It’s Not Just Another Year for the Bluegrass Music Awards
The International Bluegrass Music Awards, or IBMA’s announced the nominees earlier this week, and it felt anything but perfunctory. In previous years you had the usual suspects up for all the major awards, and no offense to any of those outfits at all, but any level of excitement was primarily confined to the most dedicated of the bluegrass genre as opposed to spilling out into the wider population of country and roots fans, or even beyond.
It feels completely different here in 2022, and for good reason. Billy Strings is quickly becoming one of the most important live performers of this generation for sure, and in any genre, while quickly transcending this time and place in the way he is bridging traditional bluegrass with jam-based bluegrass, and with the jam band scene like we haven’t seen in years.
Meanwhile in 2022, we been blessed to witness Molly Tuttle blossoming into a generational-level bluegrass performer with her band Golden Highway, not just setting crowds on fire as they’ve toured on their own and opening for Old Crow Medicine Show, but also in the recorded space with Tuttle’s album Crooked Tree comprising one of the most heralded releases so far this year.
These two are helping to instill fresh blood into bluegrass that was already being rekindled by artists such as Sierra Hull and Michael Cleveland, making this exciting moment in bluegrass resurgence broad based. Then you have Béla Fleck returning to his bluegrass roots, and utilizing all of the aforementioned artists in his Grammy award-winning new album My Bluegrass Heart, while the oldtimers are not being pushed aside or forgotten either, they’re being celebrated such as Doyle Lawson, who has been heading into retirement in style over the last year.
Still, it’s the six nominations for Billy Strings, along with Molly Tuttle receiving five (and her fiddle player Bronwyn Keith-Hynes also nominated), including the big ones of Entertainer of the Year, Instrumental Group of the Year, and Album of the Year that is the biggest takeaway from the awards, along with the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys receiving big nominations that make you feel like the bluegrass needle is pointed firmly north.
It’s not just about the awards. They’re just an excuse to celebrate achievement in bluegrass. But you really feel like something is bubbling up here that is worth extra hubbub. They’ll be talking about this era in bluegrass fondly for years to come, just like we do about previous eras now. Meanwhile, this new crop of bluegrass performers are very much a part of the rising tide of independent artists helping to redefine what country music is after years of dominance from Music Row in Nashville. It’s exciting times in bluegrass.
The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, September 29, at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Billy Strings
The Del McCoury Band
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Sister Sadie
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Del McCoury Band
Sister Sadie
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Billy Strings
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart
The Travelin’ McCourys
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Rick Faris
Fireside Collective
Laura Orshaw
Jaelee Roberts
Tray Wellington
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Greg Blake
Rick Faris
Del McCoury
Danny Paisley
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
Bela Fleck
Rob McCoury
Kristin Scott Benson
Scott Vestal
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Bub
Jason Moore
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Vickie Vaughn
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
Billy Strings
Trey Hensley
Cody Kilby
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle
MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Alan Bibey
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Bluegrass Troubadour
Artist: Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Wes Easter
Crooked Tree
Artist: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Label: Nonesuch Records
Producers: Molly Tuttle/Jerry Douglas
My Bluegrass Heart
Artist: Béla Fleck
Label: Renew Records
Producer: Béla Fleck
Never Slow Down
Artist: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Producers: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys/Dave Maggard
Renewal
Artist: Billy Strings
Label: Rounder Records
Producers: Jonathan Wilson/Billy Strings
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Blink of an Eye”
Artist: Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
Songwriter: Robert Amos
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producers: Bobby Lundy/Danny Paisley/Ryan Paisley/Wes Easter
“Deep River”
Artist: Rick Faris
Songwriter: Rick Faris/Brink Brinkman
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Producer: Stephen Mougin
“I’ll Take the Lonesome Every Time”
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Songwriters: Glen Duncan/Jerry Salley
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Doyle Lawson
“Red Daisy”
Artist: Billy Strings
Songwriters: Jarrod Walker/Christian Ward
Label: Rounder Records
Producers: Jonathan Wilson/Billy Strings
“Riding the Chief”
Artist: Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
Songwriter: Chris Jones/Thomm Jutz
Label: Mountain Home
Producer: Chris Jones
GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR (TIE)
“A Little More Faith in Jesus”
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Songwriters: Jerry Cole/Doyle Lawson
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Doyle Lawson
“He’s Gettin’ Me Ready”
Artist: Darin & Brooke Aldridge with The Oak Ridge Boys
Songwriter: Jimmy Fortune
