Grammy-winning guitarist and bluegrass trailblazer Billy Strings will headline the 2025 IBMA Business Conference in Chattanooga with a keynote conversation on Tuesday, September 16 at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
The session, titled “Billy Strings in Conversation with Tom Power” and presented by Turnberry Records in partnership with The Bluegrass Situation, will feature Strings in a live interview with acclaimed radio and podcast host Tom Power.
IBMA Bluegrass Music Award-winner Junior Sisk will open the program with a special performance.
The keynote is part of the IBMA World of Bluegrass®, a five-day celebration of bluegrass music coming to Chattanooga September 16–20. Alongside the Business Conference, the week will include artist showcases across downtown, the annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium, and the two-day IBMA Bluegrass Live! festival.
Strings has become one of the most influential figures in bluegrass and roots music today. His 2024 release Highway Prayers debuted at #1 on Billboard’s all-genre Top Album Sales chart, the first bluegrass album in more than two decades to do so.
“Billy Strings represents the present and future of bluegrass by embracing – and building on – our past,” said Ken White, Executive Director of IBMA. “We couldn’t be prouder to present him at this year’s conference.”
WUTC 88.1 FM, Chattanooga’s NPR station and the official local radio partner of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass, will have full coverage of the week’s events. For details on showcases, awards, and everything happening across Chattanooga, check out our Guide to IBMA World of Bluegrass.
Conference passes for September 16–18, as well as tickets for all World of Bluegrass events, are available here.
