As with most other folks on this thread, I have been playing bluegrass for over 25 years. I was a founder of the bluegrass club in Vancouver BC, and over the years all the biggies have performed for us; Bill, Ralph, David Grisman, Hot Rize, The Kentucky Colonels, James King, Allison Krause, Laurie Lewis .... and many, many more.

Up here in Canada bluegrass is definitely not a mainstream thing. There has always been a small group of dedicated players and I have seen the membership of our club rise and fall over the years. I do think that O Brother has had a big effect on the popularity of bluegrass. I have been teaching beginning workshops (Slow Pitch Jams) for about 8 years. In the last year there has been a marked increase in the number of young people coming out to our jams and getting involved in our club. I experienced the same thing mentioned by wilco48, with In The Pines. It's one of the songs included in my instructional materials and the younger people went crazy when they heard me playing it.

My band played at a local ski lodge (not a bluegrass audience!) last year to a wild reception. We were invited back because we played so many songs from O Brother. We also played at a local mega-theatre on the opening night of the movie; the crowd loved it.

I also think the revival is partly due to the large number of yuppies who are seeking meaningful activities other than golf, cruising and other such retirement pastimes. I teach at the BC Bluegrass Workshop every August. It's a wonderful week-long camp on a beautiful Shuswap Lake with top bluegrass stars from all over North America as instructors. The two sessions always fill up quickly every year. Many of the students are middle aged people who spend their vacations travelling to music camps and festivals. They have expensive instruments and are very serious about learning music. It's very gratifying to see classes that span a wide range of ages learning together.

I think what excites people about bluegrass is the participation. That's what people tell me about the Slow Pitch Jam. At the BC Bluegrass Workshop I usually have around 80 people in the nightly jam!
Mostly beginners! I say that looks good for bluegrass in the future.
www.rhythmroundup.com/slowpitch