IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Presented

Billy Strings was named Entertainer of the Year for the second consecutive year, while his recording of “Red Daisy” was named Song of the Year in the 33rd Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards on September 29, 2022. Béla Fleck received the most awards of the evening as he was honored for Album of the Year (My Bluegrass Heart), Instrumental Group of the Year (Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart), Instrumental Recording of the Year, and Banjo Player of the Year.

The awards show – hosted by artists Ronnie Bowman and Dan Tyminki – was a highlight of the IBMA’s week-long World of Bluegrass. The show took place at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh North Carolina and also was broadcast on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction and streamed via Facebook Live (as was the July 26 awards nominees announcement that was previously reported on by AcousticMusicScene.com.).

A Lansing. Michigan-born and Nashville, Tennessee-based genre-bending flatpicker and singer, Billy Strings received the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album (Home) last year and was named Pollstar’s Breakthrough Artist of the Pandemic. He was previously honored as both Guitar Player and New Artist of the Year in the 2019 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards and was named Guitar Player of the Year again in 2021.

Billy Strings, who turns 30 on Oct. 3, grew up playing traditional bluegrass with his dad. In the years since, he has been among the artists who have helped to expand the boundaries of the genre, widening its appeal. His latest album, Renewal, features 16 songs (mostly originals) that while primarily acoustic, transcend bluegrass via incorporating elements of jam band, psychedelic music, classic rock, and even heavy metal.

[Here’s a link to view the official video for Billy Strings’ recording of “Red Daisy”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmqr0GqnQoE.]

Billy Strings beat out Del McCoury Band, Po’ Ramblin Boys, Sister Sadie, and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway for the coveted Entertainer of the Year award. Like him, McCoury, a Bluegrass Hall of Fame member, and Sister Sadie are previous recipients of the award. McCoury was named Male Vocalist of the Year, while Tuttle was honored as Female Vocalist of the Year.

The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (ibma.org), a nonprofit music organization that connects, educates, and empowers bluegrass professionals and enthusiasts, honoring tradition and encouraging innovation in the bluegrass community worldwide.

A complete list of award winners appears below, along with brief information about three Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees.

Entertainer of the Year: Billy Strings
Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Instrumental Group of the Year: Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart
New Artist of the Year: Rick Faris
Song of the Year: “Red Daisy”
Artist: Billy Strings, Songwriters: Jarrod Walker/Christian Ward
Label: Rounder Records, Producers: Jonathan Wilson/Billy Strings
Album of the Year: My Bluegrass Heart, Artist: Béla Fleck
Label: Renew Records, Producer: Béla Fleck
Gospel Recording of the Year: “In the Sweet By and By”
Artist: Dolly Parton with Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, Bradley Walker, and Jerry Salley
Songwriters: S. Fillmore Bennett/Joseph Webster, Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Jerry Salley
Instrumental Recording of the Year: “Vertigo”
Artist: Béla Fleck featuring Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Bryan Sutton
Songwriter: Béla Fleck, Label: Renew Records, Producer: Béla Fleck
Collaborative Recording of the Year: “In the Sweet By and By”
Artist: Dolly Parton with Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle, Bradley Walker, and Jerry Salley
Songwriters: S. Fillmore Bennett/Joseph Webster, Label: Billy Blue Records, Producer: Jerry Salley
Male Vocalist of the Year: Del McCoury
Female Vocalist of the Year: Molly Tuttle
Banjo Player of the Year: Béla FleckBass Player of the Year: Jason Moore
Fiddle Player of the Year: Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year: Justin Moses
Guitar Player of the Year: Cody Kilby
Mandolin Player of the Year: Sierra Hull

Norman Blake, the late Paul “Moon” Mullins, and Peter Rowan were inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame during the awards show. Blake is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist and a Grammy and Country Music Association Album of the Year award–winner whose prolific music career spans more than six decades. Paul “Moon” Mullins was a broadcast pioneer and recording artist whose work brought bluegrass music to tens of thousands in Ohio and beyond. Peter Rowan is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and renaissance musician who has been performing for nearly 60 years.

The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show is the centerpiece of World of Bluegrass Week that extends through October 1 in North Carolina’s capital city. IBMA World of Bluegrass also featured a September 27-29 business conference (replete with a wide array of professional development programming, sponsored artist showcases and late-night hospitality functions, and plenty of networking and relationship-building opportunities), the IBMA Bluegrass Ramble (a series of official showcases in downtown Raleigh and the Raleigh Convention Center), and the two-day IBMA Bluegrass Live! festival, September 30-October 1, that draws throngs of music lovers to downtown Raleigh to enjoy more than 100 acts on different stages set up along Fayetteville Street –- from the state capitol to the Duke Performing Arts Center.

Considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. IBMA’s annual World of Bluegrass week has taken place in Raleigh since 2013 – apart from 2020 when the trade and professional association for the global bluegrass community shifted to online presentation of its professional development seminars, artist showcases and awards in light of concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.