June Bug Center receives funding from IBMA Foundation
The International Bluegrass Music Association Foundation recently awarded $20,000 in project grants to 11 bluegrass programs, including the Junior Appalachian Musicians program at the June Bug Center in Floyd.
The International Bluegrass Music Association Foundation recently awarded $20,000 in project grants to 11 bluegrass programs, including the Junior Appalachian Musicians program at the June Bug Center in Floyd.
“An impressive list of recipients for 2026 will support bluegrass education for both young people and adults,” said IBMA Foundation Board Chair and President Trisha Tubbs. “We are grateful to donors who continue to support the Foundation. Project grants are the flagship program of the IBMA Foundation, dating back to 2011. We’re especially pleased to help fund important work across the U.S. and beyond with these annual grants that make an enormous difference in lives and communities.”
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Several project grants will help to establish or set up Junior Appalachian Musician (JAM) after school programs for children in grades 4-8 and older. Their mission is to provide local communities in the Appalachian region with the tools and support they need to teach children to play and dance to traditional old-time and bluegrass music. The Bill Breen Bluegrass Youth Education Fund will support one-third of the amount awarded for project grants in 2026.
IBMA Foundation project grants will go to JAM affiliates in the following regions:
June Bug Center for Arts and Education — The Floyd JAMS after school program is held once per week for students ages 8 – 18 at the June Bug Center on Monday afternoons from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Students can choose to learn fiddle, guitar, mandolin, clawhammer banjo, bluegrass banjo, dance, string band, and singing from talented local instructors. Instruments are supplied free of charge to students. (Floyd, Virginia)
Montgomery Museum of Art and History — The Montgomery County JAM affiliate will serve students ages 8-14 for 14 weeks of bluegrass instrument instruction for the Spring 2026 term. (Christiansburg, Virginia)
The Tellico Plains Junior Appalachian Musicians affiliate serves children age 5-12 in three communities located in Monroe County. Instruction in traditional bluegrass, old-time music, and dance is included, along with jamming and performance opportunities. (Tellico Plains, Tennessee)
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Additional recipients include:
The String Band Summit — Since 2017, the East Tennessee State University Institute for Appalachian Music and Culture has hosted a String Summit. This year’s version will include a keynote session with an academic/social science analytical twist, youth engagement activities carried with local and regional JAM groups, and a public community dance. (Johnson City, Tennessee)
The Shaniko Music Sanctuary Frontier Bluegrass Festival Workshop Series is a bluegrass education initiative to be delivered across four rural Oregon festivals. Beginner workshops, intergenerational jams, and introductory skill-building sessions will be provided, facilitated by local musicians. They project 60-80 participants at the four festivals. (Shaniko, Oregon)
The Georgia Pick and Bow Traditional Music School preserves and promotes traditional regional music with 10 weeks of after school bluegrass and old-time instruction and jamming for young students, two family jams a year, two recitals, a five-day summer camp with a showcase, and occasional after-school jams. Students on reduced or free meal programs at school are offered assistance with tuition. The program serves about 135 students a year. (Dahlonega, Georgia)
The purpose of the Ashe County Arts Council Heritage Dance Series is to preserve and revitalize traditional social dance. Bluegrass and old-time musicians play for the dancers, and local Junior Appalachian Musician students will provide the music for the program in 2026. (West Jefferson, North Carolina)
“Bluegrass at the Granite” hosted by The Granite, Inc. hosts monthly bluegrass nights plus youth music education. A new series at the nonprofit arts venue has been developed for 2026 that will include coached and uncoached jams, workshops, and professional band performances. The program’s goal is to preserve and promote bluegrass in Connecticut and southeast New York area. (Georgetown, Connecticut)
The Monroe Mandolin Camp’s work is focused on the preservation and advancement of the living legacy of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys and of traditional bluegrass music. The camp approaches this heritage as a living language — actively taught, shared, and passed from generation to generation through hands-on learning and storytelling at annual camps and year-round workshops that connect musicians with history, folklore, and community. (Mt. Juliet, Tennessee)
The Ashokan Center, a nonprofit cultural center dedicated to folk arts, music, and outdoor education on a 385-acre historic nature preserve in the Catskill Mountains, will host its 2026 Bluegrass Camp, providing week-long, hands-on instruction for musicians of all ages and levels. Hosted this year by Kimber Ludiker, the program includes music instruction, songwriting, jams, concerts, mini-lessons, open mics, and more. (Olivebridge, New York)
Mark J. Harris
Floyd County Farm Bureau
(540) 745-2021
335 E. Oxford St.
Floyd VA 24091
Prince Edward Island Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Society’s PEI Winter Bluegrass Festival will host a session featuring two pioneering women in bluegrass music: Barbara Martin Stephens and Betty Harford. The women led their own successful careers in the music industry and were driving forces in their husband’s careers (Jimmy Martin and John Hartford). Barbara and Betty worked in booking, management, promotion, performance, and more. They will be featured at a Fireside Chat hosted by the Sunny Mountain Gals, a regional all-female bluegrass trio. (Prince Edward Island, Canada)
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 by supporting 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 www.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.