Through the leadership of Bob Wolff, Worldwide Bluegrass Music Month was
envisioned and created as a grass roots effort in 1988. With the
encouragement of several industry leaders and Mr. Wolff's blessing, a
recommendation was made to shift the celebration from the month of May
to September to capitalize on media interest surrounding the IBMA
Awards, World of Bluegrass events and Bill Monroe's birthday. While IBMA
has encouraged the celebration since it was established, it has never
assumed an official role but will officially support and declare
September as Worldwide Bluegrass Music Month beginning in 2010. The
goals remain the same: to further encourage a grassroots effort to
celebrate the music and build new audiences, bring broader media
coverage, and assist the industry in exposing the music for sale at
retail, at live events, through broadcast exposure and other means.