The ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band will be traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, this weekend to perform in the International Bluegrass Music Association Wide Open Bluegrass Festival on Sept. 27-28.
“There is a lot that goes into preparing for IBMA,” said Nate Olson, assistant director of the Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Program. “It’s the largest and most important festival that we attend during the year, and thousands of people come out to Raleigh to be a part of the festivities. The Pride Band spends many hours in rehearsal in preparation for the several sets that they will present during the week.”
The IBMA is the organization that has spearheaded milestones, such as the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum, the Bluegrass Trust Fund, World of Bluegrass and the Bluegrass Album GRAMMY. The festival is apart of IMBA’s five-day World of Bluegrass event. The event introduces bluegrass to thousands of new listeners with over 100 performers across seven stages.
“There are many young people from around the country and the world who come to IBMA, and many of them learn about the program at ETSU for the first time at the festival, and our program is unique in the world because of the immersive experience that it offers students,” Olson said. “As ambassadors of the program, the members of the Pride Band are the best reflection of what our program has to offer, and what one can gain and learn by being part of the program, so their participation in the festival really is influential because it’s one of the most important recruitment events that we attend and is an invaluable way that the opportunities of our program become known to the bluegrass community, especially the rising generation of future tradition bearers.”
The ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band is composed of students in the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music program. The Pride Band is acclaimed and has performed at many prestigious venues across the U.S. and onstage with prominent bluegrass and country music artists, such as Alison Krauss, Del McCourty, Ricky Staggs and more.
“The ETSU Pride Band is one of the premier bands in the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies program,” Olson said. “Members of the group are chosen through audition, and usually after they have participated in one or several of the nearly 30 other bands in the program, where they receive extensive training, direction and performance opportunities.”
The Pride Band’s current members are Max Etling (bass), Brady Wallen (Banjo), Aynsley Porchak (fiddle), Troy Boone (mandolin), Aaron “Frosty” Foster (guitar). It is directed by Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music program director Daniel Boner.
The ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band will be performing on IBMA Youth Stage at RCC Plaza on Friday, Sept 28 at 9 p.m.
