“In their artistic practices, the NEA National Heritage Fellows tell their own stories on their own terms. They pass their skills and knowledge to others through mentorship and teaching,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “These honorees are not only sustaining the cultural history of their art form and of their community, they are also enriching our nation as a whole.”

A sought-after musician, Cleveland, 41, has also performed with such noted artists as Vince Gill, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Kruger Brothers, Tim O’Brien, Andy Statman, and Marty Stuart, among others. “He plays fearless and it’s intoxicating to play with him because he makes you play fearless,” says Gill. “He takes no prisoners but he plays with a restraint and a soul. He plays without abandon. It’s wicked to see how much he pulls out of a bow. He’s untouchable.”

Here’s a link to a recording of Michael Cleveland performing “Tall Fiddler”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcwx6AifG7Q.

A film celebrating the National Endowment for the Arts 2022 class of artists and tradition bearers premieres this fall on arts.gov, where more information on the NEA National Heritage Fellowship and a complete list of recipients can also be found.

Founded by Bobby Powell (guitar and vocals) and Tim Jones (mandolin and vocals) in 2007, Carolina Blue also features James McDowell (banjo and vocals), Reese Combs (upright bass and vocals), and Aynsley Porchak (fiddle). Powell has jokingly referred to the band as “a 12-year overnight success,” noting that just a few years ago Carolina Blue was playing local BBQ restaurants in and around its hometown of Brevard, NC, while it played some 120 shows across he U.S. in 2019 — at festivals and venues that he and his bandmates had previously only dreamed about.

Featuring lots of fiddlin’ and mandolin work, as well as three-part harmonies, Carolina Blue presents primarily original music in the style and format of Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass and the group’s biggest influence. Last year, Carolina Blue was nominated for three International Bluegrass Music Awards by the IBMA: Album, New Artist and Instrumental Recording of the Year. Porchak, its fiddle player, was a recipient of the IBMA’s Momentum Instrumentalist Award in 2018.

Here’s a link to view the official video for “Rusty Rails,” one of the songs on Carolina Blue’s award-winning album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2w48WJfdC4.

A complete listing of 2020 SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Award-Winners follows:

Bluegrass Album of the Year – I Hear Bluegrass Calling Me – Carolina Blue on Pinecastle
Song of the Year – “Next Train South” – Po’Ramblin’ Boys on Rounder Records
Entertainer(s) of the Year – Carolina Blue
Bluegrass Band of the Year – Carolina Blue
Instrumental Group of the Year – Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Vocal Group of the Year – Carolina Blue
Bluegrass Gospel Group of the Year – The Farm Hands
Female Vocalist of the Year – Dale Ann Bradley
Male Vocalist of the Year – Russell Moore
Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year – Larry Cordle
Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year – Sirius XM 62
Bluegrass DJ of the Year – Kyle Cantrell – Sirius XM
Bluegrass Promoter of the Year – D.A. Callaway

Tim Graves, The Farm Hands’ Grammy Award-winning resophonic guitarist and a member of SPBGMA’s Hall of Greats, hosted the SPBGMA’s awards show and also was presented with a Masters Gold Award in recognition of his 13 previous wins as Dobro Performer of the Year.

A multi-award-winning Nashville-based quartet, The Farm Hands received four awards. Its fourth Pinecastle Records release, Colors, took home Album of the Year honors. Two of its previous recordings, Dig in the Dirt and In A Country Town, had been named Album of the Year in 2017 and 2014, respectively. “Rural Route,” one of the tracks on Colors, was named Song of the Year — an award the band also received last year for “Dig in the Dirt.” The Farm Hands also were named Bluegrass Band of the Year (Overall), while Tim Graves, the quartet’s Grammy Award-winning resophonic guitarist and a member of SPBGMA’s Hall of Greats, was named Dobro Player of the Year for the tenth consecutive year and the 13th time overall. Succeeding The Farm Hands as Bluegrass Entertainers of the Year were Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver – who also were named Bluegrass Vocal Group of the Year.

