Tag: Andy Hall

Our Favorite Songs and Recordings Featuring Billy Strings

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s hard to imagine Billy Strings as anything other than the glass-shattering guitar virtuoso he’s become. Over a decade, he’s flipped, rearranged, and altogether transformed bluegrass music. He leads with instinct, allowing the music to speak on a much deeper level than many of his contemporaries. Four albums deep into his career, in addition to a live album and several collaborative projects, Strings immerses himself in the tradition of string music while bringing a fresh, exciting perspective to the classic structures of flatpickin’.

Our November 2024 Artist of the Month, Strings continues cementing his legacy by stretching boundaries and pushing progressively forward. With a foot firmly rooted in the past, always feeling ripped from another era, the musician remains intently focused on breathing life into the genre for modern audiences. As much as he’s built upon his growing solo catalog, he’s also known to frequent other artists’ work and inject his unique charms into their shared musical performances.

Strings has remained committed to bluegrass and jamgrass through the last 10 years and more, while often stepping outside these tight genre boxes for some playful excursions. From appearing on a Dierks Bentley song to teaming up with a rap juggernaut-turned-country-star Post Malone, the Michigan native keeps an open musical mind and heart. He’s an unstoppable force, always willing to try something new.

Below, we’ve put together nine of Billy Strings’ best features, both on his own projects and on others’ releases, too.

“Things to Do” with Zach Top

Zach Top recently released a three-track collaborative EP with Billy Strings as an Apple Music exclusive. “Things to Do” sees the duo injecting the track with a healthy helping of pep. The pair swaps off verses, each bringing their strengths to the performance.

“Girl, it just ain’t right / You’re burning up my daylight,” they sing. On a wide stretch of musical canvas, Top and Strings paint with vitality and urgency. The special release also includes a cover of Ricky Skaggs’ 1983 classic “Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown” and “Bad Luck,” another Top original, which appeared on his 2024 studio album Cold Beer and Country Music.

“California Sober” featuring Willie Nelson

On the eve of Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday, the country legend hopped aboard “California Sober” with Billy Strings. The rollicking track celebrates weed in moderation, finding the pair giving up late-night parties and weekend binges for a chiller sort of high.

In classic Nelson fashion, dusty strings give an air of a traveling tune and barreling down the highway at 100 miles an hour. The one-off collab single (written by Strings, Aaron Allen, and Jon Weisberger) demonstrates someone maturing and realizing that some vices should be left in the past. But regardless, the duo still cheekily admits: “the devil on my shoulder always wins.”

“M-E-X-I-C-O” with Post Malone

Post Malone dove head first into country music with the release of 2024’s F-1 Trillion. Featuring everyone from Dolly Parton and Tim McGraw to Luke Combs and Lainey Wilson, the collaborative set made quite a splash – seeing the rapper swerve into modern country with his own special twist. “M-E-X-I-C-O” is a certified barn-burner, among the project’s standout moments. Credit should be given generously to Billy Strings, who infuses his twangy, finger-pickin’ bluegrass style into the explosive, toe-tapping experience.

“The Great Divide” with Luke Combs

“The Great Divide” arrived in 2021 as a cautionary tale during troubling sociopolitical times.

“We’re striking matches on the TV / Setting fires on our phones,” warns Combs in the opening line. The singer fuels those flames throughout the song, sending smoke signals as things methodically escalate. “We’re all so far, far apart now / It’s as deep as it is wide / We’re about to fall apart now,” the lyrics burst like dynamite.

The song isn’t all doom and gloom, though. Later on, the lyrics detail how many strangers love one another despite glaring differences. Several years later, the song rings even more eerily poignant than ever before.

“Dooley’s Farm” with Molly Tuttle

A long-time fan of The Dillards’ classic, “Dooley,” Molly Tuttle updates the story to reflect an elderly man’s penchant for growing weed. “Dooley’s Farm” is a slower ditty, unlike the giddy-up pace of the Dillards’ song, and darker in tone and feel.

Strings lends his voice for spooky backing vocals, poking through the track like a ghost in the night. Their performance is found on Tuttle’s 2022 album, Crooked Tree.

“You can hide by day, but the night will find you / They caught Dooley in the moonlight,” whispers Tuttle over the gentle cry of a fiddle.

“Too Stoned to Cry” with Margo Price

Margo Price had been wanting to record “Too Stoned to Cry” for years, ever since hearing its writer Andrew Combs perform the lonesome ballad. Working with Beau Bedford, she convinced the producer to put his magical touch on the song. When it came to enlisting a duet partner, Price turned to Billy Strings, who turns in a sinewy and evocative lead performance.