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Darin Aldridge/Mark Fain
“In the End”
Artist: Dale Ann Bradley
Songwriter: Jill Gilliam
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Dale Ann Bradley
“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
“See You on the Other Side”
Artist: Rick Faris featuring Sam Bush
Songwriter: Rick Faris/Rick Lang
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Producer: Stephen Mougin
“Traveling the Highway Home”
Artist: The Grascals
Songwriters: Frankie Bailes/Walter Bailes
Label: Mountain Home
Producer: The Grascals
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“EMD”
Artist: Scott Vestal – Bluegrass 2022
Songwriter: David Grisman
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Scott Vestal
“Happy Go Lucky”
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Alan Bibey
Songwriter: Doyle Lawson
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Doyle Lawson
“Ice Bridges”
Artist: Billy Strings
Songwriter: William Apostol
Label: Rounder Records
Producer: Jonathan Wilson/Billy Strings
“Orange Blossom Breakdown”
Artist: Mike Compton
Songwriter: Bill Monroe
Label: Taterbug Records
Producer: Mark Howard
“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
“Blackbird”
Artist: Special Consensus with Amanda Smith, Dale Ann Bradley, Rob Ickes, and Alison Brown
Songwriter: J.P. Cormier
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown
“East Bound and Down”
Artist: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys featuring Jason Carter & Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Songwriters: Jerry Reed/Dick Feller
Label: Sound Biscuit Productions
Producer: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys/Dave Maggard
“Honky Tonk Nights”
Artist: Del McCoury Band featuring Vince Gill
Songwriter: Mike O’Reilly
Label: McCoury Music
Producer: Del McCoury/Ronnie McCoury
“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
“One By One”
Artist: Dale Ann Bradley with Danny Paisley
Songwriter: Jim Anglin/Jack Anglin/Johnny Wright
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Dale Ann Bradley
July 29, 2022 @ 9:24 am
Check out a band named Pretend Friend as well. Saw them twice this summer, and they’re fantastic.
July 29, 2022 @ 10:09 am
I’ve been lucky enough to see Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Michael Cleveland, Doyle, Lawson, Larry Sparks and the Po Ramblin’ Boys numerous times in concert. It’s nice to see new blood and new ideas instilled into the genre. I’ve been pleased to see more of these acts plug in their instruments, especially the guitar players. In my opinion, the guitar is essentially lost in the mix when unplugged. It’s also good to see more stagecraft and entertainment beyond just the music from many of these acts. The last few years have been great for Bluegrass with Sturgill and Billy Strings bringing more energy to the genre. If you haven’t watched Billy live, on YouTube, or anywhere else, you are missing a stunningly good guitar player and vocalist. It’s magical! Now we need an album from Tyler Childers.
July 29, 2022 @ 1:29 pm
I was lucky enough to see Billy Strings yesterday.
July 30, 2022 @ 9:45 am
Les, i disagree. Every one of the artists on that IBMA list is pretty significant to say the least. Del McCoury is bedrock bluegrass. He is a legend, and he does ANYTHING he wants to. Same with Bela Fleck. Literally has complete autonomy to record what he wishes to. Billy Strings? Ditto. Same can be said of Molly Tuttle. And on and on. Believe it or not, producers in the bluegrass world are not that heavy handed. The roots labels like Sugar Hill, Rounder, Billy Blue and others give their artists total creative freedom. You really think indie artists are better than Strings, Tuttle, Fleck, Cleveland, McCoury, Lawson, Ickes and these others? Have you seen any of these artists? They represent the very best in the genre. Listen to Flecks Bluegrass Heart album. I defy you to find higher level players than that.
I listened to The Petersons. Nice family band. They have something going on, i agree. They remind me a little of Flatt Lonesome, another family band that i love. And thats cool they have gone viral. But to call them ” Americas Bluegrass Band ” , thats a stretch to say the least.
July 31, 2022 @ 2:30 pm
Many bluegrass artists signed to national labels are not even allowed to use their own band members in recording sessions or on records. It’s the Nashville approach to recording. It has flooded bluegrass and ruined the genre. Every major album has the same all-star session players who are then the same ones nominated for these awards every year. At a live show, the actual band members perform the songs that were recorded by A-list talent. Sure, the top players are good but totally lacking soul, which is largely missing from the albums they all play on as well. It’s a gimmick and hoax, and these awards only perpetuate it. Billy Strings is a very rare exception as he used his own band members. Rhonda Vincent did not have that opportunity until her contract ended and she started her own label.
August 1, 2022 @ 9:59 am
Thanks for the thoughtful response Verve. I will say this, 9/10ths of the bluegrass artists i like. use their bands in the studio. Examples?
Del McCoury Band, Travelin McCourys, Grascals, Lonesome River Band, Blue Highway, The Steeldrivers, Flatt Lonesome, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Chris Thile, Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, Vincent and Dailey, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Joe Mullins and The Radio Ramblers, Ralph Stanley II, Gibson Brothers,and on and on. Bluegrass is ruined? No way brother, if anything its never been more alive than right now. No soul in these people? Wrong again. But i guess its opinion at days end. and you and i are 180 apart on this.
