Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association - Organizational History

Organizational History

In September 1975, Minnesota bass player Tom O'Neill circulated a proposal to a group of people whose names had been gleaned from the personal address books of his bluegrass and old-time music-playing friends. He sent out a preliminary newsletter announcing The Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association (MBOTMA), based on the San Diego Bluegrass Club and its newsletter format. MBOTMA got started with its first official newsletter, mailed to a new membership of 40, that October.

The Association's membership grew steadily and in August 1976 MBOTMA was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in Minnesota. During the first three years membership grew to over 400.

The organization introduced its first three-day summer bluegrass festival at Wildwood Campground in Taylor's Falls (MN) in August 1980. This event would eventually become the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival, now located at El Rancho Mañana in central Minnesota. 1980 was also the same year MBOTMA held the very first Buy, Sell, Swap Meet, which would develop into today’s Winter Bluegrass Weekend: A Festival of Bluegrass & Old-Time Music & Dance, held annually the first weekend in March at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Conference Center in Plymouth (MN) (formerly known as the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center).

In 1988, the summer MBOTMA Festival moved to Camp in the Woods Resort near Zimmerman (MN). Volunteers constructed a permanent stage facility at the campground and over the years countless bands enjoyed performing there to capacity audiences. The Minnesota Homegrown Kickoff Music Festival was started in June 1993 at the same venue and provided a format for MBOTMA Member Bands to showcase. Both festivals flourished, but in 2001 Camp In The Woods was sold to a housing developer, and a larger location with a long-range future was sought.

The goal of moving the two summer festivals to a new home was realized in 2002 with a move to El Rancho Mañana, a campground and riding stables located in the rolling hills of central Minnesota west of St. Cloud. The venue is large enough to accommodate increased interest in Bluegrass and Old-Time Stringband music and offers amenities such as horseback riding and a swimming beach. Volunteers designed and contributed much of the labor to build a new concert area and stage that is now considered one of the Midwest's most beautiful outdoor festival grounds.

In 2001, MBOTMA brought on board its first professional executive director, Jed Malischke, to better serve its membership and mission. The organization now has a steady membership of approximately 1000 individuals and 125 member bands.

Two winter concert programs are well established. The Community Concert Series now brings MBOTMA Member Bands to small venues in small communities throughout Minnesota. The Lonely Pines Concert Series features professionally touring bands in a series of concerts in large and small cities.

Since 2003, the organization has partnered with the Minnesota State Fair to present The Minnesota Flatpicking Guitar & Duet Championships. A fourth annual festival, The Harvest Jamboree, was launched in 2006, an indoor multi-day festival with concerts, workshops and jamming. MBOTMA also hosts various jam sessions, sponsors children’s educational programs, and helps support many events sponsored by other organizations and its member bands.

MBOMTA’s monthly publication, Inside Bluegrass, has twice been voted “Best Newsletter” by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA). The Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival was nominated in the "Event of the Year" category by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) in 2005 and 2007.