Nominees for the 32nd Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards were announced July 20 in Nashville, Tennessee. In the running for the coveted Entertainer of the Year award are Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Del McCoury Band, and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. McCoury and Lawson are Bluegrass Hall of Fame members, while McCoury and Balsam Range are past winners of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s top award.
Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), a nonprofit professional music organization that connects, educates, and empowers bluegrass professionals and enthusiasts, honoring tradition and encouraging innovation in the bluegrass community worldwide (ibma.org). Award recipients will be named during the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show on Thursday night, September 30, 2021 at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina. The awards show will also be broadcast on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction at 7:30 p.m. EDT and streamed via Facebook Live (as was the July 20 awards nominees announcement)
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A complete list of nominees appears below, along with information about three Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees and five Distinguished Achievement Awards recipients.
Entertainer of the Year:
Balsam Range
Billy Strings
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
The Del McCoury Band
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Vocal Group of the Year:
Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Sister Sadie
Instrumental Group of the Year:
Appalachian Road Show
Billy Strings
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
The Infamous Stringdusters
The Travelin’ McCourys
New Artist of the Year:
Appalachian Road Show
Carolina Blue
Gina Furtado Project
High Fidelity
Merle Monroe
Song of the Year:
“Banjo Player’s Blues”
Artist: High Fidelity
Songwriter: Charlie Monroe
Producers: Jeremy Stephens, Brad Benge
Label: Rebel Records
“Hitchhiking to California”
Artist: Alan Bibey & Grasstowne
Songwriters: Wes Golding/Alan Bibey/Jerry Salley
Producers: Jerry Salley, Ron Stewart, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records
“Just Load the Wagon”
Artist: Junior Sisk
Songwriter: J.R. Satterwhite
Producers: Amanda Cook, Junior Sisk, Mark Hodges
Label: Mountain Fever Records
“Leaving on Her Mind”
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Songwriter: Jack Clement
Producer: Rosta Capek
Label: Billy Blue Records
“Richest Man”
Artist: Balsam Range
Songwriters: Jim Beavers/Jimmy Yeary/Connie Harrington
Producer: Balsam Range
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Album of the Year:
Bluegrass 2020
Artist: Scott Vestal, Patrick McAvinue, Cody Kilby, Dominick Leslie, Curtis Vestal
Producers: Scott Vestal, Ethan Burkhardt, Lonnie Lassiter
Label: Pinecastle Records
Distance and Time
Artist: Becky Buller
Producer: Stephen Mougin
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Fall Like Rain
Artist: Justin Moses
Producer: Justin Moses
Label: Mountain Fever Records
Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy
Artist: Various Artists
Producer: Joe Mullins
Label: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Load the Wagon
Artist: Junior Sisk
Producers: Amanda Cook, Junior Sisk, Mark Hodges
Label: Mountain Fever Records
Still Here
Artist: Steve Gulley & Tim Stafford
Producers: Steve Gulley, Tim Stafford
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Gospel Recording of the Year:
“After Awhile”
Artist: Dale Ann Bradley
Songwriter: Public Domain
Producer: Dale Ann Bradley
Label: Pinecastle Records
“Grit and Grace”
Artist: Balsam Range
Songwriters: Ann Melton/Milan Miller/Beth Husband
Producer: Balsam Range
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
“Hear Jerusalem Calling”
Artist: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Songwriters: Marty Stuart/Jerry Sullivan
Producers: Joe Mullins, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records
“In the Resurrection Morning”
Artists: Sacred Reunion featuring Doyle Lawson, Vince Gill, Barry Abernathy, Tim Stafford, Mark Wheeler, Jim VanCleve, Phil Leadbetter, Jason Moore
Songwriter: Mark Wheeler
Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records
“When He Calls My Name”
Artist: Alan Bibey & Grasstowne
Songwriters: Alan Bibey/Ronnie Bowman
Producers: Alan Bibey & Grasstowne, Ron Stewart, Jerry Salley, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records
Instrumental Recording of the Year:
“The Appalachian Road”
Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Songwriter: Jim VanCleve
Producers: Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, Appalachian Road Show, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records
“Foggy Mountain Chimes”
Artists: Scott Vestal, Patrick McAvinue, Cody Kilby, Dominick Leslie, Curtis Vestal
Songwriter: Earl Scruggs
Producer: Scott Vestal
Label: Pinecastle Records
“Ground Speed”
Artists: Kristin Scott Benson, Skip Cherryholmes, Jeremy Garrett, Kevin Kehrberg, Darren Nicholson
Songwriter: Earl Scruggs
Producer: Jon Weisberger
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
“Mountain Strings”
Artist: Sierra Hull
Songwriters: Frank Wakefield/Red Allen
Producer: Joe Mullins
Label: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
“Taxland”
Artist: Justin Moses with Sierra Hull
Songwriter: Justin Moses
Producer: Justin Moses
Label: Mountain Fever Records
Collaborative Recording of the Year:
“Birmingham Jail”
Artists: Barry Abernathy with Vince Gill
