Poss frequently acknowledged that he didn’t have a very conventional career path. “I used to joke that I had the perfect qualifications for being in the music business,” Poss once wrote. “I had no business training; in fact, no formal music background either but I teach Sociology of deviant Behavior.”

After graduating from Duke, he took a position with County Records in Floyd, Virginia. Poss and its owner, Dave Freeman, launched Sugar Hill Records in 1978, embracing what Poss called “contemporary music grounded in traditional music roots.” A self-described “wayward academic in an entrepreneurial role,” Poss assumed full control of the label in 1980, and moved it to Durham. He operated the label from there until its sale to Welk Music Group 20 years later. He became the group’s chairman in 2002. It’s now part of Concord Music, which also owns Rounder Records.

Among the many artists of note who recorded for Sugar Hill Records during Poss’ tenure were Pat Alger, Byron Berline, Ronnie Bowman, Sam Bush, Guy Clark, Mike Cross, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Sara Evans, Cathy Fink, Butch Hancock, Hot Rize, The Infamous Stringdusters, Chris Hillman, Wanda Jackson, Sarah Jarosz, Robert Earl Keen, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Lonesome River Band, Lyle Lovett, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Nickel Creek, Tim O’Brien, Dolly Parton, Dirk Powell, The Red Clay Ramblers, Peter Rowan, Ricky Skaggs, Darrell Scott, Marty Stuart, Bryan Sutton, Chris Thile, Townes Van Zandt, Doc Watson, and Jesse Winchester.

“The identity peg for Sugar Hill is having that traditional connection to contemporary music,” Poss Told Blue ridge Outdoors in 2008. “Some have taken to describing a ‘Sugar Hill Sound,” but I am not going to try to define that. To me, it’s what connect Doc Watson to Chris Thile, ricky skaggs to Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt to dolly Parton. They all exhibit a rootedness in their contemporary expressions of music. I like it because the music comes from a place. It’s not prefabricated or manufactured.”

Douglas and Skaggs had been part of a bluegrass group called Boone Creek, whose One Way Track album was Sugar Hill’s first release in 1978. In a May 18 Facebook post, Douglas wrote of Poss: “His dream was to have a label that mirrored the same idea as Sam Phillips and his famous Sun label, which catered to a specific audience and created a new genre, Rockabilly Plus. Barry knew an audience was there for a specific form of music (bluegrass) and there were certain bands who could grow that audience and the music would evolve with the growth of that audience.”

Douglas, who also produced a number of recordings for Sugar Hill Records, noted that he and Poss were “very close friends. Confidants really. He was like my wingman and brother at any event we collided with. We would spend hours talking about the direction of the music and the parameters he wanted his label to maintain no matter the current climate.” Poss was also godfather to Douglas’ daughter Nola. “Barry loved my family, and Jill and I, along with our children, will forever press his memory closer to our hearts.”

In addition to spending many years at the helm of Sugar Hill Records, Poss was a founding board member of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky and helped to launch the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA).

“Barry Poss was not just a champion of roots music and the artists that made it, but he was instrumental in the founding of our organization,” Ken White, IBMA’s executive director, said in a statement. “For that and so much more, we will always be grateful.”

Poss was a recipient of the IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1998. The Americana Music Association also honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 in recognition of Sugar Hill’s pivotal role in both preserving and reinvigorating traditional music, while he was inducted into the Oak Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 2023.

Closer to home, Poss also served on the boards of the Carolina Theater, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, MerleFest, the North Carolina, Folklife Institute, and WUNC-FM.

While many artists and others have shared tributes to Poss since his passing, for his part Poss once said: “It’s the artists who make the music to which I’m the most indebted. They had something important to say. They needed to be heard. And I wanted to be part of their creative lives – because it mattered.”

Here’s a complete listing of the nominees in the American Roots Music Field:

Best Americana Album:

• Brandy Clark — Brandy Clark
• The Chicago Sessions — Rodney Crowell
• You’re The One — Rhiannon Giddens
• Weathervanes — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• The Returner — Allison Russell

Best Americana Performance:

• “Friendship” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Help Me Make It Through The Night” — Tyler Childers
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile
• “King of Oklahoma” — Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
• “The Returner” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Performance:

• “Butterfly” — Jon Batiste
• “Heaven Help Us All” — The Blind Boys of Alabama
• “Inventing The Wheel” — Madison Cunningham
• “You Louisiana Man” — Rhiannon Giddens
• “Eve Was Black” — Allison Russell

Best American Roots Song:

• “Blank Page” — Michael Trotter Jr. & Tanya Trotter, songwriters (The War and Treaty)
• “California Sober” — Aaron Allen, William Apostol & Jon Weisberger, songwriters (Billy Strings featuring Willie Nelson)
• “Cast Iron Skillet” — Jason Isbell, songwriter (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit)
• “Dear Insecurity” — Brandy Clark & Michael Pollack, songwriters (Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile)
• “The Returner” — Drew Lindsay, JT Nero & Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)

