The European Bluegrass Music Association's fifth EWOB 2002 from May 1 to 31 has once again featured dozens of shows, concerts and festivals all over the Europe and brought bluegrass to new audiences. The central event, the EWOB 2002 Festival & Trade Show, in Voorthuizen, The Netherlands (May 9 to 11) drew the best crowd ever, with a sold-out show on Saturday night. Over 40 bands from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the USA brought their distinctive sounds to the small Dutch community of Voorthuizen where dozens of volunteers (Stichting EBMA Voorthuizen) helped to make the event a success.
The audience popularity awards went to Bluegrass Stuff (I, 1st place), 4-Wheel Drive (NL, 2nd place) and Bluegrass Boogiemen (NL, 3rd place). There was a new award voted for by the musicians themselves plus a few experts in the field and the first place went to 4-Wheel Drive (NL), the second to Nugget (A) and the third to Red Wine (I). Thanks to the generosity of the local business community 4-Wheel Drive were given flight tickets to IBMA's World of Bluegrass events (to be held in October in Louisville).
In a conscious effort to raise the visibility of bluegrass, radio people were invited to this year's EWOB Festival and the bands were happy with the extra attention they received. Also, agents and promoters were present to book some of the bands. Besides these musical performances, there were workshops which were very well attended. The EBMA also held an open meeting and their annual general membership meeting where the old board was reelected. The new 2002/2003 European Bluegrass Directory was presented. The EBMA now has over 200 members in over 15 countries. EBMA's EWOB 2003 Festival Trade Show is scheduled for May 29 to 31, 2003.