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What to know before bluegrass takes over downtown Chattanooga next week

Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / Visitors stay cool in the shade as they enjoy the music of Wyatt Ellis on the second day of the 2025 Bluegrass Live music festival in downtown Chattanooga. Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / Visitors stay cool in the shade as they enjoy the music of Wyatt Ellis on the second day of the 2025 Bluegrass Live music festival in downtown Chattanooga.

By Kailee Shores October 15, 2026 3 min read

The International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass festival is set to take over downtown Chattanooga next week, with programming from Oct. 20-24.

The event will bring road closures around Miller Park and Miller Plaza on Oct. 24, along with free live music.

Pickin’ in the Park, a free community event on Oct. 24, will have the Miller Park area looking a lot like Nightfall, said Maggie Carruth O’Connor, the events director for the association.

“There’s not going to be the large fencing, it’s going to be open air,” O’Connor said by phone. “Streets will be closed right around the parks … so that you can just kind of come and go, and we’ll have arts and crafts vendors and food vendors.”