Best Bluegrass Album:

• Radio John: Songs Of John Hartford — Sam Bush
• Lovin’ Of The Game — Michael Cleveland
• Mighty Poplar — Mighty Poplar
• Bluegrass — Willie Nelson
• Me/And Dad — Billy Strings
• City Of Gold — Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

Best Folk Album:

• Traveling Wildfire — Dom Flemons
• I Only See the Moon — The Milk Carton Kids
• Joni Mitchell At Newport (Live) — Joni Mitchell
• Celebrants — Nickel Creek
• Jubilee — Old Crow Medicine Show
• Seven Psalms — Paul Simon
• Folkocracy — Rufus Wainwright

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

• Death Wish Blues — Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton
• Healing Time — Ruthie Foster
• Live In London — Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
• Blood Harmony — Larkin Poe
• LaVette! — Bettye LaVette

Best Traditional Blues Album:

• Ridin’ — Eric Bibb
• The Soul Side of Sipp — Mr. Sipp
• Life Don’t Miss Nobody — Tracy Nelson
• Teardrops For Magic Slim Live At Rosa’s Lounge — John Primer
• All My Love For You — Bobby Rush

Best Regional Roots Music Album:

• New Beginnings — Buckwheat Zydeco Jr. & The Legendary Ils Sont Partis Band
• Live At The 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
• Live: Orpheum Theater Nola — Lost Bayou Ramblers & Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
• Made In New Orleans — New Breed Brass Band
• Too Much To Hold — New Orleans Nightcrawlers
• Live At The Maple Leaf — The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.

Also of Note: Among the nominees for Best New Artist are The War and Treaty. Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain & Edgar Meyer featuring Rakesh Chaurasia received nominations in three categories: Best Global Music Performance (for “Pashto”), Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (for As We Speak) and Best Instrumental Composition (for “Motion”). Tyler Childers’ “In Your Love,” Brandy Clark’s “Buried” and Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse” are among those in the running for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song (along with co-writers Geno Seale, Jessie Jo Dillon and Dan Wilson, respectively). Childers’ “In Your Love” also is vying for Best Music Video, while his Rustin’ In The Rain is among the nominees for Best Country Album. Clark’s Shucked is in the running for Best Musical Theater Album. “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves is in the running for both Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, while Bryan’s self-titled album vies for Best Country Album.

The Recording Academy (grammy.com) represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music’s history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards.

An awards show is usually the centerpiece of the IBMA’s annual five-day World of Bluegrass, which is considered the genre’s annual industry gathering and family reunion. It has taken place in Raleigh, NC since 2013. However, concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic recently prompted the association for the global bluegrass community to shift to online presentation of its professional development seminars and artist showcases in September. THE IBMA has not yet announced how and when the awards will be presented.

Nominees for the IBMA’s coveted Entertainer of the Year Award include Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Sister Sadie, and Special Consensus Each is also nominated in other categories.

Balsam Range, a five-member acoustic ensemble that previously won this award in 2014 and 2018, takes its name from a majestic mountain range that surrounds part of its home county in western North Carolina, where the Smokies meet the Blue Ridge. Formed in 2007, Balsam Range has received more than a dozen other IBMA honors – including the 2017 and 2013 Album of the Year awards for Mountain Voodoo and Papertown, respectively. Besides its nod for Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range is also in the running for /also received nominations for Vocal Group of the Year and Gospel Recording of the Year (“Angel Too Soon’).

Billy Strings is a 27 year-old genre-bending flatpicker who hails from Lansing, Michigan but now calls Nashville home. Named IBMA Guitarist and New Artist of the Year last September, he is also a nominee for Album (Home), Instrumental Recording (“Guitar Peace”) and Guitar Player of the Year in 2020.

Led by a Grand Ole Opry member and nine-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year, the Del McCoury Band took home the a2019 IBMA Award for Album of the Year (Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass). While the band vies to be named Entertainer of the Year again, Del is among the nominees for Male Vocalist of the Year and is also featured on Jason Barie’s “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” which is in the running for Collaborative Recording of the Year. His son, Ronnie McCoury, is nominated for Mandolin Player of the Year.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver is a traditional bluegrass & southern gospel group fronted by a 76 year-old Tennessee native and International Bluegrass Hall of Famer who has been playing mandolin and singing professionally for nearly 60 years. Launched in 1979, the group is up for five other awards besides Entertainer of the Year. These include Vocal Group, Song (“Living Like There’s No Tomorrow”), Album (Live in Prague, Czech Republic), Instrumental Recording (“Shenandoah Breakdown”), and Gospel Recording (“I’m Going to Heaven”) of the Year.