Rhonda Vincent regained the title of Female Vocalist of the Year after Charli Robertson of Flatt Lonesome ended her winning streak last year. A member of SPBGMA’s Hall of Greats since 2014, Vincent has won Entertainer of the Year honors multiple times. Rhonda Vincent & The Rage band members Hunter Berry and Josh Williams continued their winning streaks as Fiddle and Guitar Performer of the Year, respectively. Russell Moore was named Male Vocalist of the Year. Songwriter of the Year honors went to Donna Ulisse; the award had been bestowed on Daryl Mosely (The Farm Hands’ bass player) for the previous two years.

A complete list of the SPBGMA’s 2018 Bluegrass Music Awards winners follows:

Bluegrass Promoter of the Year: DA Callaway
Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year: Sirius XM 062 – Bluegrass Junction
Bluegrass DJ of the Year: Kyle Cantrell (Sirius XM 062)
Songwriter of the Year: Donna Ulisse
Album of the Year: Colors by The Farm Hands on Pinecastle Records
Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year: Mickey Harris
Dobro Performer of the Year: Tim Graves
Guitar Performer of the Year: Josh Williams
Mandolin Performer of the Year: Alan Bibey
Banjo Performer of the Year: Kristin Scott Benson
Fiddle Performer of the Year: Hunter Berry
Female Vocalist of the Year: Rhonda Vincent
Male Vocalist of the Year: Russell Moore
Bluegrass Gospel Group of the Year: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Bluegrass Vocal Group of the Year: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Bluegrass Instrumental Group of the Year: Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Bluegrass Band of the Year (Overall): The Farm Hands
Bluegrass Entertainer(s) of the Year: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Bluegrass Song of the Year: “Rural Route,” The Farm Hands on Pinecastle Records

Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit’s The Nashville Sound was named Best Americana Album, while “If We Were Vampires,” one of its original songs penned by Isbell, won the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song. Isbell’s previous recording, Something More Than Fine, won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album in 2016 and sported that year’s Best American Roots Song, ”24 Frames.” Also a six-time Americana Awards winner, the former Drive-By Trucker was previously named Artist of the Year and won Album and Song of the Year honors during the Americana Music Association’s 15th Annual Americana Honors & Awards Show in 2016. Last October, Isbell – who hails from Alabama and currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee – was named to be the official artist-in-residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann’s Mental Illness won Best Folk Album. Her first new studio recording in five years, it marks a return for Mann to a slower and more acoustic sound – with the focus on acoustic guitar, piano, and, of course, her voice — after she rocked out more on her previous album, 2012’s Charmed. That recording had harkened back more toward her days as the lead vocalist for rockers ‘Til Tuesday in the late 1980s.

The Infamous Stringdusters feature Andy Hall (dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), and Travis Book (double bass). Although the band has received a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards over the years, this marked its first Grammy win – having previously been among the nominees for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 2011. Released on Compass Records last January, Laws of Gravity is The Infamous Stringdusters’ seventh studio album and was recorded while the band was on tour.

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage have won a bevy of awards overs the years from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and The Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA). Hailed as the queen of bluegrass music, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rhonda Vincent is an eight-time IBMA vocalist of the Year and multi-time SPBGMA Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year. Her bandmates include Hunter Berry (fiddle), Brent Burke (dobro). Mickey Harris (bass & vocals), Aaron McDaris (banjo), and Josh Williams (guitar & vocals).

Other Grammy Award winners in the American Roots Music Field include:

Best American Roots Performance: “Killer Diller Blues” (Alabama Shakes)

Best Traditional Blues Album: Blue & Lonesome (The Rolling Stones)

Best Contemporary Blues Album: TajMo (Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’)

Best Regional Roots Album: Kalenda (Lost Bayou Ramblers)

Outside of the American Roots Music Field, Chris Stapleton, a country music artist who has also garnered considerable folk and roots radio airplay, received Gammy Awards for both Best Country Song (“Broken Halos,” written with Mike Henderson0, Best Country album (From A Room; Volume 1) and Best Country Solo Performance (“Either Way”). A Kentucky-born singer-songwriter who formerly fronted The SteelDrivers, Stapleton has penned a number of songs that have topped the country music charts.