Songwriter: Public Domain
Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records
“In the Resurrection Morning”
Artists: Sacred Reunion featuring Doyle Lawson, Vince Gill, Barry Abernathy, Tim Stafford, Mark Wheeler, Jim VanCleve, Phil Leadbetter, Jason Moore
Songwriter: Mark Wheeler
Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records
“My Baby’s Gone”
Artists: Justin Moses with Del McCoury
Songwriter: Dennis Linde
Producer: Justin Moses
Label: Mountain Fever Records
“Tears of Regret”
Artists: High Fidelity with Jesse McReynolds
Songwriters: Jesse McReynolds/Lucille Hutton
Producers: Jeremy Stephens, Corrina Rose Logston, Brad Benge
Label: Rebel Records
“White Line Fever”
Artists: Bobby Osborne with Tim O’Brien, Trey Hensley, Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, Todd Phillips, Alison Brown
Songwriters: Merle Haggard/Jeff Tweedy
Producers: Alison Brown, Garry West
Label: Compass Records
Male Vocalist of the Year:
Ronnie Bowman
Del McCoury
Danny Paisley
Junior Sisk
Larry Sparks
Female Vocalist of the Year:
Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Sierra Hull
Molly Tuttle
Rhonda Vincent
Banjo Player of the Year:
Gena Britt
Gina Furtado
Rob McCoury
Kristin Scott Benson
Scott Vestal
Bass Player of the Year:
Mike Bub
Todd Phillips
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Marshall Wilborn
Fiddle Player of the Year:
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Deanie Richardson
Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year:
Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Phil Leadbetter
Justin Moses
Guitar Player of the Year :
Trey Hensley
Billy Strings
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle
Jake Workman
Mandolin Player of the Year:
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
Tristan Scroggins
Alison Krauss, Lynn Morris, Stoneman Family to be Inducted into Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame
Inductions into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame are also set to take place during the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show. Slated for induction are acclaimed artist Alison Krauss, trailblazing bandleader and banjoist Lynn Morris and early bluegrass influencers Stoneman Family. A winner of multiple Grammy Awards, a two-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year and four-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year; Krauss is the most commercially successful bluegrass-related artist since Flatt & Scruggs. Morris was named three times as IBMA ‘s Female Vocalist of the Year and was previously a two-time winner of the National Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas. She was also a recipient of an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award in 2010. Stoneman Family, whose 1920s recordings have been equated by country music historians with those of the Carter Family (who also hailed from the Appalachian Mountains region of southwest Virginia), also received IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 2000.
Five Distinguished Achievement Awards Will Also Be Presented on Sept. 30
Five veteran bluegrass industry innovators will receive Distinguished Achievement Awards in recognition of their significant contributions to the genre this year. The five, who will be presented with plaques during a Sept. 30 luncheon at the IBMA business conference, are Nancy Cardwell Webster, Lee Michael Dempsey, Jaroslav Pruch, Cliff Waldron, and Stan Zdonik. Cardwell Webster has been a writer, educator, mentor, and formerly served as executive director of both the IBMA and its foundation. She was instrumental in developing such IBMA programs as Bluegrass in the Schools and Leadership Bluegrass. Dempsey, a mainstay at Bluegrass Country Radio, is a veteran Washington, DC area radio broadcaster who hosted a weekday afternoon contemporary bluegrass show daily on WAMU from 1982-2018 and was named IBMA Broadcaster of the Year in 1991. . He also has compiled Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine’s monthly National Bluegrass Survey for nearly 32 years. Pruch, a Czech luthier and performer who is viewed as one of the world’s finest contemporary banjo makers, has also helped to foster a love of bluegrass music in his native Czech Republic. Waldron was a performing musician for many years and was elected to the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America’s Hall of Greats in 2004. Zdonik helped to form the Boston Bluegrass Union in 1976 and served as the all-volunteer nonprofit organization’s first president. He has also been an emcee for the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, among others, and an IBMA board member.
The IBMA Bluegrass music Awards Show is the centerpiece of World of Bluegrass Week that is slated for September 28-October 2 in North Carolina’s capital city. IBMA World of Bluegrass also features a business conference (Sept. 28-30), the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble (a series of showcases taking place Sept. 28-30 in downtown Raleigh and the Raleigh Convention Center), and IBMA Bluegrass Live! (a two-day festival slated for Oct. 1-2). Considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. IBMA’s annual World of Bluegrass week has taken place in Raleigh since 2013. Concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic prompted the trade and professional association for the global bluegrass community to shift to online presentation of its professional development seminars, artist showcases and awards last fall.
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