Billy Strings, who turns 29 on Oct. 3, grew up playing traditional bluegrass with his dad. In the years since, he has been among the artists who have helped to expand the boundaries of the genre, widening its appeal. His latest album, Renewal, features 16 songs (mostly originals), that while primarily acoustic, transcends bluegrass via incorporating elements of jam band, psychedelic music, classic rock, and even heavy metal.

Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), a nonprofit music organization that connects, educates, and empowers bluegrass professionals and enthusiasts, honoring tradition and encouraging innovation in the bluegrass community worldwide (ibma.org).

A complete list of winners in 17 categories appears below, while information about the three previously announced Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees (acclaimed artist Alison Krauss, trailblazing bandleader and banjoist Lynn Morris and early bluegrass influencers the Stoneman Family) and five Distinguished Achievement Awards recipients, as well as a listing of all the category nominees can be found at https://acousticmusicscene.com/2021/07/21/ibma-bluegrass-music-awards-nominees-named/.

Entertainer of the Year:

Billy Strings

Vocal Group of the Year

Sister Sadie

Instrumental Group of the Year

Appalachian Road Show

New Artist of the Year

Appalachian Road Show

Song of the Year

“Richest Man”
Artist: Balsam Range
Songwriters: Jim Beavers/Jimmy Yeary/Connie Harrington
Producer: Balsam Range
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

Album of the Year

Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy
Artist: Various Artists
Producer: Joe Mullins
Label: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Gospel Recording of the Year (Tie)

“After Awhile”
Artist: Dale Ann Bradley
Songwriter: Public Domain
Producer: Dale Ann Bradley
Label: Pinecastle Records

“In the Resurrection Morning”
Artists: Sacred Reunion featuring Doyle Lawson, Vince Gill, Barry Abernathy, Tim Stafford, Mark Wheeler, Jim VanCleve, Phil Leadbetter, Jason Moore
Songwriter: Mark Wheeler
Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records

Instrumental Recording of the Year

“Ground Speed”
Artists: Kristin Scott Benson, Skip Cherryholmes, Jeremy Garrett, Kevin Kehrberg, Darren Nicholson
Songwriter: Earl Scruggs
Producer: Jon Weisberger
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

Collaborative Recording of the Year

“White Line Fever”
Artists: Bobby Osborne with Tim O’Brien, Trey Hensley, Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, Todd Phillips, Alison Brown
Songwriters: Merle Haggard/Jeff Tweedy
Producers: Alison Brown, Garry West
Label: Compass Records

Female Vocalist of the Year

Dale Ann Bradley

Male Vocalist of the Year (Tie)

Del McCoury
Danny Paisley

Banjo Player of the Year

Scott Vestal

Bass Player of the Year

Missy Raines

Fiddle Player of the Year

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes

Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year

Justin Moses

Guitar Player of the Year

Billy Strings

Mandolin Player of the Year

Sierra Hull

The awards show, to be hosted by artists Jerry Douglas and Lee Ann Womack, is the centerpiece of IBMA’s five-day World of Bluegrass event that takes place Sept. 30 – Oct. 4. World of Bluegrass also includes a business conference (Sept. 30 – Oct. 2), Wide Open Bluegrass (featuring both free stages and ticketed festival performances, Oct. 3-4), and the Bluegrass Ramble (an innovative series of showcases, Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 in downtown Raleigh and at the Raleigh Convention Center.)

Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the IBMA, the trade association for the global bluegrass music community. The show will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction, streamed live by Music City Roots and available at ibma.org and musiccityroots.com, and syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks.

Individually and as an ensemble, The Boxcars received ten nominations, including Instrumental Group, Album of the Year (It’s Just A Road), two for Song of the Year (“It’s Just A Road” and “You Took All the Ramblin’ Out of Me”), Gospel Recorded Performance (“When Sorrows Encompass Me Around”) and Instrumental Recorded Performance (“Skillet Head Derailed”). Ron Stewart received two nominations, one as Banjo Player of the Year and one as Fiddle Player of the Year. For his work with the Boxcars, band member Adam Steffey earned a nomination for Mandolin Player of the Year; as a solo artist, Steffey received a nomination for Instrumental Recorded Performance (“Johnny Don’t Get Drunk”). The Boxcars have been named Instrumental Group of the Year for the past three years.

Closely following The Boxcars, Blue Highway captured nine nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, Instrumental Group, Song of the Year (“The Game”) Album of the Year (The Game), Recorded Event of the Year and nominations for member Tim Stafford (Guitar Player of the Year and Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year) and Rob Ickes (Dobro Player of the Year.)

Blue Highway and the other 2014 Entertainer of the Year nominees — Balsam Range, Dailey & Vincent, The Gibson Brothers and The Del McCoury Band (which received six total nominations) — will perform during the awards show. So, too, are The Boxcars, Female Vocalist and Song of the Year nominee Claire Lynch, Instrumental Group of the Year nominee Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, and last year’s Emerging Artist award recipient Della Mae. The show’s hosts also will perform that evening.

Members of the original Seldom Scene – Ben Eldridge, Tom Gray and John Starling — will be part of a special Seldom Scene performance celebrating their induction into the Hall of Fame, while Emerging Artist of the Year nominee The Spinney Brothers will pay tribute to this year’s other Hall of Fame inductee, bluegrass historian Neil Rosenberg.

“The IBMA Awards have long been the annual celebration of the community surrounding our rich musical tradition. And this year is no exception,” said Amy Reitnouer, who is co-producing the awards show with Chris Stuart. “With a diverse range of presenters, performers and special guests, October 2nd’s awards show is sure to surprise and delight, representing where bluegrass has come from, where it is now, and the places it’s going.”

A complete list of nominees, this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, and the recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Award (to be presented at an Oct. 2 luncheon during the business conference) can be found at www.ibma.org.