Special Consensus has been performing as a band for four decades. Five-time IBMA award-winners and two-time Grammy nominees, the quartet is led by banjo player Greg Cahill, an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award recipient who also is a former IBMA president and board chair. The band received the 2018 IBMA Album of the Year award for Rivers & Roads and also was honored for Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year. Its latest release, Chicago Barn Dance, is in the running for Album of the Year, while its title track is also nominated for both Song and Collaborative Recording of the Year.

Other artists receiving multiple awards nominations include Brooke Aldridge, Appalachian Road Show, Blue Highway, Becky Buller, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Mile Twelve, Po’ Ramblin’ Boy, Missy Raines (eight-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year), and Molly Tuttle.

The nominees for these awards were selected by the professional membership of the IBMA, which is comprised of artists, songwriters, label personnel, radio hosts, event producers, managers and agents, publicists, studio engineers, associations, manufacturers, retailers, and others who work in the bluegrass industry. IBMA members also will vote to determine the winners.

The complete list of nominees in 17 categories as determined by votes cast by IBMA’s professional members follows.

Entertainer Of The Year

Vocal Group Of The Year
• Balsam Range
• Blue Highway
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
• Sister Sadie

Instrumental Group Of The Year
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• Mile Twelve
• Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
• Sam Bush Band
• The Travelin’ McCourys

New Artist Of The Year
• Appalachian Road Show
• Carolina Blue
• High Fidelity
• Merle Monroe
• Mile Twelve

Song Of The Year
• “Both Ends Of The Train” – Blue Highway (artist), Tim Stafford/Steve Gulley (writers), Rounder Records, Blue Highway (producers)
• “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus (artist), Becky Buller/Missy Raines/Alison Brown (writers), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
• “Haggard” – The Grascals (artist), Harley Allen (writers), Mountain Home Music Company, The Grascals (producers)
• “Hickory, Walnut & Pine” – The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (artist), Slaid Cleaves/Nathan Hamilton (writer), Rounder Records, Dave Maggar (producer)
• “Living Like There’s No Tomorrow” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Jim McBride/Roger Alan Murrah (writer), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)

Album Of The Year
• Chicago Barn Dance – Special Consensus (artist), Compass Records, Alison Brown (producer)
• Home – Billy Strings (artist), Rounder Records, Glenn Brown (producer)
• Live In Prague, Czech Republic – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Billy Blue Records, Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producers)
• New Moon Over My Shoulder – Larry Sparks (artist), Rebel Records, Larry Sparks (producer)
• Tall Fiddler – Michael Cleveland (artist), Compass Records, Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers)
• Toil, Tears & Trouble – The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys (artist), Rounder Records, Dave Maggard (producer)
• Tribulation – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Billy Blue Records, Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show (producers)

Gospel Recording Of The Year
• “Angel Too Soon” – Balsam Range (artist), Balsam Range (producer), Mountain Home Music Company (label)
• “Because He Loved Me” – Dale Ann Bradley (artist), Dale Ann Bradley (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
• “Gonna Rise And Shine” – Alan Bibey & Grasstowne (artist), Mark Hodges (producer), Mountain Fever Records (label)
• “I’m Going To Heaven” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Little Black Train” – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Barry Abernathy, Darrell Webb, and Ben Isaacs (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)

Instrumental Recording Of The Year
• “Tall Fiddler” – Michael Cleveland (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
• “Shenandoah Breakdown” – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Soldier’s Joy” – Jesse McReynolds with Michael Cleveland (artist), Jesse McReynolds (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)
• “The Appalachian Road” – Appalachian Road Show (artist), Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Guitar Peace” – Billy Strings (artist), Glenn Brown (producer), Rounder Records (label)

Collaborative Recording Of The Year
• “Chicago Barn Dance” – Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
• “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cr”y – Jason Barie featuring Del McCoury & Paul William (artists), Jason Barie (producer), Billy Blue Records (label)
• “Tall Fiddler” – Michael Cleveland with Tommy Emmanuel (artist), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan (producers), Compass Records (label)
• “The Barber’s Fiddle” – Becky Buller with Shawn Camp, Jason Carter, Laurie Lewis, Kati Penn, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Johnny Warren, Stuart Duncan, Deanie Richardson, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Jason Barie, Fred Carpenter, Tyler Andal, Nate Lee, Dan Boner, Brian Christianson, and Laura Orshaw (artists), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
• “On and On” – Gena Britt with Brooke Aldridge (artists), Gena Britt (producer), Pinecastle Records (label)

Male Vocalist Of The Year
• Ronnie Bowman
• Del McCoury
• Russell Moore
• Danny Paisley
• Larry Sparks

Female Vocalist Of The Year
• Brooke Aldridge
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Amanda Smith
• Molly Tuttle
• Rhonda Vincent

Instrumental Performers Of The Year

Banjo
• Kristin Scott Benson
• Gena Britt
• Gina Furtado
• Ned Luberecki
• Scott Vestal

