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| Alison Krauss and Steve Martin lead Bluegrass Award nominations The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced the nominees for their 22nd annual Bluegrass Music Awards. The awards will be held on September 29 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. New artists the Boxcars lead the nominations with nine including both Entertainer and Emerging (New) Artist of the Year. Individual members of the group, though, are not new to the awards with Adam Steffey being a seven-time Mandolin Player of the Year and Ron Stewart having been given the Fiddle Player of the Year in 2000. Russell Moore & IIIrd Time Out were next with eight nominations followed by The Gibson Brothers and Alison Krauss and Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas with seven. Five nominations went to the Lonesome River Band and Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers. The IBMA has also announced that the new members of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame will be Del McCoury and George Shuffler. From their press release: In the department of chill-bump raising, screaming high tenor bluegrass singers, there's no one dearer to the hearts of bluegrass fans than Del McCoury. With more than 50 years of performing under his belt, nine IBMA Entertainer of the Year awards, a Grammy in 2006 and the prestigious National Heritage Award in 2010, McCoury and his band are universally regarded among the greatest ambassadors for the genre. McCoury first came to national attention as the lead singer and driving rhythm guitarist with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys during 1963 and 1964, after playing banjo in regional bands in the Baltimore/Washington area for several years. Forming Del McCoury & The Dixie Pals band around 1967, he played the festival circuit, largely in the Northeast. He moved from Pennsylvania to Nashville in 1992, changing the name of his group to The Del McCoury Band, which included sons Ronnie on mandolin and Rob on banjo. McCoury gained national recognition for his hard-edged, high energy style of bluegrass, winning numerous honors. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2003. Del's infectious smile and easy-going but always professional manner are as genuine as his musical integrity, which has built bridges for bluegrass to other styles of music and musicians. His collaborations on recordings; at diverse tour dates; and on national broadcast outlets in genres as diverse as jazz, pop, country and the jam band scene are important catalysts for bringing bluegrass to new audiences. Cross PickingGeorge Shuffler's influences in bluegrass are as an innovative bass player, guitar stylist and featured vocalist and humorist, primarily as a sideman in some of the most important bands in the music's history. Shuffler grew up in a large family near Valdese, North Carolina, learning his first guitar chords at age 10. Young George listened to many of the groups performing live on various 50, 000-watt radio stations around the country, and Merle Travis was his idol. In the early 1940s Shuffler was working in a local string band with a regular $20-a-week job at a bakery. Filling in as bass player with Charlie & Danny Bailey and the Happy Valley Boys at a theatre and several other venues in Granite Falls, N.C., Shuffler accepted a $60 a week job with the Baileys and left with them for Nashville and The Grand Ole Opry, his first professional job. After the Baileys quit the business, Shuffler worked with a comedy team for a while, returned to Valdese and got married and worked with several bands playing guitar and singing. Carter Stanley called Shuffler on December 28, 1950 and said he and Ralph were leaving Bristol to move to WVLK in Versailles, Kentucky, and he asked Shuffler to join the Stanley Brothers to play bass-an offer George accepted. Following WVLK, Shuffler worked with The Stanley Brothers in numerous markets. His 'walking style' of bass playing, introduced on the Stanley Brothers' 1953 Mercury Recordings, would imprint itself on a number of younger players, including Hall of Fame member Tom Gray. Primarily a bass player, Shuffler was in and out of the Stanley group many times until the early 1960s, when it got down to just Carter, Ralph and George. Inspired by Bill Napier, Shuffler perfected his signature style of cross-picking that would be widely emulated. Following Carter Stanley's death December 1, 1966, Shuffler stayed on with Ralph for several months. He then worked with Don Reno and Bill Harrell until 1969, recording several albums with them on bass. For a number of years he also led The Shuffler Family gospel group, which recorded more than a half dozen