“There’s whiskey and wine and pills for the pain / Fast, easy women and a little cocaine,” they sing, their voices tangling like barbed wire. With its frayed, tired edges, the song proves to be an ample showcase for both singers’ talents. It’s as classic as you can possibly get these days.

“I Will Not Go Down” with Amythyst Kiah

On her 2024 album Still + Bright, Amythyst Kiah reaches into the depths of her songcraft for a cinematic stunner. With Billy Strings in tow, “I Will Not Go Down” pounds with alarming emotional urgency. Taking cues from such film staples as Avatar: The Last Airbender and Lord of the Rings, Kiah mounts an expedition across space and time, metaphorically speaking, as she slays dragons and seeks life’s simple truths. Strings supplies a startlingly resonant knit of guitar work that punctuates Kiah’s flame-throwing vocals.

“Muscle Car” with Andy Hall

Two musical forces collide for a bedeviling five-minute epic on “Muscle Car.” With no vocal line, the composition here sizzles and pops, as it transmits its very own story through the power of instruments.

Andy Hall’s 2023 album, Squareneck Soul, delivers a torrential downpour of raw storytelling. Hall (of the Infamous Stringdusters) expertly offers up rip-roaring string work, matched with his companions’ equally engaging performances. The track also features Sierra Hull (mandolin), Wes Corbett (banjo), and Travis Book (bass), who all band together for one of the decade’s finest bluegrass moments.

“Bells of Every Chapel” with Sierra Ferrell

Sierra Ferrell pulls Billy Strings along for a charming lovesick gallop with “Bells of Every Chapel.” Found on her 2021 album, Long Time Coming, the mid-tempo track sees Ferrell peering through rose-tinted glass, examining unrequited love that squeezes your heart.

“They were ringing so clear/ But you couldn’t hear/ And your heart could never be mine,” she sings. Old-timey in spirit, the song soars higher and higher with Strings’ choo-choo train flatpicking.

(Editor’s Note: Continue exploring our Billy Strings Artist of the Month content here.)

Photo Credit: Alysse Gafkjen

LISTEN: Unspoken Tradition, “Moments”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Unspoken Tradition
Hometown: Cherryville, North Carolina
Song: “Moments”
Release Date: May 19, 2023
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “I’m so happy to be giving ‘Moments’ a second life. I originally recorded this song, written by our producer Jon Weisberger and Andy Hall of the Infamous Stringdusters, on my solo album, and in the intervening years it has grown to be one of my favorites. I think my own journey reflects the subject material — with more than a decade of hindsight, it takes on a different meaning in thinking about how fleeting time can seem, how the moments of our lives can ‘turn us all around, lift us up or knock us down.’ I’m excited for Unspoken Tradition to put our own spin on this poignant song!” — Sav Sankaran, Unspoken Tradition

Crossroads Label Group · Moments – Unspoken Tradition

Photo Credit: Sandlin Gaither

BGS Q&A: The Infamous Stringdusters’ Andy Falco and Andy Hall Go ‘Toward the Fray’

Posted on by Editor

It makes some sense that you can’t really pin The Infamous Stringdusters down to a single place – you’ll find members in Colorado, North Carolina and Long Island, New York – because they are always on the move. Together since 2006, they have charted a sprawling course onstage and also through a dozen albums.

This year finds them on the road once again, showing off their 12th and newest album Toward the Fray, which has the most overtly socio-political songs they’ve ever put out into the world. In the midst of their touring schedule, they’ll also attend the Grammy Awards to see if last year’s A Tribute to Bill Monroe wins best bluegrass album. It would be their second time winning that category after hitting paydirt with 2017’s Laws of Gravity.

We caught up with the Stringdusters for a series of three conversations on the road (Zooming in from Louisville, Kentucky, Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta). Here is part one with guitarist Andy Falco and Dobroist Andy Hall.

BGS: Since you were quarantined for much of 2020 and 2021, everyone was doing their songwriting separately rather than together. Is that typical for the Stringdusters’ process?

Andy Falco: Typically we do write separately, and pre-production is when we come together. We’ll do a show-and-tell with songs, just playing guitars, and we might end up with 25 songs from that and start narrowing it down. It had to happen quicker this time once we got together, but there was something great about that, actually. Sometimes that initial spark of instinct will carry you through if you have to rely on it. We have instincts as a band, after putting in the 10,000 hours, and we did not have time to do any deep dives on changing things around. So we went more with instinct. There’s something special with this record.

