IBMA Awards Nominees Announced

IBMA has announced the nominees for the 21st annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, scheduled for Thursday, September 30, 2010, at the Ryman Auditorium. The 2010 IBMA Award Show celebrates the strength and popularity of the genre both inside the bluegrass world and beyond, as the nominees reach out to new audiences with new music and interesting collaborations.

Reigning two-time Entertainers of the Year Dailey & Vincent tops the list of nominees with 10 nods for Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group, Album of the Year and Best Graphic Design, Song of the Year, Recorded Event and Gospel Recorded Event, along with

nominations in the Male Vocalist (Dailey), Bass Player (Vincent) and Best Liner Notes categories.

Longtime favorites Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out are nominated in six categories: Entertainer of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Male Vocalist, Gospel Recorded Performance and Vocal Group of the Year—an award the band received seven times from 1994-2000.

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Sam Bush and The Grascals racked up five nominations each. Several interesting cross-genre compositions show up in the IBMA Recorded Event of the Year category: Blue Highway with Americana star Darrell Scott, Larry Stephenson with legendary country music couple Marty Stuart and Connie Smith, and Claire Lynch with singer/songwriter icon Jesse Winchester.

The Gibson Brothers were nominated in four categories; and the Josh Williams Band, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder and The Del McCoury Band received three nods each.

The bluegrass industry’s highest honors of the year go to the new members of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. This year’s inductees are singer/songwriter, banjo and fiddle stylist John Hartford and the pioneering business manager of Flatt & Scruggs, The Earl Scruggs Revue and Earl Scruggs Family & Friends, Louise Scruggs. Hartford passed away in 2001, and Mrs. Scruggs passed away in 2006.

This year’s IBMA Distinguished Achievement Awards go to bluegrass fiddler, songwriter and mentor Benjamin F. “Tex” Logan; long- time radio broadcaster and emcee from Mt. Airy, North Carolina, Sherry Boyd; singer, multi- instrumentalist and band leader Lynn Morris; Bear Family Records’ Richard Weize of Germany, and Pete “Dr. Banjo” Wernick, who served 15 years as IBMA’s president, along with playing banjo in the legendary band Hot Rize.

Tickets for the IBMA Awards, bluegrass music’s most exciting night of the year, are available at 888-438-4262, (615) 256-3222 and www.ibma.org. Tickets are also on sale at the Ryman Auditorium box office.

The IBMA Awards will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14) and on WSM-AM 650 (live at www.wsmonline.com), and will also be syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates online at www.ibma.org.

The IBMA Award Show is the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass week, including the industry’s Business Conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest, which takes place September 27 – October 3 in Nashville.

A PARTIAL LIST OF 2010 INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEES:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• Dailey & Vincent
• The Grascals
• The Del McCoury Band
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

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
• Sam Bush Band
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• The Infamous Stringdusters
• Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
• Jamie Dailey
• Russell Moore
• Tim O’Brien
• Junior Sisk
• Dan Tyminski

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
• Dale Ann Bradley
• Sonya Isaacs
• Alison Krauss
• Patty Loveless
• Claire Lynch

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Recording Title, Artist(s), Producer(s), Label

• Circles Around Me, Sam Bush (artist & producer), Sugar Hill
• Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers, Dailey & Vincent (artists), Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent (producers), Cracker     Barrel/Rounder
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists &   producers), Rural Rhythm
• Ring the Bell, The Gibson Brothers (artists and producers), Compass
• The Famous Lefty Flynn’s, The Grascals (artists & producers), Rounder

SONG OF THE YEAR
Song Title, Artist(s), Songwriter(s)

• “Elizabeth,” Dailey & Vincent (artists), Lester James Fortune (songwriter)
• “Hard Rock Mountain Prison (‘Till I Die);” Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists); Ray
Edwards, Larry Cox & Terry Foust (songwriters)
• “My Florida Sunshine,” Claire Lynch (artist), Bill Monroe (songwriter)
• “Ring the Bell,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chet O’Keefe (songwriter)
• “The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle;” Sam Bush (artist); Guy Clark, Verlon Thompson & Sam Bush (songwriters)

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR
Song Title, Featured Artists, Producer(s), Label

• “Bleeding for a Little Peace of Mind,” Blue Highway featuring Darrell Scott (artists), Blue
Highway (producers), Rounder
• “Give This Message to Your Heart,” Larry Stephenson featuring Dailey & Vincent (artists),
Ben Surratt & Larry Stephenson (producers), Whysper Dream
• “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome;” The Grascals with Hank Williams, Jr.; The Grascals (producers); Rounder
• “Talk to Me Lonesome Heart,” Larry Stephenson featuring Connie Smith & Marty Stuart
(artists), Ben Surratt & Larry Stephenson (producers), Whysper Dream
• “That’s What Makes You Strong,” Claire Lynch with Jesse Winchester (artists), Claire Lynch (producer), Rounder

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Song Title, Artist(s), Songwriter(s), Producer, Label

• “Don’t You Wanna Go to Heaven,” Dailey & Vincent (artists), David Marshall (songwriter), Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent (producers), Rounder Records
• “I Just Want to Thank You Lord,” Larry Sparks (artist, producer), Judy Marshall (songwriter), Rural Rhythm
• “Light on My Feet, Ready to Fly;” Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artists); Corey Hensley (songwriter); Doyle Lawson (producer); Horizon
• “Ring the Bell,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chet O’Keefe (songwriter), The Gibson Brothers (producers), Compass
• “The Eastern Gate;” Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists, producers); Isaiah G. Martin (songwriter); Rural Rhythm

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Tune Title, Artist(s), Songwriter, Producer(s), Label

• “Blue Mountain,” Sam Bush (artist, songwriter, producer), Sugar Hill
• “Blue Rock Slide;” The Grascals (artists, producers); Danny Roberts, Kristin Scott Benson & Jeremy Abshire (songwriters); Rounder
• “Cherokee Shuffle,” Josh Williams (artist, producer), Tommy Jackson (songwriter), Pinecastle
• “Durang’s Hornpipe,” Adam Steffey (artist), Public Domain (songwriter), Barry Bales & Gary Paczosa (producers), Sugar Hill
• “Mourning Dove,” Steep Canyon Rangers (artists), Nicholas Sanders (songwriter), Ronnie Bowman (producer), Rebel

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Balsam Range
• Sierra Hull & Highway 111
• Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
• Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice
• Josh Williams Band

For a complete list of 2010 IBMA Awards nominees, visit www.ibma.org.