Nominees have been named in 17 categories for the 2020 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. On June 26, the International Bluegrass Music Association also announced the 2020 inductees into the Bluegrass Music Hall Of Fame and a number of Distinguished Achievement Awards recipients.
An awards show is usually the centerpiece of the IBMA’s annual five-day World of Bluegrass, which is considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. It has taken place in Raleigh, NC since 2013. However, concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic recently prompted the association for the global bluegrass community to shift to online presentation of its professional development seminars and artist showcases in September. THE IBMA has not yet announced how and when the awards will be presented.
Nominees for the IBMA’s coveted Entertainer of the Year Award include Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Sister Sadie, and Special Consensus Each is also nominated in other categories.
Balsam Range, a five-member acoustic ensemble that previously won this award in 2014 and 2018, takes its name from a majestic mountain range that surrounds part of its home county in western North Carolina, where the Smokies meet the Blue Ridge. Formed in 2007, Balsam Range has received more than a dozen other IBMA honors – including the 2017 and 2013 Album of the Year awards for Mountain Voodoo and Papertown, respectively. Besides its nod for Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range is also in the running for /also received nominations for Vocal Group of the Year and Gospel Recording of the Year (“Angel Too Soon’).
Billy Strings is a 27 year-old genre-bending flatpicker who hails from Lansing, Michigan but now calls Nashville home. Named IBMA Guitarist and New Artist of the Year last September, he is also a nominee for Album (Home), Instrumental Recording (“Guitar Peace”) and Guitar Player of the Year in 2020.
Led by a Grand Ole Opry member and nine-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year, the Del McCoury Band took home the a2019 IBMA Award for Album of the Year (Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass). While the band vies to be named Entertainer of the Year again, Del is among the nominees for Male Vocalist of the Year and is also featured on Jason Barie’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” which is in the running for Collaborative Recording of the Year. His son, Ronnie McCoury, is nominated for Mandolin Player of the Year.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver is a traditional bluegrass & southern gospel group fronted by a 76 year-old Tennessee native and International Bluegrass Hall of Famer who has been playing mandolin and singing professionally for nearly 60 years. Launched in 1979, the group is up for five other awards besides Entertainer of the Year. These include Vocal Group, Song (“Living Like There’s No Tomorrow”), Album (Live in Prague, Czech Republic), Instrumental Recording (“Shenandoah Breakdown”), and Gospel Recording (“I’m Going to Heaven”) of the Year.
Sister Sadie
Special Consensus has been performing as a band for four decades. Five-time IBMA award-winners and two-time Grammy nominees, the quartet is led by banjo player Greg Cahill, an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award recipient who also is a former IBMA president and board chair. The band received the 2018 IBMA Album of the Year award for Rivers & Roads and also was honored for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year. Its latest release, Chicago Barn Dance, is in the running for Album of the Year, while its title track is also nominated for both Song and Collaborative Recording of the Year.
Other artists receiving multiple awards nominations include Brooke Aldridge, Appalachian Road Show, Blue Highway, Becky Buller, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Mile Twelve, Po’ Ramblin’ Boy, Missy Raines (eight-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year), and Molly Tuttle.
The nominees for these awards were selected by the professional membership of the IBMA, which is comprised of artists, songwriters, label personnel, radio hosts, event producers, managers and agents, publicists, studio engineers, associations, manufacturers, retailers, and others who work in the bluegrass industry. IBMA members also will vote to determine the winners.
The complete list of nominees in 17 categories as determined by votes cast by IBMA’s professional members follows.