Bass
• Barry Bales
• Mike Bub
• Todd Phillips
• Missy Raines
• Marshall Wilborn

Fiddle
• Becky Buller
• Jason Carter
• Michael Cleveland
• Stuart Duncan
• Deanie Richardson

Resophonic Guitar
• Jerry Douglas
• Andy Hall
• Rob Ickes
• Phil Leadbetter
• Justin Moses

Guitar
• Trey Hensley
• Billy Strings
• Bryan Sutton
• Molly Tuttle
• Jake Workman

Mandolin
• Alan Bibey
• Jesse Brok
• Sam Bush
• Sierra Hull
• Ronnie McCoury

In addition, the IBMA has announced three new inductees into International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and seven people who will receive its Distinguished Achievement Award:

2020 Hall Of Fame Inductees
• New Grass Revival
• The Johnson Mountain Boys
• J.T. Gray

2020 Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients
• Norman & Judy Adams
• Daryl & Phyllis Adkins
• Darol Anger
• Wayne Rice
• Jack Tottle

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 notable bluegrass artists and jam bands such as the Trey Anastasio Band, Billy Strings, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck & Chris Thile, Greensky Bluegrass, Hot Rize, I’m With Her, The Infamous Stringdusters, Railroad Earth, Sierra Hull, Marty Stuart, The Wood Brothers, and more.

Like many festivals and other musical events this spring and summer, Delfest was cancelled due to public health concerns surrounding the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We’ve heard from many folks how much it’s going to hurt not being at DelFest this Memorial Day weekend, so we hope this helps a little,” says Ronnie McCoy, a mandolinist with the Del McCoury Band and The Travelin’ McCourys “We’re grateful to have a dedicated crew that has captured some great moments of DelFest through the years, and are looking forward to reliving some of these great moments with you ourselves.” Adds Rob McCoury, his brother—and banjo-playing bandmate in both ensembles: “We are so excited about this. It’s just a small way we can all feel connected this weekend. … We are going to pop onto Facebook Live from time to time between sets to say ‘hello.’”

DelFest At Home starts Thursday, May 21, at 4:30 p.m. EST and can be viewed on Nugs.tv and via DelFest’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Performances will air until 9:30 p.m EST. on May 21, and from 2:30-11:30 p.m. on May 22, 12:30 p.m. on May 23 – 1 a.m. on May 24, and from 11:30 a.m. on May 24 to 12:30 a.m. on May 25. Although there is no cost to view the virtual festival from the comfort of your own home, donations will be gratefully accepted throughout the holiday weekend that will go toward funding the DelFest Foundation, an organization that works with and supports nonprofit organizations throughout western Maryland.

Editor’s Note: Although I have not been to DelFest to date, I have had the pleasure of seeing Del McCoury perform live a few times — both with his sons and with David Grisman as Del & Dawg.

The revered founder of newgrass music, Sam Bush is a Grammy Award-winning mandolinist, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist and the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Americana Music Association and numerous awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association. His new Sugar Hill release, which Bush describes as “my singer-songwriter” record, reflects his musical eclecticism as it incorporates elements of folk, jazz, blues, country swing and reggae, as well as bluegrass.

The July 2016 FOLKDJ-L charts are based on 14,796 airplays from 138 different DJs. Label and release date appear in brackets below, while the number of reported spins is shown in parentheses. The charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.

