Member Content

For almost 15 years, the Bluegrass Situation has been more than just a roots music media outlet. We’ve been a family. A community. A gathering place for folks who love and support bluegrass, Americana, folk, and beyond.

Now, in 2026, we’re giving our readers, fans, and followers the opportunity to get even more involved in the BGS family – we’re launching a BGS Membership program, the Band Wagon!

We’re throwing down the tailgate on the BGS Band Wagon and inviting everyone to hop on up and enjoy exclusive articles, interviews, and events, behind-the-scenes content, member perks, discounts, and VIP access, and much more. The best part? Memberships start at $0/month – and if you’re already a BGS email newsletter subscriber, you’re already a member.

Starting August 17, all BGS Members will be able to upgrade their memberships to one of several paid tiers, as well, in order to unlock more exclusive content and member benefits. (Details below.) In addition, two music-industry geared membership tiers will offer roots music professionals (individuals and organizations) even more benefits – including advertising on our website, networking and professional development events, panels, seminars, and more.

The Band Wagon isn’t a paywall. All of our usual, everyday content will continue to be available to all of our readers and members – from $0 and up – going forward, regardless of Band Wagon membership status or tier. But for those BGS fans who are geared up for more, we want to give a chance to participate on a deeper level – and, to support the mission of BGS and our independent roots music journalism, content creation, live event production, and the enthusiastic, flourishing community we’ve all crafted together over 15 years.

Grass Roots memberships are designed for individual fans, followers, pickers, and readers of any and all sorts. Tiers start at $0/month or $0/year and give Band Wagon members access to the BGS Weekly Dispatch and member update email newsletters. Anyone can jump on the Band Wagon – and we encourage you to sign up!

The Jam Circle membership tier is priced at $3/month or $30/year. Jam Circle members will receive the BGS Weekly Dispatch as well as an annual Band Wagon exclusive member sticker. In addition, Jam Circle members will receive a small merch item gift from the BGS Mercantile and a 10% standing discount at our online store. Plus, they’ll receive a monthly member-exclusive email newsletter rounding up all of our exclusive member content, discounts, presales, and more.

Jam Circle+ is priced at $12/month or $100/year. Grass Roots and Jam Circle members may upgrade to Jam Circle+ at any time. In addition to Jam Circle benefits, Jam Circle+ members will receive a large merch item gift from the BGS Mercantile and a 20% standing discount at our online store. Plus, Jam Circle+ will have access to member-exclusive industry panels, online events, registration discounts, behind the scenes content, and more.

Guest List membership tiers are designed for music industry professionals, with Guest List being tailored to individuals and Guest List+ to organizations including more than one member. The Guest List tier is priced at $20/month or $200/year. Guest List+ begins at $100/month or $1,000/year.

Guest List is geared towards artists, musicians, agents, managers, consultants and industry professionals in roots music. In addition to Jam Circle+ benefits, Guest List members will enjoy discounts on BGS marketing and special in-person industry events, mixers, panels, and sessions exclusive to Guest List. Guest List+ is geared towards labels, agencies, firms, festivals, non-profits, venues, and community orgs with more than one staff member seeking Band Wagon access. In addition to Guest List benefits, Guest List+ will also enjoy a monthly square ad on BGS and priority opportunities to market directly to fellow BGS Band Wagon Members.

You don’t have to! But we hope our readers and followers will want to – whether for the value of our Band Wagon perks and benefits or to support independent roots music journalism. (Or, ideally, both!)

BGS Members will enjoy exclusive content, member benefits (like merch item gifts, discounts and presales for tickets to shows and festivals, online panels and sessions, discounts at the BGS Mercantile, and much more. See our full menu above.), and unparalleled access to everything BGS. BGS has always been a community, and we want you to have the chance to be involved in our community at a deeper level – or at whatever level you like!