Artists and Labels Celebrating IBMA Award Nominations

It's that time of year again when everybody is getting excited about the International Bluegrass Music Awards. The nominees were announced and now, the counts, cataloging and guessing begins. Each year, those who receive nominations give their thanks, honk their horns and start getting ready for the final countdown and the awards program which takes place during the International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass trade show and gathering.

The breakdowns are always entertaining to go through as the labels catelog and categorize the awards and artists into meaningful groups that they can promote. Even a nomination holds big value to an artist and label as well as others involved in bluegrass music (radio announcers, events, etc.)

Each year we see a lot of the same old names on the list and frequently some new ones as well. In addition, there can be changes to the criteria for an award or, like this year, a whole new award, the "Momentum Award" has been announced. This year should once again prove to be an exciting one for those involved in bluegrass music as well as the fans who support it.

Today's mailbox was full of the usual press releases and announcement which, are just too much to individually publish and, we published the entire list of nominations yesterday on Cybergrass. While we are always excited to see the nominations each year, most of what follows is a repeat of the earlier news.

Rounder Records, Rural Rhythm, and Compass Records all had significant numbers of their artists in the final nominations. Individual artists or new projects also found themselves in the limelight as the awards are of huge importantance to those who receive them. Awards boil down to dollars, bookings, air-time and more. Awards are serious business.

The International Bluegrass Music Association is a group of professionals involved in all aspects of bluegrass music. They host the awards and the association's membership does the voting. For the most part, it is the same people voting year after year but, the music they are voting on changes each year also. It is that change that is reflected in the awards and is a strong indicator of where the music is going. The past awards are also an excellent road map to where the music has been and how it got to where it is today.

Cybergrass would like to extend our congratulations to everybody on the list. These are the finest that bluegrass music has offered and is offering today.

Full List of Award Nominations

Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out Lead International Bluegrass Award Nominations Nashville, TN -- /IBMA/

Full list of nominations

BLUEGRASS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

• Doyle Lawson
• Ralph Rinzler

IBMA DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

• Byron Berline
• Joe & Lil Cornett (Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival)
• Orin Friesen
• Kitsy Kuykendall
• Darrell “Pee Wee” Lambert

NOMINEES

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Dailey & Vincent
• The Gibson Brothers
• Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Blue Highway
• Dailey & Vincent
• The Gibson Brothers
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Blue Highway
• The Boxcars
• Sam Bush Band
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• Punch Brothers

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Darin & Brooke Aldridge
• Della Mae
• Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
• Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
• Darrell Webb Band

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Audie Blaylock
• Jamie Dailey
• Vince Gill
• Russell Moore
• Dan Tyminski

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Dale Ann Bradley
• Sonya Isaacs
• Alison Krauss
• Claire Lynch
• Rhonda Vincent

SONG OF THE YEAR

• “A Far Cry From Lester & Earl” by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, written by Tim Massey, Rick Purdue & Harry Sisk Jr.
• “Dust Bowl Children” by Alison Krauss & Union Station, written by Peter Rowan
• “Pretty Little Girl From Galax” by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, written by Milan Miller
• “Somewhere South of Crazy” by Dale Ann Bradley, written by Dale Ann Bradley & Pam Tillis
• “Sounds Of Home” by Blue Highway, written by Shawn Lane

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

• All In by The Boxcars (artists & producers), Mountain Home Records
  Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss & Union Station (artists & producers), Rounder Records
• Prime Tyme by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists & producers), Rural Rhythm Records
• Sounds of Home by Blue Highway (artists & producers), Rounder Records
• The Heart of a Song by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (artists), Wes Easter & Ramblers Choice (producers), Rebel Records

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

• “Beyond The Sunset” by Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Jamie Dailey & Josh Swift (artists); Doyle Lawson (songwriter); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records
• “I Pressed Through The Crowd” by Dale Ann Bradley (artist), Joe Isaacs (songwriter), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records
• “I Saw Him Walk Out of the Sky” by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artists), Dee Gaskin (songwriter), Doyle Lawson (producer), Mountain Home Records
• “Satisfied” by Paul Williams & The Victory Trio (artists), Martha Carson (songwriter), Paul Williams (producer), Rebel Records 
• “Singing As We Rise” by The Gibson Brothers (artists); Joe Newberry (songwriter); Eric Gibson, Mike Barber & Leigh Gibson (producers); Compass Records