Top Albums of July 2016

1: Storyman, Sam Bush [Sugar Hill, 6/16] (89)
2: 75th Birthday Celebration, Joan Baez [joanbaez.com, new] (68)
3: Pete, Woody & Me – Volume I: Keep The Flame Alive, Spook Handy
[Akashic, 6/16] (65)
4: Colvin And Earle, Shawn Colvin And Steve Earle [Fantasy, 6/16] (63)
4: Good Days a Comin, Ivas John [Right Side Up, 6/16] (63)
6: Undercurrent, Sarah Jarosz [Sugar Hill, 6/16] (61)
7: Live, Runa [runamusic.com, 7/16] (52)
7: Rattle And Roar, The Earls Of Leicester [Rounder, new] (52)
9: Heart Of A Song, Nancy Cassidy [Twitter Twatter, 6/16] (48)
10: Before Beginning, John Gorka [Red House, new] (46)
10: Doolin, Doolin [Compass, new] (46)
12: Mostly Fine, Susan Kane [susankane.com, new] (45)
13: Copper Rooster And Other Tunes And Tales, Gina Forsyth
[Waterbug, new] (43)
14: The Littlest Dobro, Ivan Rosenberg [Slosh-Tone, 6/16] (40)
15: Lift, Dave Gunning [Wee House, 7/15] (37)
15: Weights And Wings, Brother Sun [brothersun.com, 4/16] (37)
17: My Lucky Stars, Arnie Naiman [Merriweather, 5/16] (36)
17: River Waiting, Connla [connlamusic.com, new] (36)
19: Daughters, Mollie O’Brien And Rich Moore [Remington Road, 6/16] (33)
19: Misfit, Lara Herscovitch [La Rama, new] (33)
19: Say That Now, Ana Egge And The Sentimentals [Grace, 6/16] (33)
22: Mud And Apples, Lucy Wainwright Roche And Suzzy Roche [Bunny, 5/16] (32)
23: Calla’s Waltz, Jed Marum [Boston Road, 3/16] (29)
24: Broke In Brooklyn, Millpond Moon [Tikopia, 2012] (28)
25: The Country Blues, Rob Ickes And Trey Hensley [Compass, 7/16] (27)
25: Del And Woody, Del McCoury Band [delmccouryband.com, 4/16] (27)
25: Flight, Coty Hogue [Perpetual Hoedown, 5/16] (27)
25: Good Dirt, Kristine Schmitt [kristineschmitt.com, 5/16] (27)
25: The K.O.A. Tapes (Vol. 1), Kate Campbell [Large River, 1/16] (27)
25: The Tumbling River, Chris Coole [Northern, 4/16] (27)
31: Too Big World, Bumper Jacksons [bumperjacksons.com, 6/15] (26)
31: American Landscape, Dave Murphy [davemurphy.net, 5/16] (26)
31: Here I Am, Rebekah Long [LUK, 5/16] (26)
31: In Her Dream, Julie Parisi Kirby [Jaiya, 9/15] (26)
31: Jump The Fire, Evie Ladin Band [Evil Diane, 5/16] (26)
31: Keepsake, Gathering Time [Treble-G, 3/16] (26)
31: Once Upon A Different Time, Jaime Michaels [Frumdahart, 6/16] (26)
31: Red Grass, Ilya Toshinskiy [Hadley, 5/16] (26)
31: Still The Birds, Darryl Purpose [Blue Rock, 5/16] (26)
31: Tempest And Rapture, The Deer [Owl Bum, 5/16] (26)
31: Young In All The Wrong Ways, Sara Watkins [New West, 7/16] (26)
42: Deep Waters, The Lonely Heartstring Band [Rounder, 6/16] (25)
42: Stranger To Stranger, Paul Simon [Concord, 5/16] (25)
42: Wild Blue Yonder, The Western Flyers [Self, new] (25)
45: Before Darkness Comes A-Callin, The Weeping Willows [Self, 4/16] (24)
45: The More I Learn, Bryan Sutton [Sugar Hill, 6/16] (24)
47: Nine Pin, Kaia Kater [Kingswood, 5/16] (23)
47: Blue Skies, Mountain Heart [Compass, 5/16] (23)
47: These American Blues, Levi Parham [Music Road, 6/16] (23)
47: True Sadness, The Avett Brothers [Republic, new] (23)
47: Washashore Cowgirl, Monica Rizzio [monicarizzio.com, 2/16] (23)
52: Bywater, Bywater Band [Fresh Haggis, 1/16] (21)
52: Old Songs For Modern Folk, Vincent Cross [Rescue Dog, 4/16] (21)
52: Sing Me Home, Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road Ensemble [Masterworks,
4/16] (21)
55: Aren’t We Lucky, Andrew John And Lissa [Self, 2012] (20)
55: Nothin’s Too Easy, Ragged Mountain String Band [Self, 6/16] (20)
55: Ramblin Feels Good, Jeff Scroggins And Colorado [Self, new] (20)
55: Sometimes I Feel Too Much, Cosy Sheridan [cosysheridan.com, 3/16] (20)
55: Square Peg, Marci Geller [marcigeller.com, 12/15] (20)
55: Sunny Jim, James Gordon [Borealis, 7/16] (20)
55: Trail Of Tales, The Bills [Borealis, 3/16] (20)
62: Seven Sonnets And A Song, Paul Kelly [Cooking Vinyl, 4/16] (19)
62: American Tunes, Allen Toussaint [Nonesuch, 6/16] (19)
62: Peaceful Waters, Geoff Samuels [Self, 5/16] (19)
62: Spring Tide, Beth Wood [Self, 6/16] (19)
62: Weighted Mind, Sierra Hull [Rounder, 1/16] (19)
67: Coming Home, O’Connor Band with Mark O’Connor [Rounder, new] (18)
67: Crowes Pasture, Crowes Pasture [Self, 5/16] (18)
67: I Shook The Tree, Karen Savoca [Alcove, 4/16] (18)
67: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack, Various Artists
[Mercury, 2000] (18)
67: One Of These Days, The Regulators [Self, 3/16] (18)
67: Rattle Your Bones, The Haunted Windchimes [Blank Tape, 5/16] (18)
67: This Land: Woody Guthrie’s America, John McCutcheon
[Appalsongs, 2011] (18)
67: The World Is Old Tonight, Atwater And Donnelly [Rabbit Island, 6/16] (18)

