Bluegrass & Beyond

Danny Barnes Earns 2015 Steve Martin Prize

Danny Barnes, a claw hammer and three-finger-style banjo player from Texas, has been named the recipient of the 2015 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. To continue reading this article, click on the headline.

The Dailey & Vincent Show Premieres Sept. 5 on RFD-TV

Popular bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent will host a television show beginning this fall. The Dailey & Vincent Show, filmed before a live audience at the historic Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee, debuts on Saturday, September 5 at 9:30 p.m. EST/8:30 p.m. CST on cable network RFD-TV. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Artists Chosen for 2015 Bluegrass Ramble

Artists Chosen for 2015 Bluegrass Ramble

Thirty artists and bands have been selected to participate in the Bluegrass Ramble series of showcases slated to take place at select venues throughout downtown Raleigh, North Carolina during the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass 2015, Sept. 29-Oct. 3. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
SPBGMA Presents Bluegrass Music Awards

SPBGMA Presents Bluegrass Music Awards

The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) presented its 41st Annual Bluegrass Music Awards on February 8, 2015 at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Winners in 23 categories were honored during an awards show that capped the nonprofit organization’s 32nd national convention. [To continue reading this article and see the complete list list of SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards winners, click on the headline.]

Bluegrass Gets International Exposure in NYC

Balsam Range, Allison Brown, DePue Brothers Band, The Gibson Brothers, Sierra Hull, The Kruger Brothers, Matuto, Mipso, Tim O’Brien, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Bryan Sutton and The Travelin’ McCourys were among the bluegrass artists who showcased their talents during the 58th annual conference of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), held in New York City, Jan. 9-13. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]
Ralph Stanley Inducted Into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Ralph Stanley Inducted Into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Ralph Stanley, a leading exponent of traditional Appalachian music and a founding father of bluegrass, was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences In Cambridge, Massachusetts on Oct. 11. Founded in 1780 to recognize America’s foremost “thinkers and doers,” the Academy counts more than 250 Nobel laureates and 60 Pulitzer Prize-winners among its members. [To continue reading the article, click on the headline.]
Balsam Range is IBMA Entertainer of the Year

Balsam Range is IBMA Entertainer of the Year

Entertainer of The Year, the top honor in the 25th annual International Bluegrass Music Awards – presented Oct. 2 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts – went to the Tar Heel State’s own Balsam Range. The acoustic quintet also was named Vocal Group of the Year, while member Buddy Melton was voted Male Vocalist of the Year. [To read the full article and see a listing of 2014 International Bluegrass Music Award winners, click on the headline.]

2014 International Bluegrass Music Awards to be Presented, Oct. 2

The Boxcars top the list of nominees for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 25th International Bluegrass Awards, with ten nominations for the band and its individual members. Awards in more than 20 categories will be presented on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. EST at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts (Memorial Auditorium). [To continue read the full article, click on the headline.]

FreshGrass Returns to MASS MoCA, Sept. 19-21

FreshGrass, a family-friendly bluegrass and roots music festival in the Berkshires of northwestern Massachusetts, is slated for Sept. 19-21, 2014. For three days and nights, the indoor galleries and outdoor courtyards and meadows of the Mass MoCA campus in North Adams will be filled with the sounds of banjos, fiddles, guitars, mandolins and voices of traditionalists and trailblazers alike. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Showcase Artists Chosen for 2014 Bluegrass Ramble

Thirty artists and bands have been selected to participate in the Bluegrass Ramble series of showcases slated to take place at select venues throughout downtown Raleigh, North Carolina during the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s World of Bluegrass 2014, Sept. 30-Oct. 4. [To continue reading this article and see the list of Bluegrass Ramble showcase artists, click on the headline.]

Entries Sought for 2014 FreshGrass Awards

Up-and-coming bluegrass artists who offer a fresh take on the genre are invited to compete for the 2014 FreshGrass Award, a highlight of the eponymous three-day bluegrass and roots festival held each fall at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Finalists Named in 2014 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest

Finalists have been named in the 22nd annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by MerleFest 2014, the popular roots-oriented music festival that takes place April 24-27 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. [To continue reading the article, click on the headline.]