Dailey & Vincent retained the title of Entertainers of the Year when the 20th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards were presented on Thursday, October 1, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The duo also was named Vocal Group of the Year.

Dan Tyminski, who some may recall from his years with Alison Krauss & Union Station, and who was the singing voice of George Clooney in the popular film O Brother, Where Art Thou, was named Male Vocalist of the Year and also took home the Best Album of the Year award for Wheels. Dale Ann Bradley was named Female Vocalist of the Year, while Instrumental Group of the Year honors were bestowed on Michael Cleveland and his group, Flamekeeper, who also were the recipients of the Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year award for their rendition of Bill Monroe’s “Jerusalem Ridge.” Cleveland, who is still in his 20s, was named Fiddle Player of the Year for the seventh time.

The SteelDrivers emerged as the Emerging Artists of the Year. “Don’t Throw Mama’s Flowers Away,” written by Chris Stuart and Ivan Rosenberg and performed by Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass, was awarded Song of the Year. And the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, which takes place annually in upstate New York, was named Bluegrass Event of the Year.

The awards show is the centerpiece of the International Bluegrass Music Association’ (IBMA)’s “World of Bluegrass,” which continues through Oct. 4 and also features a business conference and fan fest [see article posted June 21 in the Awards & Contests, Bluegrass & Beyond and Conferences of Note sections]. Grammy Award-winning country artist Kathy Mattea and bluegrass band Hot Rize (the first recipients of the IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 1990) hosted the show that was broadcast live on Sirius XM Radio’s Bluegrass Junction channel.

In addition to awards in more than 20 categories that are voted on by the professional membership of the IBMA, which serves as a trade association for the bluegrass music industry, two notable groups were inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame. They are The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers (a string band launched in 1937 by Ezra, Ray and Ned Cline in West Virginia) and The Dillards (an influential band, best known to many from their television appearances on The Andy Griffith Show, who are credited with helping both blaze the trail on the West Coast for progressive bluegrass bands during the 1960s and helping lay the foundation for what’s known as country-rock.

Other award recipients included:

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR
Proud To Be a Daughter of Bluegrass by the Daughters of Bluegrass for Blue Circle Records

INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR
BANJO
Kristin Scott Benson

BASS
Marshall Wilborn

DOBRO
Rob Ickes

GUITAR
Josh Williams

MANDOLIN
Jesse Brock

Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients
Hylo Brown
Pati Crooker
Jody Rainwater
Dick Spottswood
Joe Wilson

Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year:
Katy Daley; HD Radio WAMU 88.5 Channel 2, 105.5 FM & www.bluegrasscountry.org; Washington, D.C.

Print Media Person of the Year:
Roger Siminoff; Siminoff’s Luthiers Glossary, Banjo Newsletter and Bluegrass Breakdown

Best Liner Notes for a Recorded Project:
Steve Martin (writer), The Crow, Steve Martin (artist), 40 Share Productions (label)

Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project:
G. Carr & Salli Ratts (designers), The Crow, Steve Martin (artist), 40 Share Productions (label)