Thursday, May 21, 2015 NIBGA Festival status meeting

Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association - Fairgrounds - Kendallville, IN
Thursday, May 21, 2015 Festival status meeting

To cover all points in preparation for the festival beginning this evening.

Officers present:                                      Board directors:
   Pres. - Jim Winger                                       T J Collins
   Vice-pres - Joe Steiner                                 Pam Keiper
   Secretary - Barbara Collins                          Paul Saurborn
   Treasurer - Linda Winger

Others: Brenda Aldrich, Jim Miller, Jan Meade, Carolyn & Richard Bacon, Jeanette Young, Dave Keiper, Dave Vogie, Terry & Louise McLouth, Dave Smith, Chris Vogie.

Linda Winger - Treasurer gave a quick report on how many campers are on the grounds as of today.
 Linda says the flowers donated by Krogers are worth $350.00. They are to go to the Noble Co. Fairgrounds after the Sunday night show.

Merchandise: Jeanette and Louise report it is ready. The C card has been tested. A purchase needs to be at least $25.00 or more says Jim Winger.

Chris Vogie; Stage is ready. Announcers are all set.

T J - Grounds; Things are going good. No complaints for now from campers. There is a heavy water leak in the back field that will be attended to.

Green Room - Bacons report that all is ready. Water/Coffee/cookies. (All cookies are homemade by Bacon's.)

Saturday 5/24 - First Saturday band on stage at 11:00 a.m.

All Officers and Chair on stage at 11:45 a.m.

Meeting closed at 1:10 p.m.

Secretary - Barbara Collins

NIBGA board meeting 11/17/2013

Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association Orientation Meeting, November 17, 2013
At South West Conservation Club, Bluffton Road, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The meeting was called to order by Vice-President - Joe Steiner at 12:30 p.m.

OFFICERS PRESENT:                      BOARD DIRECTORS: 
 President - Jim Winger                          T.J. Collins
 Vice-President - Joe Steiner                 Paul Saurborn
 Secretary - Barbara Collins                    Pam Keiper (via conference phone)
 Treasurer - Linda Winger

Others Present: Chris Cooperrider - Special Events; Jeanette Young - Vendor Chair & Merchandise; Leslie Ellis - Co Gate Captain; Past V. Pres. - Sandra Carnes; Jim Miller - Co Gate Captain; Greg and Brenda Auldridge - Co Gate Captains.

Secretary's report for the Oct 20th meeting was emiled to all officers Oct. 25th, 2013. No additions or corrections. Paul Saurborn motioned to accept. Jim Winger seconded. All say yes. Motion carried.

Treasurer's reports; The October 2013 Financial Report was emailed to all officers on 11/13/13. Report as of 10/31/13. The report was reviewed. Paul Saurborn motioned to accept the financial report.  Pam Keiper seconded. All say yes. Motion carried.

                                                              OLD BUSINESS

Renewal response to expired membership mailings. 300 copies were printed. Over 200 were mailed to members who's membership has expired. Very few replies. Discussion on how to reach past members.

There was a review of Fall Festival financials. No change.
Merchandise report. No change.

* TABLED = Renegotiation of rent cost with Noble County Fair Board for 2014.

501C3 = Lengthy discussion about Grants:
   Jim and Linda Winger attended a Grant learning class on Monday November 11, 2013 at the Fort Wayne Public Library. They will be attending more sessions. Some of the sessions cover:  Stewardship for Non - Profits. (Jim & Linda)
   Grant Basics 1 - Jim and Linda Winger.
   Grant Basics 1 & 2 on Dec. 3rd - Joe and Chris Steiner
   Grant Basics 2 - on Nov. 18th - Jim and Linda
There was much discussion on other deductible contributions.

Volunteer in-kind-time documentation: It is requested that all officers and volunteers send a 'Tally List' of time spent working at festivals, etc. Send to Chris (Cooperrider) Steiner.

Budget for 2014
   Discussion of Band Budget, Advertising, Golf Carts, Tents. Are they adjustable?

  Ticket prices for 2014 Festivals. After lengthy discussion there was a vote on Member and Non-member gate prices. It was purposed the prices need to be increased for financial reasons. To cover the rise in Electric, water, grounds rent, bands and all other necessary expenses to produce the festival for 2014. The band budget is the largest expense. After a in-depth look at expenses, T.J. Collins motioned to change the gate prices.

