Dailey & Vincent, Russell Moore, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and The Grascals lead the list of nominees for the 21st Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards that takes place on Thursday, September 30, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The nominations were announced this morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, also in Nashville.

The awards show is the centerpiece of the International Bluegrass Music Association’ (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass week September 27 to October 3, that also features a business conference and fan fest. Co-hosting the awards show will be award-winning artists Jerry Douglas and Sharon & Cheryl White of The Whites. It will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s “Bluegrass Junction” channel 14 and on WSM-AM 650 (live at www.wsmonline.com), as well as syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets.

Reigning two-time Entertainers of the Year Dailey & Vincent tops the list of nominees with 10 nods for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Album of the Year, among others. During the past year, the duo released both an a cappella gospel project and a bluegrass tribute to the legendary country music quartet The Statler Brothers. Russell Moore and his band, IIIrd Tyme Out, received nominations in six categories. Among them are Entertainer of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Vocal Group of the Year (an honor the band receive for seven consecutive years, 1994-2000). Sam Bush, who is widely hailed as the “Father of Newgrass,” and his band received five nods (including Album, Instrumental Group and Song of the Year), as did seven-time Fiddle Player of the Year Michael Cleveland (who leads a band nominated for Entertainer of the Year), and four-time IBMA Entertainers of the Year The Grascals, who also received Entertainer and Album of the Year nods.

The Grascals

“The Grascals are now six-years old and we’re still in the game with the rest of the great bluegrass artists,” says Jamie Johnson of the genre-bending sextet that’s signed to Rounder Records. “We’re very honored for all our IBMA nominations.”

The Grascals were the subject of an interview-profile piece posted on AcousticMusicScene.com in 2007.

The Gibson Brothers received four awards nominations, while the Josh Williams Band, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and the Del McCoury Band received three nods each

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, John Hartford (the late singer-songwriter, banjo and fiddle stylist) and Louise Scruggs (who served as business manager for Flatt & Scruggs, The Earl Scruggs Revue and Earl Scruggs Family & Friends prior to her death in 2006) will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame. IBMA Distinguished Achievement Awards also will be presented.

The complete list of nominees for the International Bluegrass Music Awards may be found at www.ibma.org.