Americana Music Association, Folk Alliance International Hosted Pre-Grammy Events

On Saturday, Jan. 27, prior to the Grammy Awards, both the Americana Music Association and Folk Alliance International hosted celebratory events at popular NYC live music venues City Winery and Joe’s Pub, respectively. An Americanafest Pre-Grammy Salute to Emmylou Harris — who will be honored by The Recording Academy with a Lifetime Achievement Award later this year — was presented by the Americana Music Association and featured performances by Brandi Carlile, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Harris, Jack Ingram, Keb’ Mo’, and The Secret Sisters, among others. Hailing from northern Alabama, The Secret Sisters (Lydia and Laura Rogers) were among this year’s nominees for Best Folk Album and also shared their sisterly harmonies at Joe’s Pub during the afternoon, where Folk Alliance International honored past and present nominees in that category and other roots artists. Among the other artists at Joe’s Pub were Ashley Campbell (Glen’s daughter), Olivia Chaney of Ofa Rex (also a Best Folk album nominee), Rose Cousins (an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and the afternoon’s emcee), Michael Daves, bluesman Guy Davis (whose collaboration with Fabrizio Poggi on Sonny and Brownie’s Last Train earned a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album), Anais Mitchell, and Dar Williams.

Americanafest is a six-day festival and conference celebrating American roots-inspired music that is put on by the Americana Music Association. Early registration is currently available for the next one that is set for Sept. 11-16 in Nashville and will feature educational panels and seminars, showcases at venues around the music city, and the annual Americana Honors & Awards Show. Established in 1999, the Americana Music Association is a professional trade association whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of American roots music throughout the world. For more information, visit www.americanamusic.org.

Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org) is a Kansas City, MO-based nonprofit organization that seeks to nurture, engage and empower the international folk music community – traditional and contemporary, amateur and professional – through education, advocacy and performance. It’s 30th annual conference is slated for Feb. 14-18, in Kansas City, MO, and will feature presentations by Mary Chapin Carpenter and Richard Thompson, the Louis Jay Meyers Music Camp, the International Folk Music Awards, the third annual Kansas City Folk Festival, artist showcases, workshops, panel discussions, film screenings, an exhibit hall, and more.

Flatt Lonsesome was named both Band of the Year (Overall) and Vocal Group of the Year. Last year, the young band (both in its age and that of its members) also was named Band of the Year and had the Album of the Year (Runaway Train). Although Charli Robertson of Flatt Lonesome ended Rhonda Vincent’s winning streak as Female Vocalist of the Year, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage retained the title as Instrumental Group of the Year. Band members Hunter Berry and Josh Williams were named Fiddle Player of the Year and Guitar Player of the Year, respectively. Vincent, a 2014 inductee into SPBGMA’s Hall of Greats, had also been named Entertainer of the Year multiple times. Junior Sisk was named Male Vocalist of the Year, an honor that Russell Moore had received for the previous two years. Daryl Mosely was named Songwriter of the Year for the second consecutive year. Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction continued as Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year, while the satellite radio station’s Kyle Cantrell retained the title of Bluegrass DJ of the Year

A complete list of SPBGMA’s Bluegrass Music Awards winners follows.

Promoter of the Year: DA Callaway (for the second consecutive year)
Radio Station of the Year: Sirius XM 061-Bluegrass Junction
DJ of the Year: Kyle Cantrell Sirius XM 061
Songwriter of the Year: Daryl Mosely
Album of the Year: Dig in the Dirt by The Farm Hands on Pinecastle Records
Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year: Mickey Harris
Dobro Performer of the Year: Tim Graves
Guitar Performer of the Year: Josh Williams (for the second consecutive year)
Fiddle Performer of the Year: Hunter Berry
Banjo Performer of the Year: Aaron McDaris
Mandolin Performer of the Year: Larry Stephenson and Danny Roberts (tie!)
Female Vocalist of the Year (Overall): Charli Robertson
Male Vocalist of the Year (Overall): Junior Sisk
Bluegrass Gospel Group of the Year: The Farm Hands
Vocal Group of the Year: Flatt Lonesome
Instrumental Group of the Year: Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
Band of the Year (Overall): Flatt Lonesome
Entertainer(s) of the Year: The Farm Hands
Song of the Year: “Dig in the Dirt” by The Farm Hands on Pinecastle Records

The half-hour music, entertainment and lifestyle show – set for a 26-episode run extending through August 2016 – will feature live performances by the duo and special guest artists (including Vince, Dan Tyminski and The Oak Ridge boys, among others), along with cooking and interview segments.

