaming is the way of the future and we are behind in our genre.
Streaming doesn’t pay enough, but it is an amazing platform for discovery. Great tools we didn’t have 20 years ago. That’s a great way to grow our fan base: doing things like following those artists or streaming them in heavy rotation. It triggers those algorithms to say, ‘this is an important thing for this person.’ If enough of us do it across the genre, that’s gonna raise the bar for everybody.
Spotify is one of those platforms that the amount you get paid is not fixed. It is based on how many users there are at the end of month. If there is more, you make more. Streaming is one of the big things that is going to take us into the next decade. It is something you cannot ignore. It exists and it’s not going back in the box. Take the good of what you can out of those platforms. Listen to someone’s brand new record that just dropped and listen to it 100 times. At some point, the artist will actually make more than if you bought a CD. It takes a long time to do that.”
C.J. noted…
“I think there’s good nice small steps that we all take. One of the best things that I ever did was first. Leadership Bluegrass, and then we [The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys] got our own management, a record label, and a booking agent. When you build a good team, don’t be afraid to spend some money. Every successful business has a lot of behind-the-scenes going on. We have to think in a business mindset because this is a business if we’re going to make a viable living. Billy [Strings] is a fine example of that. He is not afraid to listen to somebody who has been there and done those things. He’s taken it somewhere we’ve all wanted to.
It’s going to be a little different. You’ve got to find your little spot in this realm. Entertainment is evolving because our attention spans are a little shorter than they used to be. He has taken it to a totally different level. He’s got a team behind him that we don’t even know about.”
Stephen added…
“Billy has worked really hard for his rising success. There’s several lessons we can learn. The problem is not the music. Look at Billy’s set list. He’s playing trad grass. He’s playing Larry Sparks’ tunes. Making the music that the artists want to make, that’s what sells. It’s authentic. The thing you get out of Billy is his love for Doc Watson and trad bluegrass. That comes through in spades on his shows.
The other idea that is pretty important: bluegrass is pretty much a boots strap music. Raw. One year they have a hay field. The next year they have a festival. Somebody has a mandolin and the next year they have a band. I think we get caught sometimes only looking inside for a way of growth. Billy’s management team doesn’t think small thoughts. They think big thoughts so he’s playing really big places.”
C.J. added…
“And we have this good core group like we have today that everyone’s going to recognize. If you present it as bigger than what it is, it’s gonna get there. Look outside the box.
And we need to throw out happiness all the time. We need to spread the love even though we’re singing about killing people.”
Teresa then addressed the second goal: making bluegrass organizations thriving and sustainable.
“You have to focus on sustainable before you can be thriving. These organizations are really built on heroics. People really put their heart and soul in this. California Bluegrass Association has been widely successful in our youth programs. You have to look for new outreach and continue to build on the ones that you have. We are reaching out into prisons. We have a new program called Spectrum Bluegrass which is for folks on the autism spectrum. We have a global outreach program. You have to be very cognizant of how fragile these organizations are because of that heavy volunteer component. You’ve got to continue to have big goals.”
The third goal is that bluegrass audiences are growing and are engaged across generations.
Ross began with mortality.
“The generation that founded our organization will not be there in ten years. Everyday we are losing important people in our community. We can’t replace them because they’re irreplaceable, but need to bring in new generations that have different social skills. How do we embrace and extend ourselves in our community?”
Teresa stated.
“I love the generational disappearance. Young kids talking with older generations and falling in love with that relationship. We tie these generations together. It’s all blended together and we need to try to keep that going.”
Stephen chimed in.
“Social media is massively important. Try not to be scared of new things. Reach out to local colleges for some interns. Some young enthusiastic folks that know what’s happening outside of bluegrass. Throughout music history, the names you know are the folks who did stuff different. They are all uniquely themselves. Don’t be afraid to do your own thing is massively important.”
C.J. wrapped things up.
“I just released an album of 25 folks that spans people from 13 to the age of 91. That’s a testament of our love for generational things. It’s the mentorship that we need. Bring in kids and get them involved. Be kind to these kids and lift them up and support them. Do it in a positive spirit.”