July 29, 2022 @ 10:34 am
My prediction is that Bela Flecks My Bluegrass Heart wins here. That album represents virtuosity at mind blowing levels. The collaborations with younger guns on it, are even more reason why it should win. Honestly, Fleck got pretty out there for awhile, musically, and that IMO made him largely inaccessible to the masses. This album is a bit more rooted in something more people can relate to. Call it a triumphant return to the grass.
Po Ramblin Boys are interesting and would get my vote as well. Love Del McCoury, im always happy to see him putting out new work. He may be my all time favorite.
I think Strings will win something here, but i dont see a total sweep by him.
Of the females nominated, im most excited about Brooke Aldridge. Shes got a terrific voice, and she and Darrin have slugged it out for years in the bluegrass circuit, and i feel like they have finally made it to bigger recognition in the last few years.
Of the fiddle players, im always impressed by Jason Carter, but Michael Cleveland is on another level of insane virtuosity. Hes my pick.
Danny Paisley is a real deal guy who never gets enough attention. Hes probably more authentic than anyone else here, with the exception of Del McCoury!
Good list of nominees
July 29, 2022 @ 12:47 pm
I feel like I’m the one person who never really “got into” bluegrass.
July 29, 2022 @ 9:06 pm
Try again with the new crop of players. BMFS is changing the landscape
July 29, 2022 @ 12:57 pm
I that it was interesting that Cory Wong did a leg of his tour with Sierra Hull and had guest appearances with her, Billy Strings and Bela Fleck on his album and YouTube show. Of course Bela has been crossing over for a long time but I think it’s a sign of how the top level bluegrass musicians particularly in the younger generation are being regarded as top level period rather than just particularly talented people in a sub genre. I watched Billy at Lollapalooza last night though and I’m not sure the mainstream audience really knew what to do with him.
It really has been a banner year for bluegrass and all of the albums here are exceptional.
July 29, 2022 @ 2:59 pm
Not that Billy Strings needs more nominations; but I think people overlook how good of a vocalist he’s become as well. He can do the old-timey high-lonesome sound, then cover a song by Black Sabbath, then move to more ballad territory and sound great. He finished his first night at Red Rocks with Doc Watson’s Am I Born to Die (acapella); and the crowd loved it.
Can’t wait to check out some of these names I’m not familiar with.
July 29, 2022 @ 6:41 pm
I totally agree he has become a great vocalist, especially over the last few years, and with everything else going on around him, doesn’t get enough credit for it.
July 30, 2022 @ 6:44 am
And he sounds like a bluegrass singer. In that respect, he reminds me of Stevie Ray Vaughan, who is often casually dismissed by a different kind of purist. I feel like he must have worked on his singing as well and made himself into a solid blues singer. A good example is his cover of Howling Wolf’s Tell Me.
July 30, 2022 @ 9:54 am
Yeah, I love his performance of that Doc Watson song. His ability to do Gerry Garcia justice has probably done the most to sell out concerts though.
July 29, 2022 @ 5:32 pm
I am kind of thinking we are in a “Seldom Scene” moment in bluegrass history here. And that is indeed transformational.
July 29, 2022 @ 7:21 pm
Great artists making great music. My Bluegrass Heart “blue” my mind (sorry).
This new iteration appeals to young live audiences and will make long ripples. Look what you did… you went and saved country music after all.
July 29, 2022 @ 9:09 pm
I saw billy twice in the last 12 months. I saw bela fleck with Michael Cleveland a couple weeks ago. Unbelievable how good these people are.
July 30, 2022 @ 6:12 am
Was that the My Bluegrass Heart tour with openers Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas? I saw them earlier this month. That was a picking night for the ages. All three bands. In Bela’s band, I knew about the spectacular Bryan Sutton on guitar, as I had seen him on Bela’s band on Bluegrass Sessions tour around 2000. Sierra Hull would have been a little girl back then. Of course, she was holding down the mandolin in Bela’s latest band and she was something to see. Fun watching her go toe to toe with the great Sam Bush on stage. Heavyweight player. I guess that’s a given if Bela Fleck picks you to play in his touring band.
July 30, 2022 @ 8:21 am
Apparently this award is offered only to artisrs signed to a label. Apparently indies are ignored, as if they were in some alternatr universe.
I see that as problematical.
First, label execs meddle with the artists and their works. What you see and hear is part artist, part label exec. The artists are not trusted to use the label’s funding wisely.
Second, The Petersens indie bluegrass/American roots band has gone viral, and have over half a million followers on YouTube. Allison Krause has about half that, anyone else is in a veritable basement.
The Petersens are America’s bluegrass band.