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

• “Angeline The Baker” by the Lonesome River Band (artists & producers), Rural Rhythm Records
• “Carroll County Blues” by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists & producers), Rural Rhythm Records
• “Manzanita” by Tony Rice, Josh Williams, Aaron Ramsey, Aubrey Haynie & Rob Ickes (artists); Anthony D. Rice (songwriter); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records
• “Roaring Creek” by Blue Highway (artists & producers), Jason Burleson (songwriter), Rounder Records
• “That’s What She Said” by The Boxcars (artists & producers), Adam Steffey (songwriter), Mountain Home Records

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR

• “Beyond The Sunset” by Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Jamie Dailey & Josh Swift (artists); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records
• “Life Goes On” by Carl Jackson, Ronnie Bowman, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Rickey Wasson, Randy Kohrs, D.A. Adkins, Garnet Bowman, Lynn Butler, Ashley Kohrs, Gary Payne, Dale Pyatt, Clay Hess, Alan Bibey, Jay Weaver, Ron Stewart & Jim VanCleve (artists); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records
• “Monroe” by Special Consensus with Josh Williams & Chris Jones (artists); Alison Brown (producer); Compass Records
• “Old Violin” by Larry Cordle & Michael Cleveland (artists); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records
• “Singing As We Rise” by The Gibson Brothers (artists); Eric Gibson, Mike Barber & Leigh Gibson (producers); Compass Records

INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR

• Banjo:
  • Kristin Scott Benson
  • Ron Block
  • J.D. Crowe
  • Sammy Shelor
  • Ron Stewart

• Bass:

  • Barry Bales
  • Mike Bub
  • Missy Raines
  • Mark Schatz
  • Marshall Wilborn

• Fiddle:

  • Hunter Berry
  • Jason Carter
  • Michael Cleveland
  • Stuart Duncan
  • Ron Stewart

• Dobro:

  • Mike Auldridge
  • Jerry Douglas
  • Rob Ickes
  • Randy Kohrs
  • Phil Leadbetter

• Guitar:

  • Tony Rice
  • Kenny Smith
  • Bryan Sutton
  • Doc Watson
  • Josh Williams

• Mandolin:

  • Wayne Benson
  • Jesse Brock
  • Sam Bush
  • Sierra Hull
  • Adam Steffey

BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

• Kyle Cantrell; Sirius XM Satellite Radio; Nashville, TN
• Katy Daley; WAMU’s Bluegrass Country; Washington, D.C.
• Chris Jones; Sirius XM Satellite Radio; Nashville, TN

BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR

• Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion; Bristol, TN/VA
• La Roche Bluegrass Festival; La Roche, France
• ROMP, produced by the International Bluegrass Music Museum; Owensboro, KY

BLUEGRASS PRINT MEDIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

• Marty Godbey, author of Crowe on the Banjo: The Music Life of J.D. Crowe (Univ. of Illinois Press)
• Derek Halsey; the Herald Dispatch in Huntington, W.Va. and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine
• Ted Lehman; Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books & Brainstorms

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT

• Bedrock Manufacturing (designer) for Nobody Knows You, by the Steep Canyon Rangers (Rounder Records)
• Caroline Hadilaksono  (designer) for Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail, by Noam Pikelny (Compass Records)
• Lynch Graphics (designer), for Home from the Hills, by Jimmy Gaudreau & Moondi Klein (Rebel Records)

BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT

• Geoffrey Himes (liner notes), for John Duffey: the Rebel Years: 1962-1977, by John Duffey (Rebel Records)
• Marian Leighton Levy (liner notes), for Tony Rice: The Bill Monroe Collection, by Tony Rice (Rounder Records)
• Bill Nowlin (liner notes), for Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration: A Classic Bluegrass Tribute, by Various Artists (Rounder Records)

/LILILI/STRONG by Russell Moore UL