“Words can’t describe the joy and humbleness I feel as our TV show comes to life,” said Darrin Vincent. “We’ve been conceptualizing this show for years, and it brings happy tears to my eyes now that our dreams have come true.” Echoing his sentiments, Jamie Dailey noted: “As a teenager, I used to lie on the floor and watch my favorite TV shows, Nashville Now and The Statler Brothers Show, and dream about what it would be like to have my own TV show someday. That dream has come true, and I couldn’t be more excited or thankful.”

The duo’s latest studio album, Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers, a bluegrass tribute to the legendary country music quartet, spent many weeks on Billboard Magazine’s Top Bluegrass Albums Chart and was named Album of the Year in the International Bluegrass Music Awards last year. More recently, Dailey & Vincent released Alive in Concert on both CD and DVD.

“It’s an incredible moment in time for us,” said Vincent. “The past few weeks have been a whirlwind, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. We are so thankful for the support of our music; the promoters and venues [that] host our shows, and our friends who join us at the shows. We couldn’t do it without you. We appreciate each and every award.”

Pull Your Savior In by Larry Stephenson Band (Whysper Dream Music) was named Bluegrass Album of the Year, while “That’s Kentucky” by Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road (Pinecastle Records) took Song of the Year honors and Jordan was named Female Vocalist of the Year (Traditional). Pinecastle label-mates The Farm Hands were named Entertaining Group of the Year, while the quartet’s Tim Graves was named Dobro Performer of the Year for the 10th time. Graves also was inducted into SPBGMA’s Preservation Hall of Greats.

A complete list of SPBGMA award winners follows:

1. Bluegrass Promoter of the Year: Bertie Sullivan

2. Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year: Sirius XM 061, Nashville, TN

3. Bluegrass DJ of the Year: Kyle Cantrell – Sirius XM 061, Nashville, TN

4. Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year: Tom T. Hall & Dixie Hall

5. Bluegrass Album of the Year: Pull Your Savior In – by Larry Stephenson Band on Whysper Dream Music

6. Bass Performer of the Year: Butch Cooksey

7. Dobro Performer of the Year: Tim Graves

8. Guitar Performer of the Year: Tim Stafford

9. Mandolin Performer of the Year: Danny Roberts

10. Banjo Performer of the Year: Ben Greene

11. Fiddle Performer of the Year: Hunter Berry

12. Female Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary): Rhonda Vincent

13. Female Vocalist of the Year (Traditional): Lorraine Jordan

14. Male Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary): Russell Moore

15. Male Vocalist of the Year (Traditional): Marty Raybon

16. Gospel Group of the Year (Contemporary): The Gibson Brothers

17. Gospel Group of the Year (Traditional): The Farm Hands

18. Bluegrass Band of the Year (Overall): Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

19. Vocal Group of the Year: The Gibson Brothers

20. Instrumental Group of the Year: The Grascals

21. Entertaining Group of the Year: The Farm Hands

22. Entertainer of the Year: Rhonda Vincent

23. Song of the Year: “That’s Kentucky” – by Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road for Pinecastle Records

Rhonda Vincent, the reigning and multi-time SPBGMA Entertainer of the Year, again won that coveted honor, and also was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Greats. Vincent and her band, The Rage, also were named Instrumental Group of the Year, while band members Josh Williams and Mickey Harris were named Guitar Player of the Year and Bass Player of the Year, respectively.

The Gibson Brothers’ “They Called It Music,” written by Eric Gibson and Joe Newberry, took Song of the Year honors just as it did in the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Awards last September. The Gibson Brothers, who hail from upstate New York, also are the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s reigning Entertainers and Vocal Group of the Year.