  A members 3 day week-end gate ticket will be $25.00. A Non-member 3 day gate ticket will be $30.00.  Plus the $10.00 one time charge for electric.
  The daily ticket prices will be: Friday $10.00 - - Saturday $20.00 - - Sunday $15.00.
Paul Saurborn seconded the motion. All say yes. Motion carried.

TABLED = Special Events: Extended Workshops at the festival: Chris Cooperrider requested more money budgeted to pay for more expensive and experienced workshop directors for the classes.

TABLED = B.U.G, (Bluegrass Under Ground) Revisit in the spring.

TABLED - Band Scramble

Joe Steiner gave a report on the band hiring status. He is already working with bands for 2014.

Linda Winger reports: Golf Carts and Early Tent Rental contracts will be taken care of before the end of Dec. 2013. The price for delivery of Golf Carts is going up. There is a discount for Golf Carts and Tents with early payment.

It was approved for Linda Winger to purchase 2,000 Forever Stamps for mailing newsletters, before the increase to save the club money later.

Renewals for Ever note (Document Storage Facility) was agreed to renew.

TABLE = Grant to Suzuki for 2014.

No expenses to approve.

Paul Saurborn motioned to adjourn. Jim Winger seconded. Meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Sincerely, Barbara Collins - NIBGA Secretary.

NIBGA board minutes Oct. 21, 2012

Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association meeting at Southwest Conservation Club, 5703 Bluffton Rd., Ft. Wayne, IN 46809
The meeting was called to order by President Jim Winger at 1:10 PM
Officers present:                                Board Directors:
  President - Jim Winger                         T.J. Collins
  Vice President - Joe Steiner                  Pam Keiper
  Secretary - Barbara Collins                   Absent: Paul Saurborn (he had a family event)
  Treasurer - Linda Winger
Others present: Jeanette Young - Vendor Chair, Chris Cooperrider - Special events, Leslie Ellis - Co-gate captain, Dave Keiper, Carolyn Bacon, Tonia Bacon, Jade Bacon, Charles & Sandy Carnes

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING:

• The  Aug/Sept Secretary report by Barbara Collins was e-mailed to all officers on Sept 13, 2012.  Joe Steiner motioned to accept. Pam Keiper seconded.  All say yes. Motion carried.

FINANCIAL REPORT:

• The August and September Financial statements were e-mailed to all officers (10/18) prior to the meeting.  Statements were reviewed. No corrections or additions. Joe Steiner motioned to accept. Pam Keiper seconded. All say yes. Motion carried.

INFORMATION ITEMS 

• 501C3 application  status. No information; Chris Cooperrider will check on the status. Jim W. via e-mail 10/23/12 says; It looks like we have another 6 months before we will know anything based on IRS web site information.

OLD BUSINESS

• No old business. 

NEW BUSINESS

• November is election month. All officers accept for 2012/2013. 
• Review of Labor Day financials including festival history report. Attendance has trended down. Expenses up. Review of comparison list years 2005 to 2012. NIBGA Festival History was reviewed. Review of Account Balances from 2005 to 2012. 
• Discussions of; 
• 2011 and 2012 festivals were a loss. What do we do to resume profitability?  
• Obtain 501C3 status and apply for 2013 grants. Grants for 2013 are closed for the year or grants for events through June 30, 2013 are closed. Will have to wait until we are approved to apply for grants. 
• Ways to increase attendance?
• Reduce advertising - which kinds?
• Reduce other expenses - which ones?
• NCCFC contract coming up. Jim Winger will work on negotiating. 
• Reduce utility expenses - HOW?
• Reduce band budget? Have fewer bands, lower cost bands, or have fewer days of festival? Board chose to stay with the 4 days of music but will adjust bands schedules and include a band scramble.

• Board set a budget at this time for the Band Chairman to use for 2013. Joe Steiner motioned. Pam Keiper seconded.  5 Yes - 1 No. Motion carried. 
• Saturday Bands/shows will be  reduce from 7 to 6 and add band scramble. Two sets for each band. Joe Steiner motioned. Linda Winger seconded. All agree. Motion carried. 
• Sunday shows - keep 6 bands. Pam Keiper motioned. T.J. Collins seconded. All agree. Motion carried. 
• Discussion on Electric bill at Fairgrounds during the festivals. Because of increase in usage and increase in rates it has been decided we need to increase the charge for electric. T.J. Collins motioned to raise the electric charge from $5.00 to $10.00 per camping unit.  Pam Keiper seconded. All say yes. Motion carried.