Top Songs of June 2016

1. “Play By Your Own Rules” (18)
by Sam Bush
from Storyman
2. “I Saw A Stranger With Your Hair” (17)
by John Gorka
from Before Beginning
3. “Bowling Green” (16)
by Sam Bush
from Storyman
3. “Everything Is Possible” (16)
by Sam Bush
from Storyman
5. “Down In The Milltown” (15)
by John Gorka
from Before Beginning
6. “Early Morning Light” (14)
by Sarah Jarosz
from Undercurrent
7. “Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound” (13)
by Ivas John
from Good Days a Comin
7. “Train That Carried My Girl From Town” (13)
by The Earls Of Leicester
from Rattle And Roar
9. “Ain’t No Grave” (12)
by Runa
from Live
10. “Brown Eyed Women” (11)
by Susan Kane
from Mostly Fine
10. “Will The Circle Be Unbroken / The Flame” (11)
by Lara Herscovitch
from Misfit
12. “Branching Out” (10)
by John Gorka
from Before Beginning
12. “Clampett” (10)
by Ivan Rosenberg
from The Littlest Dobro
12. “Galway Girl” (10)
by Doolin
from Doolin
12. “Maggie’s Farm” (10)
by Mountain Heart
from Blue Skies
16. “American Tune” (9)
by Allen Toussaint
from American Tunes
16. “Barbed Wire” (9)
by Millpond Moon
from Broke In Brooklyn
16. “Come What May” (9)
by Shawn Colvin And Steve Earle
from Colvin And Earle
16. “Maggie At The Door” (9)
by Arnie Naiman
from My Lucky Stars
16. “Miss The Bus” (9)
by Dave Murphy
from American Landscape
16. “Moon And Stars” (9)
by Connla
from River Waiting
16. “My Oklahoma Home Blowed Away” (9)
by Spook Handy
from Pete, Woody & Me – Volume I: Keep The Flame Alive
16. “One Last Time” (9)
by Sara Watkins
from Young In All The Wrong Ways
16. “Reflections On Moonstone Beach” (9)
by The Deer
from Tempest And Rapture
16. “Sing It Louder” (9)
by Dave Gunning
from Lift
16. “Take Another Turn” (9)
by Sarah Jarosz
from Undercurrent
16. “Tell Moses” (9)
by Shawn Colvin And Steve Earle
from Colvin And Earle
16. “These American Blues” (9)
by Levi Parham
from These American Blues

Del McCoury, 76, a guitarist and vocalist, who has been making music for more than 55 years, teamed with High Sierra Music in 2008 to create this family-friendly music festival celebrating his family’s musical legacy, fostering opportunities for top-notch musical collaborations, offering ‘playshops’ (informal workshops emphasizing performance rather than instruction), providing late-night indoor performances and picking sessions, and showcasing new talent with a down-home feeling.

To order tickets and for more information on the festival and a three-day Music Academy hosted by The Travelin’ McCourys and other players that will precede it, visit www.delfest.com.

Each of the finalists will perform two original songs during a preliminary round at the free Elks Park Stage in downtown Telluride on Thursday, June 17, beginning at noon. Then the top five finalists will each perform two different original songs during a final round the following afternoon. The Troubadour winner performs a 15-minute set on the festival’s main stage on Saturday evening, June 20.

The finalists — recognized on the basis of the quality of their songs’ composition, vocal delivery and the overall performance — are Clint Alphin (Spring Hill, TN), Mary Bragg (Nashville, TN), Maria Brosgol (Albany, NY), Caitlin Canty (Pittsford, VT), Rob Drabkin (Denver, CO), Rachael Kilgour (Duluth, MN), Brennan Mackey (Denver, CO), Ryan Pickop (Fayetteville, AR), Carter Sampson (Oklahoma, OK) and Hadley Kennary (Nashville, TN). Connor Garvey (Portland, ME) and Wyatt Espalin (Hiawassee, GA) were named as first and second alternates, respectively, from among the more than 300 entries received.

Other artists slated to perform during this year’s Telluride Bluegrass Festival include Sam Bush Band, John Butler Trio, Cooder – White – Skaggs, Brett Dennen, Jerry Douglas Band, Robert Ellis, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Rhiannon Giddens, Greensky Bluegrass, Hot Rize, Robert Earl Keen, Lake Street Drive, Leftover Salmon, Kacey Musgroves, Noam Pikelny & Stuart Duncan, Punch Brothers, Peter Rowan’s Twang an’ Groove, Steep Canyon Rangers, Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer, Trampled By Turtles, Trout Steak Revival, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, and Yonder Mountain String Band, among others. A Telluride Band Contest is also slated. The roots-oriented music festival takes place amid Colorado’s rugged San Juan Mountains and coincides with the Summer Solstice.

