The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent and Rhonda Vincent & The Rage top the list of nominees in the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA) 37th Annual Bluegrass Music Awards. Winners will be announced during an awards show on February 6 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee that caps the organization’s national convention, February 3-6.

The Grascals: Jamie Johnson and Terry Eldredge (seated); Kristin Scott Benson, Terry Smith, Jeremy Abshire and Danny Roberts (standing). Photo by Kevin Neely.

The Grascals, who are the current SPBGMA Bluegrass Band of the Year, scored 10 nominations including nods for Song of the Year (“Last Train to Clarksville”), Album of the Year (The Famous Lefty Flynn’s on Rounder), Entertaining Group of the Year, Instrumental Group of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Bluegrass Band of the Year. Band members Jamie Johnson, Danny Roberts, Terry Eldredge and Kristin Scott Benson received individual nominations for Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year, Mandolin Performer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year-Traditional and Banjo Performer of the Year, respectively.

“It’s been a pivotal year for us,” says Johnson, a co-founder of the band, which is set to release a new CD, The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics with a Bluegrass Spin on Cracker Barrel Jan. 10. “We played over 150 shows, made two trips overseas, headlined some great fairs and festivals stateside, and enjoyed several dates on Hank Williams Jr.’s Rowdy Friends Tour.”

Reigning SPBGMA Vocal Group of the Year Dailey & Vincent received nominations for Entertaining Group of the Year, Bluegrass Band of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Gospel Group of the Year-Contemporary, Entertainer of the Year (Jamie Dailey), Male Vocalist of the Year-Contemporary (Dailey, who also won it in 2009 and 2010), and Bass Fiddle Player of the Year (Darrin Vincent, who received the honor for 2010). They also received an Album of the Year nomination for Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers (Cracker Barrel), its bluegrass tribute to the legendary country quartet, which topped Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart for a number of weeks this year, and a Song of the Year nod for “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine.” Although relatively new on the scene as a duo, having released their debut album in 2008, Dailey & Vincent apprenticed for years under Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs, respectively. They are the reigning three -time winners of IBMA Entertainer and Vocal Group of the Year honors and have won a bevy of other awards.

Current and multi-time SPBGMA Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary) Rhonda Vincent and her band, The Rage, received nominations in seven categories. The All-American Bluegrass Girl is again nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year -Contemporary. Along with The Rage, she is nominated for Vocal Group and Bluegrass Band of the Year, while members of The Rage Mickey Harris, Hunter Berry and Aaron McDaris received nominations for Bass Fiddle, Fiddle and Banjo Performer of the Year, respectively. Harris is a two-time SPBGMA Bass Player of the Year; Berry is a seven-time Fiddle Player of the Year; and McDaris, formerly with The Grascals and The Larry Stephenson Band, is the current Banjo Performer of the Year.

The SPBGMA, established in 1979 as a nonprofit organization that aims to preserve the traditional spirit and art form of bluegrass music, announced nominees in 23 categories last week.

Nominees in select categories appear below, while a complete listing can be found at www.spbgma.com.

Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year: Louisa Branscomb, Eric Gibson, Tom T. Hall and Dixie Hall, Jamie Johnson, Russell Johnson, Tim Stafford

Bluegrass Album of the Year: The Boys in Hats & Ties by Big Country Bluegrass (Rebel), Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers (Cracker Barrel), Darrin & Brooke Aldridge (Mountain Home), The Famous Lefty Flynn’s by The Grascals (Rounder), Heartaches & Dreams by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (Rebel), Light on My Feet, Ready to fly by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Horizon)

Female Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary: Dale Ann Bradley, Cia Cherryholmes, Sonya Isaacs, Alison Krauss, Christy Reid, Rhonda Vincent

Female Vocalist of the Year (Traditional): Lorraine Jordan, Claire Lynch, Frances Mooney, Alecia Nugent, Valerie Smith, Jeanette Williams

Male Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary): Mike Andes, Jamie Dailey, Steve Gulley, Russell Moore, Larry Stephenson, Bradley Walker

Male Vocalist of the Year (Traditional): James King, Jeff Michael, Terry Eldredge, Doyle Lawson, Junior Sisk, Larry Sparks

Vocal Group of the Year: Big Country Bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Instrumental Group of the Year: Big Country Bluegrass, The Bluegrass Brothers, The Grascals, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Bluegrass Band of the Year (Overall): Big Country Bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Song of the Year: “The Boys in Hats & Ties” by Big Country Bluegrass (Rebel), “Bleeding for a Little Piece of Mind” by Blue Highway (Rounder), “Do You Know You are My Sunshine” by Dailey & Vincent (Cracker Barrel), “I Thought I’d Seen It All” by Darin & Brooke Aldridge (Mountain Home), “Last Train to Clarksville” by The Grascals, “Train Without a Track” by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (Rebel)

Entertaining Group of the Year: Big Country Bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Nothin’ Fancy, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

Entertainer of the Year: Jamie Dailey, Lorraine Jordan, Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Junior Sisk, Rhonda Vincent