TABLED FOR NOVEMBER MEETING;

• Friday workshops
• Band hosting
• Discuss possible raffles
• Band schedules: Extend band times from 45 minute sets to 50 minute sets. (Includes set up time)

Joe Steiner motioned to adjourn. T.J. Collins seconded. Time adjourned - 3:30 PM
Sincerely - Secretary Barbara Collins

NIBGA board meetings at Labor Day festival

Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association - August 26, 2012 Noble County Fairgrounds - Kendallville, IN

 The meeting was called to order by President Jim Winger at 2:00 P.M.

Officers Present: 
 President Jim Winger              Board Directors:
 Vice President Joe Steiner       TJ Collins
 Secretary Barbara Collins        Pam Keiper
 Treasurer Linda Winger          Paul Saurborn

Others Present: Chris Cooperrider, Jeanette Young, Richard Bacon, Carolyn Bacon, Tonia Bacon, Jade Bacon, Dave & Marianne Vogie, Sandra & Charlie Carnes, Al & Leslie Ellis, Jan & Don Meade, Maggie & Gary Bilby, Fred Hagel, Julie Goldsmith.

The secretary report by Barbara Collins was motioned to accept by Paul Saurborn. Second by Joe Steiner. All say yes. Motion carried.

The Treasurers report was reviewed by Linda Winger. July Financials were reviewed. Paul Saurborn motioned to accept. T J Collins second. All say yes. Motion carried. 
INFORMATION ITEMS

• 501c3 -- No activity.

OLD BUSINESS

• Linda Winger - Reviewed S12 Festival Expenses and Income.
• Pres. Jim Winger reviewed NIBGA Festival History from May 2000 to May 2012. Each officer was given a spread sheet to read and follow along. 
• Pres. Jim Winger reviewed the NIBGA Emergency Procedures:
  Subjects are: Vehicle Accident, Spill and Release, Lost Child or Person, Evacuation, Guidelines for Handling the Media in a Crises, Fire, Explosion and Bomb Threat, Nartural Disaster, Medical Emergencies, List of Emergency phone numbers, Zone of Buildings numbered - Zone's 1 to 8. 
• Portable stage rules. We are within guidelines. 
• Paul Saurborn will do the September newsletter mailing.

NEW BUSINESS

• Current attendance at the F12 festival is good as of today 
• Merchandise/Membership table -- Jeanette Young and family will do Thursday 8/30 & Saturday 9/1. Tonia Bacon and family will do Friday 8/31 & Sunday 9/2.
• Golf Carts - Added one cart for Tonia Bacon (merchandise table) and one 6 seater and one 4 seater for taxi use. 
• Vendor Chairman Jeanette Young. Some of the vendors coming are 'Pizza by the Slice', Lemon Shake-Up, Ice Cream, Elephant Ears, Mexican foods, Harold Jones 'Jones Music', Instruments, Bake Sale, Pulled Pork, and possibly others. Wood will be $5.00 per bag and $2.00 per bundle. 
• Band Hosting Program: 5 bands have host matched up and 3 more would like a Host but not signed to a family yet. 
• Band Review: Joe Steiner. Bands are all set. Arrival times are fairly set. Parking spots are designated. 
• Grounds: TJ Collins. Plenty of parking yet. Grounds are set and going fine. 
• Gates: Pam Keiper. Our new Gate Captain Fred Hagel was introduced. Some time slots are filled as of now.
• Taxis: Chris Cooperrider. Signs need put on the golf carts. Taxi dispatch station is at the Log Ice Cream stand. Need drivers. 
• Kids Korner: Julie Goldsmith. Home Depot is donating craft supplies. 12 tables and 36 chairs needed for the Sat. 9/1 craft event. Julie would like to be set up on Monday 8/27. Need Volunteers.
• Don Moore will be here today at 4:00 to distribute garbage cans. 
• Meeting Thursday 8/30 at 1:30 at Wingers campsite. 
• Barbara Collins asked for O.K. to purchase flowers for the stage. Approved. 

Paul Saurborn motioned to adjourn. Joe Steiner seconded.  Meeting adjourned 2:55 PM

Secretary - Barbara Collins

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association -- August 30, 2012 Noble County Fairgrounds, Kendallville, IN

The meeting was called to order by President Jim Winger at 1:30 PM

Officers Present: 
 President Jim Winger                  Board directors: 
 Vice-President Joe Steiner          TJ Collins
 Secretary Barbara Collins           Pam Keiper
 Treasurer Linda Winger              Paul Saurborn

Others present: Jeanette Young, Leslie Ellis, Jan Meade, Tonia Bacon, Carolyn Bacon, Richard Bacon, Dave Vogie, Fred Hagel. 