Fort Collins, CO-based folk-rock singer-songwriter Michael Kirkpatrick was the winner of the 2014 Telluride Troubadour competition. Previous winners of the competitions, which has been held in conjunction with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival since 1991, include Larry Good (1991), Cosy Sheridan (1992), Dan Sheridan (1993), Catie Curtis (1994), LJ Booth (1995), Michael Lille (1996), Jonathan Kingham (1997), Eugene Ruffolo (1998), Libby Kirkpatrick (1999), Mary Coppin (2000), Kris Delmhorst (2001), Deb Talan (2002), Rachel Davis (2003), Brian Joseph (2004), Keith Greeninger (2005), Nels Andrews (2006), Gregory Alan Isakov (2007), Nathan Moore (2008), Mitch Barrett (2009), Robby Hecht (2010), Matt Harlan (2011), Reed Waddle (2012), and Reed Turner (2013).

More information on the festival and the Telluride Troubadour Competition can be found at www.bluegrass.com/telluride.

In its sophomore year, the contest expands from one category to three – affording unsigned bands, duos and banjo players an opportunity to compete for cash prizes totaling $15,000, recording time at Compass Records’ studio in Nashville, and a main stage slot at FreshGrass 2015. Judged by a panel of industry professionals, the competition is held concurrently with the festival on September 19-21, 2014, with contest performances taking place on an indoor stage throughout the event.

“We want to hear musicians who know the rules well enough to break them,” says festival producer Chris Wadsworth. Entrants must submit two videos via the festival’s website (www.freshgrass.com) – one live performance of an original composition and one live performance of a traditional bluegrass number. The videos will be evaluated based on originality, instrumental/vocal skill, and bluegrass proficiency. Finalists will be notified in mid-August, while the winners will be announced on the festival main stage on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 21.

“It’s a thrill to watch the next generation of music-makers hunker down in this contest, while the top bluegrass musicians in the country are playing right outside the doors on festival stages, jamming in workshops, picking in the courtyards, and sometimes popping on to the contest stage to have a listen,” Wadsworth continues.

The artist lineup for FreshGrass 2014 includes Sam Amidon, Darol Anger, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Cricket Tell the Weather (2013 FreshGrass Award winner), Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, The Gibson Brothers, David Grisman Sextet, The Infamous Stringdusters, Claire Lynch, Aoife O’Donovan, Liam O Maonlai, Railroad Earth, Martha Redbone Roots Project, and Valerie June.

The family-friendly festival in the Berkshires of northwestern Massachusetts will be held rain or shine. Limited-time, early-bird, three day festival passes are available via the FreshGrass website, while single-day tickets may be offered closer to the event.

Brothers Eric and Leigh Gibson, along with their band, also won two other awards – being named Vocal Group of the Year and taking Song of the Year honors for “They Called It Music,” the title track of their latest album on Compass Records. Eric Gibson also was named Songwriter of the Year. The Gibson Brothers had garnered a collective eight nominations, individually and as an ensemble, last month.

Balsam Range, a western North Carolina-based band that received seven collective nominations, took home the Album of the Year trophy for Papertown. The Boxcars, who had six nods, were named Instrumental Group of the Year. Balsam Ridge band member Buddy Melton was part of a larger group – including Terry Baucom, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Wyatt Rice and Steve Bryant – that won the Recorded Event of the Year award for “What I’ll Do.” Junior Sisk and Claire Lynch were named male and female vocalists of the year, respectively. The Emerging Artist of the Year Award went to Della Mae. Tony Rice and Paul Warren were the 2013 inductees into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Rice was inducted by two of his musical collaborators, Peter Rowan and Sam Bush. He also performed with his son Wyatt, Bush, Jerry Douglass, Ricky Skaggs and others.

The IBMA Awards Show – which was broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction) and syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks — is considered the centerpiece of the trade association’s annual World of Bluegrass music week, Sept. 24-28.

After a long stint in Nashville beginning in 2005, the IBMA partnered with The Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau, PineCone – The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, the City of Raleigh, and a local organizing committee to have the event in North Carolina’s capital city for the next several years.

Other award winners include:

Gospel Recorded Performance: “Beulah Land” – Marty Raybon
Instrumental Recorded Performance: “Foggy Mountain Rock” – Tom Adams, Dan Tyminski, Ron Stewart, Dennis Crouch, Clay Hess (a song from a tribute album to Earl Scruggs)
Banjo Player of the Year: Mike Munford
Bass Player of the Year: Barry Bales
Fiddle Player of the Year: Jason Carter
Dobro Player of the Year: Rob Ickes (his 15th win in that category)
Guitar Player of the Year: Bryan Sutton
Mandolin Player of the Year: Adam Steffey (member of The Boxcars)

Receiving the bluegrass music industry’s highest award capped a year in which the group had a busy touring schedule (including playing New York’s famed Carnegie Hall and headlining at festivals such as Bonnaroo, MerleFest and the Newport Folk Festival), a string of national television appearances (“The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The View,” “Ellen” and “The Colbert Report”), and the release of a new album, Rare Bird Alert on Rounder. It also was the second International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award win for Steep Canyon Rangers, who were named Emerging Artist of the Year in 2006.