Dailey & Vincent (featuring Rhonda’s brother Darrin) were honored as Vocal Group of the Year and Gospel Group of the Year (Contemporary), while Jamie Dailey was again named Male Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary). – adding to the bevy of awards the duo has received
since releasing its debut album in 2008 after apprenticing for years under Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs, respectively.

Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice was feted as Bluegrass Band of the Year, while Nothin’ Fancy was named Entertaining Group of the Year.

A complete list of SPBGMA award winners follows:

Entertainer of the Year: Rhonda Vincent

Entertaining Group of the Year: Nothin’ Fancy

Album of the Year: In a Country Town – Farm Hands Quartet (Farm Country Music)

Song of the Year: “They Called It Music” – The Gibson Brothers (Compass Records)

Bluegrass Band of the Year: (Overall) Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

Female Vocalist (Contemporary) of the Year: Sonya Isaacs

Female Vocalist (Traditional) of the Year: Dale Ann Bradley

Male Vocalist (Contemporary) of the Year: Jamie Dailey

Male Vocalist (Traditional) of the Year: James King

Vocal Group of the Year: Dailey & Vincent

Instrumental Group of the Year: Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Gospel Group (Contemporary) of the Year: Dailey & Vincent

Gospel Group (Traditional) of the Year: Paul Williams & the Victory Trio

Songwriter of the Year: Tom T. and Dixie Hall

Top Instrumental Performers: Mickey Harris (bass fiddle), Tim Graves (dobro), Josh Williams (guitar), Danny Roberts (mandolin), Sammy Shelor (banjo), Michael Cleveland (fiddle)

Promoter of the Year: Bertie Sullivan

Radio Station of the Year: Sirius XM 061, Nashville, TN.

DJ of the Year: Kyle Cantrell – Sirius XM 061, Nashville, TN

Although relatively new on the scene as a duo, having released their debut album in 2008, Dailey & Vincent apprenticed for years under Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs, respectively. They are the reigning three-time winners of IBMA Entertainer and Vocal Group of the Year honors and have won a bevy of other awards. “We love to sing, and we love to entertain. Thanks to all of you for letting us do what we love to do,” said Dailey in accepting one of the awards on Feb. 6.

Rhonda Vincent, Darrin’s sister, the reigning and multi-time SPBGMA Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary), again secured those coveted honors. She and her band, The Rage, had received nominations in seven categories.

The Grascals, last year’s SPBGMA Bluegrass Band of the Year, took home awards in three of the ten categories in which they were nominated – Instrumental Group of the Year, Mandolin Player of the Year (Danny Roberts), and Banjo Performer of the Year (Kristin Scott Benson). Last year’s SPBGMA Bluegrass Band of the Year currently has the top album on Billboard’s bluegrass charts : The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics with a Bluegrass Spin.

Veteran songwriters Tom T. and Dixie Hall won the Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year award for the tenth time.

A complete list of SPBGMA award winners follows::

Entertainer of the Year: Rhonda Vincent

Entertaining Group of the Year: Dailey & Vincent

Album of the Year: Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers

Song of the Year: “Train Without a Track,” Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

Bluegrass Band of the Year: Dailey & Vincent

Female Vocalist (Contemporary) of the Year: Rhonda Vincent

Female Vocalist (Traditional) of the Year: Alecia Nugent

Male Vocalist (Contemporary) of the Year: Jamie Dailey

Male Vocalist (Traditional) of the Year: James King

Vocal Group of the Year: Dailey & Vincent

Instrumental Group of the Year: The Grascals

Gospel Group (Contemporary) of the Year: Dailey & Vincent

Gospel Group (Traditional) of the Year: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Songwriter of the Year: Tom T. and Dixie Hall

Top Instrumental Performers: Darrin Vincent (bass fiddle), Tim Graves (dobro), Josh Williams (guitar), Danny Roberts (mandolin), Kristin Scott Benson (banjo), Michael Cleveland (fiddle)

Promoter of the Year: Adams & Anderson LLC

Radio Station of the Year: WDVX-FM, Knoxville, Tennessee

DJ of the Year: Joe Mullins, WBZI-AM, Xenia, Ohio

“It’s been a pivotal year for us,” says Johnson, a co-founder of the band, which is set to release a new CD, The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics with a Bluegrass Spin on Cracker Barrel Jan. 10. “We played over 150 shows, made two trips overseas, headlined some great fairs and festivals stateside, and enjoyed several dates on Hank Williams Jr.’s Rowdy Friends Tour.”