• Gate report: Going alright.
• Merchandise - Tonia Bacon - Ready
• Hospitality Room - Carolyn Bacon - Ready
• Vendors - Jeanette Young - Pizza stand not coming. Bake sale setting up for Thursday and Friday. Moose stand to open Thursday. Special is Beef & Noodles. Burrito/Taco stand on the way now. Day Spa Booth set up. 
• Log Cabin pre-sale tickets for the Dinner tonight are $7.50. $8.50 at the door. 
• Grounds - TJ - Good shape. Plenty of parking left in the handicap. 
• Stage is ready.
• Bands are ready. 
• Some folks are having problems with their radio and batteries. Jim W. will handle
• Every band has a host family now. 
• Lonesome Meadows will go to Avilla nursing home Friday at 2:00 PM
• There are two new fans for the stage. They will be boxed back up and left on the stage after the shows. 
• Linda Winger saw Mayor Handshoe at Scott's Grocery. She will be coming to the fairgrounds and on stage at 1:30 Saturday 9/1/12. 

Meeting adjourned at 1:45 PM
Secretary Barbara Collins

Labor Day weekend Bluegrass festival

We are at the Tri-State Bluegrass festival in Kendallville, IN.  The hurricane is bringing wet weather which will impact our Labor Day weekend attendance. We do have two large tents and a shelter for the audience.

How to keep cool at a festival

Just add water. The relief is almost immediate, and will last for up to one hour or more.

• Drink water frequently. Your body will feel cooler if you are hydrated. Try drinking eight ounces of water at least every hour. Adding mint leaves, or orange, lemon or cucumber slices to your water makes it more refreshing.
• Keep the back of your neck in shade (wear a cap backwards, or raise your collar) or put a wet handkerchief on the back of the neck. The sensor for our body temperature control system is in this area, and so with this method you can make the rest of your body think that you are "cool".
• Place or tie an ice pack behind your head.
• Wet all your hair, or just all along the hairline in a pinch. The evaporation of the water will cool your head (though it may make your hair a bit frizzy if it's curly!).
• Wear a bandanna with water soaked on it and put it on your head. Or you can relive the 80's and wear a wet terrycloth headband on your forehead.
• Try using a water misting fan. These portable devices are battery operated so you can take them with you wherever you go. As you mist and fan yourself, the water is evaporated on your skin, giving you an instant cooling sensation.
• Soak a t-shirt in the sink, wring it out and put it on. Sit in a lawn chair (or other chair that lets air through to you) in front of a fan. Re-wet as it dries. Use lukewarm water for this so you don't "shock" your system with cold water.
• Wear a short sleeved shirt and put water on the sleeves only. If there is a breeze or fan blowing on you, you can actually get cold! Use a squirt bottle, the sink or hose if outside to keep your sleeves wet. If you are outside and wearing long pants and you put water on your legs, the water will cool your legs. Long skirts are also good for this. Just sprinkle the hemline with water.
• Run cold water over your wrists for 10 seconds on each hand. This will reduce your temperature for roughly an hour.
• Soak your feet in a bucket of cold water. The body radiates heat from the hands, feet, face and ears, so cooling any of these will efficiently cool the body. Kids wading pools are great for adults feet too.
• Fill your bathtub with cool water and get in. Once you are used to the temperature, let some water out and refill with cold water. Keep doing this until you are sufficiently cold. Your body will stay cool for a long time after you get out. For a fast cool-down, add ice!

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki building the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on Cool Yourself. Content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Common License.

May 26 events at Tri-State in Kendallville

Saturday events
Instrument Workshops by Detour
Bass	Jack Grant	10:00	-	10:30 AM
Guitar	Scott Zylstra	10:00	-	10:30 AM
Mandolin	Jeff Rose	10:35	-	11:05 AM
Fiddle	Peter Knupfer	10:35	-	11:05 AM
Banjo	Kevin Gaugier	11:10	-	11:40 AM
Kids Korner		10:00	-	11:30 AM
Intermediate Jam w Bilby and friends		noon	-	1:30 PM

Memorial Tri-State Host families needed.

We are once again providing “host families” for many of our bands the festival.  Since its implementation a few years ago, it has been an overwhelming success, both from the host family’s point of view, and the band’s perspective. 