Although Martin, best known as a comedic actor, included claw hammer style banjo-picking in his early stand-up comedy routines, he has become more serious about recording and performing bluegrass music during the past two years, with the release of two albums of original music

Said Steep Canyon Rangers lead singer and guitarist Woody Platt: “Working with Steve, we might be the most entertained of all. Most of all, we thank Steve for giving us this most amazing ride”. He said the North Carolina-based band was delighted when Martin handpicked them to tour and record with him. “Serendipity has made a better match than any bluegrass computer dating service,” he joked. “Recording Rare Bird Alert and touring with Steve has been such a blast, from writing to playing to singing, our partnership with Steve has allowed us to bring music to new audiences,” added Platt. “Being able to share the music we love…that is the biggest reward.”

Comprised of Platt, Mike Guggiino (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Nicky Sanders (fiddle) and Graham Sharp (banjo), Steep Canyon Rangers met and began playing music during their college days in Chapel Hill, NC a decade ago. And they have been infusing traditional bluegrass with contemporary themes and arrangements ever since. During the awards show, the group played “Me and Paul Revere,” a song Martin wrote from the perspective of the Revere’s horse and performed during the nationally televised Capitol 4th Concert in Washington, DC on Independence Day.

Other top award winners included The Gibson Brothers, a New York State-based band, named Vocal Group of the Year and recipients of Album of the Year for Help My Brother on Compass Records, and The Boxcars, a new combination of veteran musicians, who were named both Emerging Artists of the Year and Instrumental Group of The Year. The Boxcars’ Ron Stewart shared Banjo Player of the Year honors with The Grascals’ Kristen Scott Benson, who received the award for the fourth consecutive year.

Song of the Year honors went to Balsam Range for “Trains I Missed,” written by Walt Wilkins, Giles Goddard and Nicole Witt. Group member Tim Surrett commented, “There are a lot of folks out there – myself included – who are thankful for some of those trains missed and how things turned out.”

Veteran musicians Doyle Lawson, J.D. Crowe and Paul Williams received trophies for Recorded Event of the Year and Gospel Recorded Performance for “Prayer Bells from Heaven” and announced plans to record a second Old Friends album. Russell Moore of IIIrd Tyme Out and Dale Anne Bradley were, respectively, recognized as Male Vocalist and Female Vocalist of the Year, the fourth time for each. Blue Highway’s Rob Ickes was awarded his 13th Dobro Player of the Year, the most IBMA Awards any individual instrumentalist has received.

Michael Cleveland was named Fiddle Player of the Year for the ninth time, while his band (Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper) scored the Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year award for “Goin’ Up Dry Branch,” a song written by Buddy Spicher and Jimmy Martin. Marshall Wilborn was named Bass Player of the Year for the third time; Brian Sutton received the Guitar Player of the Year award for the sixth time; and Adam Steffey dedicated his eighth Mandolin Player of the Year award to the twin sons who he expects t be born this month.

Hosted by noted mandolin player and band leader Sam Bush, the awards show also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bill Monroe, who is recognized as the father of bluegrass, and was the centerpiece of the IBMA’s World of Bluegrass week that also featured a business conference and fan fest. In addition to awards in more than 20 categories that are voted on by the professional membership of the IBMA, which serves as a trade association for the bluegrass music industry, Del McCoury and George Shuffler were inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Ronnie and Rob McCoury inducted their father, while guitarist James Alan Shelton did the honors for Shuffler, a bass and cross-picked guitar stylist known as “the third Stanley Brother.” The evening concluded with a guitar rendition of “Life is Like a Mountain Railway” by Shuffler and Shelton and a medley of Del McCoury songs, which he sang in his trademark tenor.

Other award recipients included:

Distinguished Achievement Awards:

Greg Cahill, Bill Knowlton, Lilly Pavlak, Geoff Stelling and Roland White

Broadcaster of the Year:

Katy Daley, WAMU Bluegrass Country

Print Media Person of the Year:

Juli Thanki, Engine145.com

Bluegrass Event of the Year:

Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & BBQ Festival (Branson, MO)

Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project:

Ricardo Alessio & Erica Harris (designer & artist), Abigail Washburn (artist), Rounder (label)

Best Liner Notes for a Recorded Project:

Colin Escott (writer), A Mother’s Prayer, Ralph Stanley (artist), Rebel (label)