WKU News

The IBMA Foundation recently awarded $25,600 in project grants to 14 bluegrass programs in four countries, including a project at the Kentucky Museum that is part of the upcoming Sonic Landscape exhibition. 

“A diverse list of recipients for 2024 will support bluegrass education for both young people and adults,” said board chair Fred Bartenstein. “We are grateful to donors who continue to support the Foundation. Their generosity has helped to support very deserving programs.” Some of this year’s grants are also sponsored by an generous bequest from Dick Barnhart, a lover of bluegrass music. Barnhart’s legacy gift in 2007 led to the creation of the IBMA Foundation.

The Kentucky Museum's $1,600 grant will support "Bowling Green in Song", a section of Sonic Landscape that explores songs with Bowling Green as part of the title or lyrics. Featuring a mural of the regional landcscape, interpretive panels, and original vinyl records of the songs, the section identifies several key examples of how Bowling Green, Kentucky, has influenced musicians who have had a profound impact upon the music industry regionally and nationally. These musicians were inspired by the region’s natural beauty, folk tales, and residents. 

Bowling Green in Song includes several bluegrass songs and musicians. For example, Cousin Emmy is most remembered for her country music, but she was also prominent in bluegrass with songs such as “Ruby Are You Mad at Your Man?”. In 1947, she wrote and produced “Bowling Green” with The New Lost City Ramblers, which discussed both her desire to be in the city as well as her love for a man and is classified as a blending of the bluegrass, country, and folk genres. Another prominent musician was Merle Travis, who also blended genres in his 1951/1957 release “Lost John” (also called the “Lost John Boogie”) about a local Bowling Green legend. Additionally, Rhonda Vincent's "Bluegrass Express" (2001) contains lyrics discussing the bluegrass circuit of Kentucky and citing Bowling Green as a stop along the way, demonstrating the city’s importance in 21^st century bluegrass. Finally, Molly Tuttle's 2022 collaboration with indie folk rock band Moon Taxi, entitled "Evergreen," describes the natural characteristics of Bowling Green and demonstrates how musicians from outside of the genre incorporate bluegrass into their songs and keep the genre alive today.

“Bowling Green in Song” is part of the larger Sonic Landscape exhibition, which will feature an in-depth look at the genres of the region, including their symbiosis and collaborations. Heavy emphasis is on the region’s bluegrass traditions, with spotlights on artists including Arnold Shultz, Bill Monroe, and Sam Bush and The New Grass Revival as examples of local musicians who went on to have national influence.

Research for the IBMA Foundation grant - as well as research and interpretive writing for "Bowling Green in Song" - was undertaken by WKU student Logan Johnson (History JUMP and Folklore Minor). Johnson served as a Kentucky Museum exhibitions intern during Summer 2023, assisting with research, scripting, and design for Sonic Landscape while gaining hands-on experience in collections, grant writing, and exhibition development. His research was integral to discovering information about early Blues and Jazz artists from South Central Kentucky, as well as linking these artists to early bluegrass, which led to the successful IBMA Foundation grant. 

About the IBMA Foundation

The IBMA Foundation supports programs and initiatives that foster the growth of bluegrass music. The Foundation helps donors create a bluegrass legacy through charitable donations and planned giving through the support of programs focused on bluegrass-related arts and culture, education, literary work, and historic preservation. Information about all grants and scholarships awarded by the IBMA Foundation may be found at https://bluegrassfoundation.org. For information on how to sponsor one or more IBMA Foundation project grants, contact executive director Nancy Cardwell at (615) 260-4807 or info@bluegrassfoundation.org.