Tag: live event

The 2nd Annual Working Songwriter Forum Returns to Chicago

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The BGS Podcast Network, the Working Songwriter, and podcast host/creator Joe Pug are excited to invite you to attend the 2nd Annual Working Songwriter Forum. Set for June 5-7, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Illinois, the event will include concerts, workshops, podcasts, open mics, and more. Space is limited, but 3-day passes are still available. Get more information and purchase tickets here.

Each night of the Forum will feature a full concert by songwriters and musicians on the Forum lineup. David Ramirez and Rachel Baiman will take the stage on Friday, June 5, and John Moreland and TWS creator and host Joe Pug will headline Saturday, June 6.

“Last year’s event featured Craig Finn and Courtney Hartman,” Pug tells BGS via email. “It went better than I could have ever expected. And the Old Town School’s campus in Chicago is such a natural home for the event. I can’t wait to see our returning attendees again and to meet those joining us for the first time.”

The heart of the weekend is a slate of intensive workshops from both Old Town School’s master educators – like Jonas Friddle – as well as Q&As with the Forum’s guest artists. Attendees will also have the opportunity to play scheduled open mics on each day of the event. (See a full schedule below.)

Whether a veteran songwriter or a novice just starting your creative journey, there’s something for everyone on the slate for the 2nd Annual Working Songwriter Forum. We hope you’ll join us and TWS in Chicago at the Old Town School of Folk Music next month! Get more information about the Forum and purchase your tickets here.

Unable to attend the full Forum? Limited concert tickets are available for the evening performances by Ramirez and Baiman and Moreland and Pug.

The Working Songwriter Forum Schedule

Friday, June 5, 2026
4pm – Welcome to The Working Songwriter Forum
5pm – Rachel Baiman teaches Poetry versus Rhetoric in Songwriting
6pm – Dinner Break
8pm – Rachel Baiman Live in Szold Hall
9pm – David Ramirez Live in Szold Hall

Saturday, June 6, 2026
10:30am – Jonas Friddle teaches Something from Nothing
11:45am – David Ramirez presents The Misunderstanding in Wanting to be Understood
1pm – Lunch break
2pm – Open Mic
3:15pm – The Working Songwriter taping with John Moreland and Joe Pug
6pm – Dinner Break
8pm – Joe Pug Live in Maurer Hall
9pm – John Moreland Live in Maurer Hall

Sunday, June 7, 2026
11am – Open Mic: Songs Written at The Working Songwriter Forum
12pm – Lunch break
1pm – Open Mic: Songs Written at The Working Songwriter Forum and a Farewell

Explore our archive of episodes of the Working Songwriter podcast here.

PHOTOS: Remembering Bluegrass Hall of Famer Bobby Osborne

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The bluegrass community is collectively grieving two major losses as both Jesse McReynolds and Bobby Osborne – two revered and iconic Bluegrass Hall of Fame-inducted mandolinists and Grand Ole Opry members who helmed first-generation bluegrass bands with their brothers – have passed on. McReynolds, who was 94, died on Friday, June 23 at his home in Nashville with his wife, Joy, at his side; Osborne’s death was announced on social media early Tuesday, June 27 – he was 91. Both pickers were two of the sole survivors of bluegrass’s first generation. They leave enormous musical legacies that will live on, surely into infinity.

In 2017, the Bluegrass Situation team had the incredible honor of inviting Bobby Osborne to join our super jam at the world-famous Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tennessee. To our delight, he said yes.

BGS co-founder Ed Helms and Bobby Osborne

Over more than ten years of creating and holding space for roots music in our industry, there are so many moments of which we are so proud. But one of the most memorable and meaningful BGS achievements from the past decade was hearing 20,000+ audience members and fans, packed into That Tent, roar unfathomably loud for the iconoclastic voice that made a hit of “Rocky Top” – and so many others.

That day, Bobby seemed to bask in the limelight. He was kind, down-to-earth, approachable, and seemed genuinely tickled at the fanfare and excitement that orbited him and his sharp, technicolor suit and sparkly hat. After a storied career that landed him and his brother, Sonny, in so many widely variable musical contexts, from the obscure to the mainstream, Bobby was perfectly at home at Bonnaroo. His audience knew it, and they ate it up. We all did.

Bobby Osborne with Casey Campbell (background) and Mike Barnett (foreground)

In light of his passing, the entire BGS team is holding gratitude for his kindness, generosity, and, most of all, for his music. Rest in peace to one of the most important and impactful first generation bluegrass music makers, Bobby Osborne.

We hope you’ll enjoy these back stage and performance photos, shot by Elli Lauren Photography, from Bonnaroo 2017 and the BGS Super Jam at That Tent.

Bobby Osborne, Paul Hoffman, Ed Helms, and members of Greensky Bluegrass and Bryan Sutton’s house band.

 

Lillie Mae and Bobby Osborne share a laugh on stage prior to their duet.

 

Bobby Osborne
Ed Helms, Casey Campbell, Bobby Osborne, and others

 

Bobby Osborne and Casey Campbell (background)

 

Bobby Osborne closes his 2017 Bonnaroo appearance with a bow and a tip of his hat.

 

All photos: Elli Lauren Photography for BGS