Host Families will provide a place for the band members to relax while they are at Kendallville.  This may be as simple as lawn chairs under their camper awning or a spot around their campfire.  Anything more than that is up to the host family.   I know that in the past, however, most families provided snacks or a meal at some point.  Some host families assisted with the merchandise tables while the band was on stage, provided an area for the band to practice around their campfire (and enthusiastic applause, of course!), and assistance in toting instruments to the stage, etc.

This is one more way we can make Tri-State a special and unique experience both for the bands and the host families.  Please consider joining us this time as a host family!  You can get a group of your friends together and host a band as a group, or host them by yourself.  This could be your experience of a lifetime.

Please check out our list of bands for this year’s festivals and call me if you are interested.  I guarantee you will have a blast with any of these bands!    

Chris - phone 419-721-8016 or email cooperrider@yahoo.com

Another festival gone

It is great regret that we, Carolina Road, have to announce cancellation of the Carolina Road Homecoming Bluegrass Festival, which was held annually in November at the Ramada Inn in Burlington, North Carolina. We have hosted and promoted this festival at the Ramada Inn for the past four years. Because the ticket sales were not adequate to allow the event to continue, we have made the decision to cancel the festival.

Carolina Road was approached last December with the opportunity to take over the Christmas in the Smokies Bluegrass Festival, which was previously hosted by The Larkin Family for the past two decades. We are very excited about hosting and promoting this festival, which is held annually in December at the Ramada Inn and Smoky Convention Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We have designed a website for the Christmas in the Smokies Bluegrass Festival which has the band line up, ticket information, hotel information, etc. Please visit the website, bluegrasschristmasinsmokies.com, to check out the festival.

The 2012 Christmas in the Smokies Festival will be held on Wednesday, December 12 through Saturday, December 15 at the beautiful Ramada Inn and Smoky Mountain Convention Center. Come see the marvelous Christmas decor in downtown Pigeon Forge and enjoy the many tourist activities. Come share in the Christmas Spirit! The band lineup includes your host, Carolina Road, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Marty Raybon, Goldwing Express, Ralph Stanley II, Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press, Gary Waldrep Band, Jerry Butler & The Blu-Js, Remington Ryde, Mike Conner & The Travelers, The Larkins, Reno Tradition, Mountain Faith, and the Hart Brothers.

We THANK YOU for all your support throughout the years of our bluegrass events.  We hope to see you all at the 2012 Christmas in the Smokies Bluegrass Festival.

Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road

Event correction Wilmington, OH fest

The correct dates are:
03/30-31 Southern Ohio Indoor Music Festival, Wilmington, OH 45177

Russ Carteaux 88

Russ ran the Avilla Lions Food booth at the Tri-State Festival for many years. The booth is located just north of the stage area.

While his wife was still alive, she would come by our trailer on Sunday night and give us the soup that was left over from the food booth. It made a great Monday dinner.

Russ has been in declining health and had not worked at the booth for the last couple of years. He died Monday Dec. 26, 2011.

The Billionaire Who Loved Bluegrass

F. Warren Hellman, a banjo-picking billionaire whose life followed such an extraordinary and eccentric arc it perhaps could only have taken place in San Francisco, died Dec. 18, 2011 at UCSF Medical Center. He was 77.


Warren founded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival at the San Francisco Golden Gate park. The festival has grown to a three-day affair, with an attendance of more than 600,000 fans who see world-renowned acts like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle and Elvis Costello — for free.

Showcase artists wanted

SHOWCASE ARTISTS SOUGHT FOR IBMA BUSINESS CONFERENCE 2012,
Deadline to apply: January 16, 2012 The premiere opportunity to introduce talent and new music at IBMA’s annual World of Bluegrass conference comes in the form of “official” showcase performances which help the music industry assembled see what’s new in the music. These performances take place on a full soundstage and offer selected acts and opportunity to perform in front of the hundreds of industry professionals in attendance.

NIBGA has hired many of the bands who performed on the main showcase as well as the late night showcases.

Marksmen Quartet loose everything to thieves

Marksmen Quartet

The full story is on the here but they lost everything while traveling to Myrtle Beach festival over Thanksgiving weekend.