albums. The nominees: ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR The Boxcars Dailey & Vincent The Gibson Brothers The Grascals Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers 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 The Infamous Stringdusters EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR Darin & Brooke Aldridge Balsam Range The Boxcars Sierra Hull & Highway 111 Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Jamie Dailey Leigh Gibson Russell Moore Dan Tyminski Josh Williams FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Dale Ann Bradley Sonya Isaacs Alison Krauss Claire Lynch Rhonda Vincent SONG OF THE YEAR Help My Brother - The Gibson Brothers (artists), Leigh Gibson (songwriter) I Am Strong - The Grascals featuring Dolly Parton (artists); Jamie Johnson, Susanne Mumpower-Johnson, Janee Fleenor (songwriters) I'll Take Love - Dale Ann Bradley with Alison Krauss & Steve Gulley (artists), Louisa Branscomb & Dale Ann Bradley (songwriters) Trains I Missed - Balsam Range (artists); Walt Wilkins, Gilles Godard, Nicole Witt (songwriters) Walkin' West to Memphis - The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chris Henry (songwriter) ALBUM OF THE YEAR The All-Star Jam: Live At Graves Mountain - Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Crowe Brothers, Lonesome River Band, Mark Newton, Lou Reid & Carolina, Carl Jackson, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Carrie Hassler with Brand New Strings Almost Home - Larry Sparks The Boxcars - The Boxcars Help My Brother - The Gibson Brothers Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers Trains I Missed - Balsam Range GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR God's Front Porch - Lou Reid & Carolina He Can Be Found - The Gibson Brothers In God's Hands - The Boxcars Prayer Bells of Heaven - J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams Sailing On - Russell Moore & Dale Ann Bradley INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR Goin' Up Dry Branch - Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper Ground Speed - Rural Rhythm All-Stars: Sammy Shelor, Carl Jackson, Brandon Rickman, Wayne Benson, Mike Hartgrove, Mike Anglin Jumpin' the Track - The Boxcars Pretty Little Girl - Lonesome River Band Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR Graves Mountain Memories - Rural Rhythm All-Stars featuring Carl Jackson, Mark Newton, Audie Blaylock, Lou Reid, Russell Moore, Carrie Hassler, Sammy Shelor, Mike Hartgrove, Wayne Benson, Mike Anglin I Am Strong - The Grascals featuring Dolly Parton (artists) I'll Take Love - Dale Ann Bradley featuring Alison Krauss and Steve Gulley Lonesome River - Lou Reid & Carolina featuring Russell Moore Prayer Bells of Heaven - J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR Banjo Terry Baucom 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 Cody Kilby Tony Rice Kenny Smith Bryan Sutton Josh Williams Mandolin Wayne Benson Sam Bush Sierra Hull Ronnie McCoury Adam Steffey BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR Katy Daley; WAMU's Bluegrass Country; Washington, D.C. Chris Jones; Sirius XM Satellite Radio; Nashville, Tenn. Tim White; Song of the Mountains; Marion, Va. BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR The 31st Annual Bluegrass & Chili Festival; September 2010; Claremore, Oklahoma Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & Barbecue Festival; May 2010; Branson, Missouri Wintergrass Youth Orchestra Gala; February 2011; Bellevue, Washington BLUEGRASS PRINT MEDIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR Ralph Berrier, Jr; author of If Trouble Don't Kill Me Tim Stafford & Caroline Wright, authors of Still Inside: The Tony Rice Story Juli Thanki; freelance writer for The 9531 and The Washington Post, Senior Editor of District Noise BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT Ricardo Alessio (designer) - City of Refuge - Abigail Washburn G. Carr & Salli Ratts (designers) - Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers Albert J. Roman (designer) - Daybreak - Sierra Hull BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT Colin Escott (writer) - A Mother's Prayer - Ralph Stanley Geoffrey Himes (writer) - The Rounder Records Story - Various Artists Steve Martin (writer) - Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers Finally, the IBMA will award their Distinguished Achievement Awards to: Greg Cahill - Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Greg Cahill has been playing bluegrass banjo since the early 1970s. Greg co-founded The Special Consensus in Chicago in 1975, a group that continues to tour nationally and inte write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Jazz News :: home page |