Hot Rize – AcousticMusicScene.com

Billy Strings was named Entertainer of the Year during the 36th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. (Photo: Ed Rode)

IBMA 2025 Bluegrass Music Awards Presented

Post published:September 21, 2025
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests Bluegrass & Beyond

Billy Strings was named Entertainer of the Year for a fourth time, while bluegrass fiddle virtuosos Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland received several awards during the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s 36th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards on September 18. The awards show – co-hosted by Steve Martin and Allison Brown – was a highlight of the IBMA’s five-day--long World of Bluegrass and took place at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. [Click on the headline to continue reading this article and to see the complete list of award recipients.]

Barry Poss, who co-founded and led Sugar Hill records for many years, died on may 13, 2025.

Barry Poss, Co-Founder of Sugar Hill Records, 1945-2025

Post published:May 19, 2025
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Bluegrass & Beyond News - U.S. National

Barry Poss, co-founder and longtime owner of Sugar Hill Records –- an influential independent label whose roster included numerous notable bluegrass, Americana, old-time and roots music artists –- died on May 13, 2025. He was 79 and had been battling cancer for years.

DelFest Hosts Free Virtual Festival Over Memorial Day Weekend

Post published:May 20, 2020
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Bluegrass & Beyond Festival Focus

DelFest will stream performances from previous editions of the festival launched by Del McCoury, an acclaimed bluegrass musician, and members of his extended family, May 21-May 24, 2020 -- the originally scheduled festival weekend. Called DelFest At Home and celebrating musical highlights from DelFests past that have taken place in western Maryland for more than a decade, the free online event will showcase the festival’s namesake and his family, along with other notable bluegrass artists and jam bands. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Top Albums, Songs & Artists – February 2019 (FOLKDJ-L)

Post published:March 14, 2019
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Acoustic Radio Waves

John McCutcheon was the most-played artist and had both the top album (To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger) and the top song (“Sailing Down My Golden River”) on folk radio during February 2019, after having the second most-played album and song in January. So say charts compiled by Folk Alliance International from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission. To view them and to continue reading this article, click on the headline.]

Top Albums, Songs, Artists – January 2019 (FOLKDJ-L)

Post published:February 19, 2019
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Acoustic Radio Waves

Mara Levine and John McCutcheon had the top albums on folk radio during January 2019 (Facets of Folk and To Everyone in All the World: A Celebration of Pete Seeger, respectively) and a number of the month’s most-played songs. So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in folk-based music on the radio. [The monthly top albums, songs and artists charts are posed on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.

2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards Presented

Post published:October 9, 2018
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests Bluegrass & Beyond

Entertainer of the Year, the top honor in the 29th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards – presented Sept. 27 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts – went to the Tar Heel State’s own Balsam Range. The five-member acoustic ensemble previously won this award in 2014. Balsam Range’s Buddy Melton was voted 2018 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year, while Tim Surrett was named Bass Player of the Year. [To continue reading this article – including a listing of all the 2018 award-winners – click on the headline.]

The Earls of Leicester

The Earls of Leicester Take Home a Bevy of International Bluegrass Music Awards

Post published:October 3, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests Bluegrass & Beyond

The Earls of Leicester were the big winners during the International Bluegrass Music Awards show, Oct. 1, at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Arts. The group –- which pays homage to the musical legacy of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and their band, the Foggy Mountain Boys -- took home Entertainer, Album (for its Grammy Award-winning self-entitled debut), Instrumental Group and Gospel Recorded Performance (“Who Will Sing For Me”) of the Year awards. [To continue reading this article and see the list of award winners, click on the headline.]

Ten Selected as 2015 Telluride Troubadour Competition Finalists

Post published:May 20, 2015
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests Festival Focus

The finals in the 2015 Telluride Troubadour Competition will take place during the 42nd Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 18-21. The roots-oriented music festival takes place amid Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains and coincides with the Summer Solstice. Ten singer-songwriters will each perform two original songs as they vie for ash and other prizes, recognition, and the opportunity to perform on the festival’s main stage. Each finalist also receives an "in-the-round" workshop spot in Elks Park, a performance coaching session, and a short tweener main stage set over the festival weekend. [To continue reading this article, click on the headline or link below.]

Quick Q & A with Tim O’Brien

Post published:September 18, 2010
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Bluegrass & Beyond Featured

Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien has been making waves in bluegrass, country, folk and roots music circles for some time. His latest release, Chicken & Egg, is currently the #1 album on the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart (which is posted in the Acoustic Radio Waves section on AcousticMusicScene.com). And O’Brien is among the nominees for International Bluegrass Music Association‘s Male Vocalist of the Year, one of the awards and honors to be presented by the IBMA on Sept. 30 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. A two-time past recipient of that honor, O’Brien also has previously been recognized by the IBMA for Album of the Year and Song of the Year and received a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album (Fiddler’s Green) in 2005. The 56-year-old West Virginia native, a co-founder and lead vocalist for Hot Rize and Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, has released 13 solo albums and also has collaborated with his sister, Mollie. Notable artists such as Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Dixie Chicks, Kathy Mattea, New Grass Revival and the Seldom Scene also have recorded his songs. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to O’Brien recently. [To read Kathy's Quick Q & A with Tim O'Brien, click on the headline.]

2010 Telluride Troubadour Competition Finals Set for June 17 & 18

Post published:June 14, 2010
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests Bluegrass & Beyond Festival Focus

The finals in the 2010 Telluride Troubadour Competition take place this week. Ten singer-songwriters will vie for a custom Shanti guitar, cash prizes, recognition, and the opportunity to perform on the main stage during the 37th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival that takes place in Colorado, June 17-20. [To view the entire article, click on the headline.]

2009 International Bluegrass Music Awards Bestowed

Post published:October 2, 2009
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests Bluegrass & Beyond

Dailey & Vincent retained the title of Entertainers of the Year when the 20th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards were presented on Thursday, October 1, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The duo also was named Vocal Group of the Year. [To read the entire article and learn who all the winners are, click on the headline.]

International Bluegrass Music Awards Nominees Named for 2009

Post published:August 24, 2009
Post author:Michael Kornfeld
Post category:Awards & Contests Bluegrass & Beyond

Dan Tyminski Band, Dailey & Vincent, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, The Grascals and Steve Martin lead the list of nominees for the 20th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards that takes place on Thursday, October 1, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The awards show is the centerpiece of the International Bluegrass Music Association’ (IBMA)’s “World of Bluegrass,” September 28 to Oct. 4, that also features a business conference and fan fest. Hosting the awards show will be Grammy Award-winning country artist Kathy Mattea and bluegrass band Hot Rize (the first recipients of the IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 1990). It will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Radio’s “Bluegrass Junction” channel 14 and syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets. [To read the entire article and see the complete list of nominees, click on the headline.]