PRESS RELEASE, June 5, 2001
Yesterday night at 19:10 Joost van Es played the last note on his fiddle of the European World of Bluegrass 2001, on stage at De Kimme in Zuidlaren, NL, at the Big Bear Festival, as part of Bill Clifton's Pick of the Crop. The last of millions of notes, played on banjos, mandolins, guitars, dobros, basses and fiddles in one whole month, coordinated by the EWOB Committee of the EBMA. Our ultimate goal - at least one bluegrass concert in every town in Europe in the Bluegrass Month - is still far away, but with around 100 concerts and festivals this EWOB is now more successful than anybody thought when we started four years ago... From full tours by American greats like Bill Clifton and Laurie Lewis to small concerts in schools, pubs, churches and clubs, everything was held together by the European World of Bluegrass idea.
EWOB Festival
The central EWOB Festival in Voorthuizen continued to grow as in previous years, with the very positive addition that the local interest in the event grew exponentially. Last year only four or five bands were hired to play in the streets and in the shops of this little town, where this year the number grew to over 25 (not counted in the 100 above)! This means that now the whole town knows what they have got in their midst when the bluegrass campers move in again next year. The EWOB Awards 2001 went to the following bands:
1. Petr Brandejs Band (CZ)
2 (tie) - Countrybandists (RUS)
2 (tie) - Four Wheel Drive (NL)
We will soon be starting the preparations for EWOB 2002, but not before thanking everybody who has contributed to the success of EWOB 2001: the volunteers, the bands, the Trefpunt staff, the IBMA, the promoters, the sponsors, and all the people who came to listen.
Confusion
Lately there has been some confusion about the European bluegrass organizations. Other people are using the EWOB name, not working together with the EBMA and its EWOB Comittee, but against them. A lot has been said and written, some true, some not so true, on which we will not react publicly. We are however prepared to answer all questions you may have about what we do and how and why we do it. The EBMA is a democratic organization, you are invited to join.
Goals
As far as the EBMA is concerned, we will keep uniting everybody who is active in bluegrass music in Europe in any way, with the sole purpose of serving the good causes: 1) creating awareness in our own ranks of the quality and quantity of bluegrass music in Europe, and 2) making bluegrass more widely known, so that it will get easier to do what we do, be it playing bluegrass, organizing events, or marketing bluegrass products such as instruments etc. For these purposes the EBMA will annually organize the European World of Bluegrass and the EWOB Festival, basically as it has been done until now, by the same people who made it a success in the year 2001.