July 30, 2022 @ 10:19 am
I am not seeing any restrictions on unsigned artists for these awards. That would be a bit counter-intuitive from what I know about the IBMA. The only restriction I’m seeing is that you must be nominated by an IBMA member. The regulations are here:
https://ibma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IBMA-Awards-Handbook-2021.pdf
I’m a big supporter of The Petersens and profiled them a while back (https://savingcountrymusic.com/the-petersens-the-enduring-bluegrass-family-band-gone-viral/) . I agree they should be considered for these awards, but I will also say that The Petersons kind of exist in their own little sphere in Branson and in specific online circles, and I just don’t see much knowledge of them beyond. It would be great to see them participate in some more festivals and events and such out of their comfort zone to help spread the word, because they’re a great bluegrass band and the world needs more of them.
July 30, 2022 @ 12:35 pm
Yes, I saw The Petersens last month in Branson. Branson definitely feels like its own little ecosystem. The audience to see The Petersens and other Branson shows was quite different from the Billy Strings crowd when I saw him in Austin. It’s not necessarily that one demographic is better than the other, just different.
July 31, 2022 @ 2:34 pm
The voting goes through several rounds and is largely based on name recognition. This largely favors artists on national labels. The nominees on the third round of voting looks very different than all of the independent artists listed on the first round.
July 30, 2022 @ 3:39 pm
I guess I don’t see it as a comeback because I didn’t know bluegrass had gone away. Sure, Oh Brother Where Art Thou changed it a lot but none of this seems like that huge of a moment. But maybe that’s because I have been a bluegrass fan my whole life due to my uncle being a central CA bluegrass fiddle fiend.
July 30, 2022 @ 6:09 pm
Saw Dale Ann Bradley today at Lowell folk fest. What a treat
July 31, 2022 @ 10:17 am
I’d say Larry Sparks is pretty authentic.
July 31, 2022 @ 11:38 am
I’m not a big fan of cover songs in general, but Sierra Hull’s version of John Prine’s Summer’s End is fabulous. You can find it on YouTube. You can thank me later, and have a tissue handy.
August 3, 2022 @ 11:38 am
Billy Strings is the reigning IBMA Entertainer of the Year; he and Molly have already won the Guitar Player of the Year award twice (Molly in 2017 and 2018, Billy in 2019 and 2021), and those aren’t the only awards either has won. I’m not sure why their latest nominations would make anyone think “it feels completely different here in 2022,” unless that person only started paying attention here in 2022.
August 3, 2022 @ 11:45 am
Because a lot more people are paying attention now. In the last year, Billy Strings has likely doubled his fan base, and so has Molly. You’re just seeing a lot more attention being paid to bluegrass than in previous years, from the press, and from the public.
August 3, 2022 @ 1:05 pm
“In previous years you had the usual suspects up for all the major awards…” That wasn’t the public, nor the press in general, but YOU in particular who wrote that, and not about attention being paid to bluegrass in general, but about the IBMA’s awards, mentioned right in your headline. “Previous years” includes last year, when BMFS won Entertainer of the Year; he’s been getting nominations and winning awards for years, and the same is true of Molly. Were they usual suspects then, but suddenly not this year? That is some nonsensical CYA BS. The IBMA has been paying attention to Billy and Molly for literally years now, so in that respect, it *is* “just another year” for its awards. You want to write about how bluegrass is getting more attention, great, but why the gratuitous and ignorant slap at the IBMA and its voters along the way? You weren’t any earlier to the party than they were.
August 3, 2022 @ 3:31 pm
Look, maybe I could have worded that better, but the underlying point I was trying to drive home is that the rising popularity of Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and others is creating an energy and interest that is higher than in previous years. I’ve covered both of them winning IBMA awards before. I just think there’s more people paying attention now, because there’s more people paying attention to Strings and Tuttle.
August 3, 2022 @ 3:28 pm
Just FYI, Rhonda used musicians besides her band members on her Rounder albums because she wanted them; she spoke about that specific subject in a story I wrote for No Depression when the 2nd one came out:
“I was going for feel,” she says emphatically of this rare departure from bluegrass protocol, which — though it’s starting to change — dictates that the band you have on the road is the band you use in the studio. “I always go for who is the first person who fits this song. Mike Cleveland rocks on ‘Drivin’ Nails’. He rocks. And that’s how I pick the players, and the guys know this up-front. When I go in, I’m using the best person for the job; I love you guys to death, but if something else fits better, this is what I’m going to use. Because a recording is forever, and this is what I want.
“This is my personal taste. If I record ten songs with the exact same band…I want different tastes and different flavors and to shake it up a little, instead of having the same thing all the way through. I do that even more with the songs, and then picking the musicians is the same way. I don’t know that I can explain why I do, because most of what I do is from the heart. I instinctively do it, I do it from my gut and my heart…”