The Big Banjo Countdown Clocks were created by local artist Jeff Magner. It’s counting down to the next festival which is September 29 – 30, 2023. The big banjos are stored in the PineCone offices until it’s time to move them out into the community to help countdown the days, hours, minutes and seconds until it’s festival time again. One Banjo Clock is at Raleigh’s Union Station to greet bluegrass fans travelling by train. The other is on Licthin Plaza outside of the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts.
IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC is a free street festival that takes over downtown during the last week of September. The two-day event is this country’s largest urban bluegrass festival, attracting more than 200,000 fans onto the streets of Downtown Raleigh. There are food trucks, art, family activities and lots of great music. The festival caps off the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass. The week of activities draws bluegrass professionals from around the world for the IBMA Business Conference, IBMA Bluegrass Ramble and the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show.
IBMA Bluegrass Live! powered by PNC is a collaborative event supported by The City of Raleigh, Wake County, local businesses and organizations. The Local Organizing Committee that hosts the event is led by The Raleigh Convention Center, The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors’ Bureau and PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music.