Entertainer Of The Year
Balsam Range (Photo: David Simchock)
• Balsam Range
• Billy Strings
• Del McCoury Band
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• Sister Sadie
• Special Consensus
Vocal Group Of The Year
• Balsam Range
• Blue Highway
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
• Sister Sadie
Instrumental Group Of The Year
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• Mile Twelve
• Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
• Sam Bush Band
• The Travelin’ McCourys
New Artist Of The Year
• Appalachian Road Show
• Carolina Blue
• High Fidelity
• Merle Monroe
• Mile Twelve
Song Of The Year
• “Both Ends Of The Train” – Blue Highway (artist), Tim Stafford/Steve Gulley (writers), Rounder Records, Blue Highway (producers)
• “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus (artist), Becky Buller/Missy Raines/Alison Brown (writers), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
• “Haggard” – The Grascals (artist), Harley Allen (writers), Mountain Home Music Company, The Grascals (producers)
• “Hickory, Walnut & Pine” – The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (artist), Slaid Cleaves/Nathan Hamilton (writer), Rounder Records, Dave Maggar (producer)
• “Living Like There’s No Tomorrow” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Jim McBride/Roger Alan Murrah (writer), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)
Album Of The Year
• Chicago Barn Dance – Special Consensus (artist), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
• Home – Billy Strings (artist), Rounder Records, Glenn Brown (producer)
• Live In Prague, Czech Republic – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)
• New Moon Over My Shoulder – Larry Sparks (artist), Rebel Records, Larry Sparks (producer)
• Tall Fiddler – Michael Cleveland (artist), Compass Records, Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers)
• Toil, Tears & Trouble – The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (artist), Rounder Records, Dave Maggard (producer)
• Tribulation – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Billy Blue Records, Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show (producers)
Gospel Recording Of The Year
• “Angel Too Soon” – Balsam Range (artist), Balsam Range (producer), Mountain Home Music Company (label)
• “Because He Loved Me” – Dale Ann Bradley (artist), Dale Ann Bradley (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
• “Gonna Rise And Shine” – Alan Bibey & Grasstowne (artist), Mark Hodges (producer), Mountain Fever Records (label)
• “I’m Going To Heaven” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Little Black Train” – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Barry Abernathy, Darrell Webb, and Ben Isaacs (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
Instrumental Recording Of The Year
• “Tall Fiddler” – Michael Cleveland (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
• “Shenandoah Breakdown” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Soldier’s Joy” – Jesse McReynolds with Michael Cleveland (artist), Jesse McReynolds (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
• “The Appalachian Road” – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Guitar Peace” – Billy Strings (artist), Glenn Brown (producer), Rounder Records (label)
Collaborative Recording Of The Year
• “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
• “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cr”y – Jason Barie featuring Del McCoury & Paul William (artists), Jason Barie (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Tall Fiddler” – Michael Cleveland with Tommy Emmanuel (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
• “The Barber’s Fiddle” – Becky Buller with Shawn Camp, Jason Carter, Laurie Lewis, Kati Penn, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Johnny Warren, Stuart Duncan, Deanie Richardson, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jason Barie, Fred Carpenter, Tyler Andal, Nate Lee, Dan Boner, Brian Christianson, and Laura Orshaw (artists), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
• “On and On” – Gena Britt with Brooke Aldridge (artists), Gena Britt (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
Male Vocalist Of The Year
• Ronnie Bowman
• Del McCoury
• Russell Moore
• Danny Paisley
• Larry Sparks
Female Vocalist Of The Year
• Brooke Aldridge
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Amanda Smith
• Molly Tuttle
• Rhonda Vincent
Instrumental Performers Of The Year
Banjo
• Kristin Scott Benson
• Gena Britt
• Gina Furtado
• Ned Luberecki
• Scott Vestal
Bass
• Barry Bales
• Mike Bub
• Todd Phillips
• Missy Raines
• Marshall Wilborn
Fiddle
• Becky Buller
• Jason Carter
• Michael Cleveland
• Stuart Duncan
• Deanie Richardson
Resophonic Guitar
• Jerry Douglas
• Andy Hall
• Rob Ickes
• Phil Leadbetter
• Justin Moses
Guitar
• Trey Hensley
• Billy Strings
• Bryan Sutton
• Molly Tuttle
• Jake Workman
Mandolin
• Alan Bibey
• Jesse Brok
• Sam Bush
• Sierra Hull
• Ronnie McCoury
In addition, the IBMA has announced three new inductees into International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and seven people who will receive its Distinguished Achievement Award:
2020 Hall Of Fame Inductees
• New Grass Revival
• The Johnson Mountain Boys
• J.T. Gray
2020 Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients
• Norman & Judy Adams
• Daryl & Phyllis Adkins
• Darol Anger
• Wayne Rice
• Jack Tottle
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