Reigning SPBGMA Vocal Group of the Year Dailey & Vincent received nominations for Entertaining Group of the Year, Bluegrass Band of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Gospel Group of the Year-Contemporary, Entertainer of the Year (Jamie Dailey), Male Vocalist of the Year-Contemporary (Dailey, who also won it in 2009 and 2010), and Bass Fiddle Player of the Year (Darrin Vincent, who received the honor for 2010). They also received an Album of the Year nomination for Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers (Cracker Barrel), its bluegrass tribute to the legendary country quartet, which topped Billboard’s Top Bluegrass Albums chart for a number of weeks this year, and a Song of the Year nod for “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine.” Although relatively new on the scene as a duo, having released their debut album in 2008, Dailey & Vincent apprenticed for years under Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs, respectively. They are the reigning three -time winners of IBMA Entertainer and Vocal Group of the Year honors and have won a bevy of other awards.

Current and multi-time SPBGMA Entertainer and Female Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary) Rhonda Vincent and her band, The Rage, received nominations in seven categories. The All-American Bluegrass Girl is again nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year -Contemporary. Along with The Rage, she is nominated for Vocal Group and Bluegrass Band of the Year, while members of The Rage Mickey Harris, Hunter Berry and Aaron McDaris received nominations for Bass Fiddle, Fiddle and Banjo Performer of the Year, respectively. Harris is a two-time SPBGMA Bass Player of the Year; Berry is a seven-time Fiddle Player of the Year; and McDaris, formerly with The Grascals and The Larry Stephenson Band, is the current Banjo Performer of the Year.

The SPBGMA, established in 1979 as a nonprofit organization that aims to preserve the traditional spirit and art form of bluegrass music, announced nominees in 23 categories last week.

Nominees in select categories appear below, while a complete listing can be found at www.spbgma.com.

Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year: Louisa Branscomb, Eric Gibson, Tom T. Hall and Dixie Hall, Jamie Johnson, Russell Johnson, Tim Stafford

Bluegrass Album of the Year: The Boys in Hats & Ties by Big Country Bluegrass (Rebel), Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers (Cracker Barrel), Darrin & Brooke Aldridge (Mountain Home), The Famous Lefty Flynn’s by The Grascals (Rounder), Heartaches & Dreams by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (Rebel), Light on My Feet, Ready to fly by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Horizon)

Female Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary: Dale Ann Bradley, Cia Cherryholmes, Sonya Isaacs, Alison Krauss, Christy Reid, Rhonda Vincent

Female Vocalist of the Year (Traditional): Lorraine Jordan, Claire Lynch, Frances Mooney, Alecia Nugent, Valerie Smith, Jeanette Williams

Male Vocalist of the Year (Contemporary): Mike Andes, Jamie Dailey, Steve Gulley, Russell Moore, Larry Stephenson, Bradley Walker

Male Vocalist of the Year (Traditional): James King, Jeff Michael, Terry Eldredge, Doyle Lawson, Junior Sisk, Larry Sparks

Vocal Group of the Year: Big Country Bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Instrumental Group of the Year: Big Country Bluegrass, The Bluegrass Brothers, The Grascals, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Bluegrass Band of the Year (Overall): Big Country Bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Song of the Year: “The Boys in Hats & Ties” by Big Country Bluegrass (Rebel), “Bleeding for a Little Piece of Mind” by Blue Highway (Rounder), “Do You Know You are My Sunshine” by Dailey & Vincent (Cracker Barrel), “I Thought I’d Seen It All” by Darin & Brooke Aldridge (Mountain Home), “Last Train to Clarksville” by The Grascals, “Train Without a Track” by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (Rebel)

Entertaining Group of the Year: Big Country Bluegrass, Dailey & Vincent, The Grascals, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Nothin’ Fancy, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

Entertainer of the Year: Jamie Dailey, Lorraine Jordan, Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Junior Sisk, Rhonda Vincent