Shady Side Park Bluegrass Festival 7/30/11

Shady Side Park Bluegrass Festival
Sponsored By: White River Folk & Bluegrass Association
1112 Broadway Street
Anderson, IN 46012

Date: Saturday July 30th, 2011
Contact: White River Folk & Bluegrass Assoc.
Dennis Niccum (765) 606-0761

Stage and vendors are at Tri-State

The stage arrived a few minutes ago. Tires were low so the crew had to pump them up. There has been some minor damage while it was in storage. It appears the soft aluminum skin has been scraped.

Two of many vendors arrived Sunday night with many more expected.

As of Saturday night there were 74 rigs on the grounds.

The chairs are awaiting an audience.

DISCOVER BLUEGRASS DAY - May 27, 2011

DISCOVER BLUEGRASS DAY

A Full Day of Workshops Presented by Professional Musicians

We are excited to present a full day of workshops on May 27, the Friday of the Memorial Day Festival.  These workshops will be free to all festival attendees.  If you would like to just come for the day, the cost of a Friday daily ticket is $8 and will allow you to attend all workshops, plus all other activities and concerts on Friday night. 

           

Workshops will be 2 hours in length, including time to pack up and move to the next workshop.  Preregistration is not required…just show up at the door!  You will find schedules posted on the bathroom doors and at the merchants’ building, but if you want to start planning your day now, here is the preliminary schedule.  You can attend one session per time slot.

Choices are:

10am until noon – Song Writing, Banjo, Dobro, or Guitar

Noon until 2pm – Mountain Dulcimer, Fiddle, or Bass

2 pm until 4pm – Mandolin or Harmonica

4 pm until 6pm – Harmony Singing, Beginner Bluegrass Jam, Old-Time/Bluegrass Dancing

In addition to the above FREE sessions, we will be offering a workshop from 2pm until 6pm (yes, FOUR hours!) with Bull Harmon.  This will be geared towards the more advanced players, and there will be a $25 fee for this class.  You must preregister in advance with Chris Cooperrider as there is a limit of 12 students in this class. Call 260-302-1555 for more information or to preregister.

The Saturday morning workshops are being replaced by this Friday spectacular. There will still be the “Slow Jam” on Saturday from 12-1:30p in the Mini Barn along with the Kids Korner at 10:00 to 11:30a.

WiFi at Kendallville Memorial Festival

The WiFi will be on at the fairgrounds during the festival. Exact dates are:
On: May 16  Off: June 1

The antenna is located atop the Merchants building. The range varies but is generally line of site for 100 yards. If you cannot get reception at your location, move closer to the east end of the Merchants building.

The antenna is off when we are not on the grounds to prevent free service to area homes.

Our thanks to Ligtel Communications for providing free WiFi during our festivals.

May 27 HillBenders at Provena Sacred Heart Home, Avilla, IN

Undeniably the hottest young band on the acoustic scene, The HillBenders have been winning over audiences from coast to coast with their unique style, original compositions and relentless drive. These buzz-worthy bluegrass whiz-kids are quickly rising above many of their peers and gaining international recognition for their aggressive combination of contemporary influences with traditional inspiration and instrumentation, as well as their infectiously energetic stage performances.


They will perform for the residents of the Provena Sacred Heart Home in Avilla, IN at 2 p.m. on May 27. 


This show is sponsored by Northern Indiana Bluegrass as a part of their community outreach program.

Why don't bands want to promote themselves?

Linda is busy trying to put together publicity for the upcoming Memorial festival. The frustrating part is bands do an extremely poor job of having material that is press ready. Snapshots of fans, lots of them. Professional photo that tells a story for the newspaper, few or none. Color photos that most web sites and newspapers want, not to be found.

Where is the biography of the band that has a story versus Joe plays banjo, Tom is a great guitar player loved by his mother, etc. Don't bands ever read a newspaper story or look at some of the bluegrass magazines? Buyers of magazines, papers, blogs, etc. want a story not dry copy. Why is it up to the event producer to create this?

OK, some bands change so often that only the band leader is common from month to month. The leader could still have an interesting story to tell and a professional publicity shot.

Most bands now have a web site that someone has sold them on using the latest and greatest gizmo. Today that seems to be Adobe flash. Guess what, you cannot easily extract information from a flash presentation so it is unusable for publicity outside of the bands web site. If the band doesn't have an Electronic Press Kit, EPK in the jargon, then please, please create a web site that will allow copy and paste. I'm not going to retype your stuff!

One last word, a high resolution photo is not a photo that displays well on your web page. A high res is 1,000,000 pixel or larger not 1,000 pixel. The band has that high res photo when the picture was taken so put it on the web site someplace.

I feel better.