Andy Hall: It is a little scary to show off your songs to everybody that first time, but it’s exciting, too. You’re presenting your song for judgment, no way around it. It’s up for review and interpretation, the five of us sitting around playing acoustic guitars, and it’s not like there’s clapping at the end of it.

Falco: Sometimes you’re laughed out of the room.

Hall: Sometimes! What you hope is for everyone to say, “That was cool.” Or a quiet, “Yeah, nice.” It can be hard for me to know when I’m writing a song if it will work with the band. It sometimes surprises me what the band will like as a whole, which makes it exciting and interesting. I continue to be surprised in a good way, and I trust the band. Whatever the band picks tends to work well even if it’s not totally understood at first.

Falco: Sometimes what happens is it takes a couple of records for everyone to get on-board with a song. The band evolves and sometimes songs that don’t jibe at first, we’ll come back to them and they work. You never know.

Hall: It can be hard to say why it’s like that sometimes. One record, a song might not make the cut and the next, everyone is super-stoked about it. It’s all about the band’s evolution, and current mood. That’s what’s cool about the get-together pre-production part of the process. That’s where you have to have trust, and it gets easier as we get older. My trust in the band’s taste grows as time goes on.

As befits the Stringdusters’ most political record to date, it’s got quite a dystopian cover illustration.

Hall: It was shocking initially, but that’s kind of the idea — for it to be shocking and striking. Uncomfortable, that sort of vibe. I like doing things that might not fit in bluegrass, which is part of the reason why I’m covered in tattoos. I like things that are kind of metal, so doing something that’s not common in bluegrass really excites me. That part of it spoke to me. Bluegrass covers are generally middle-of-the-road. I like that we maybe ruffled some feathers.

Falco: When that cover was first floated, I was honestly not sure about it. Then after I sat with it for a while, it made sense. It was Andy Hall’s vision to put that together. We’re talking about things that are uncomfortable, and that suits the overall message of the record, to approach uncomfortable subjects. That’s what the song “Toward the Fray” is all about for me. It was inspired by the George Floyd situation and I wanted to say it’s not enough to denounce that, you actually have to engage with it. That’s where the cover does what it’s supposed to do, and I love that it’s gotten more comments than any other cover we’ve ever done.

Given the Stringdusters’ stature in progressive bluegrass, going straight-ahead old-school with last year’s Bill Monroe tribute seemed unexpected.

Falco: We talked about that a lot in the past, that we should do a traditional bluegrass record at some point. But every time we went into the studio, we had stacks of our own songs to do. Then when we were grounded at home during the pandemic, trying to figure out things to do, we were able to record remotely. The first thing we did was the Christmas record and then it was, “Let’s do that bluegrass record, a Bill Monroe tribute.” It was all done remotely. Neither one was reinventing the wheel, it was playing music we’ve played a lot over the years. Everybody knows their role and we were able to do that, as opposed to original Stringdusters music, where we have to be together for the improvisational elements.

Hall: To me, this was long overdue. The first bluegrass I ever owned was a Bill Monroe box set, so it’s the first bluegrass I remember hearing. I played with Earl Scruggs, Jeremy Garrett played with Bobby Osborne. We all cut our teeth with traditional bluegrass. It’s what informed us musically.

Congratulations on another Grammy nomination. Will you go to the ceremonies in Las Vegas?

Falco: Oh, yeah!

What was it like to win one?

Falco: I remember sitting in a row with the guys and you could feel everybody’s seat shaking. Then when we won, it was an amazing, incredible moment. It was an honor, and everything you’d think it would be. Plus it was at Madison Square Garden in New York, which was extra-special for me because it was like being at home. It was really great to share that moment together.

Did winning a Grammy change anything for you?

Hall: It helps. I don’t know how, but it seems like it does. People talk about it, yeah, and it gives you a moment of validation. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the music business, a lot of time spent wondering if something works – are we doing the right thing? What about the future? But winning a Grammy was just a moment of feeling like what you do is resonating. It’s a nice spark, something that goes right and keeps you rocking. Still, you just go right back to work. But that moment of recognition and success sure helps put some gas in the tank.

How do you manage the long-distance relationship of being in a band but living all over the country?

Falco: Living around the country, it’s important to stay connected creatively. So the holiday and Bill Monroe records served a purpose mentally. We weren’t just sitting on our hands waiting out the pandemic, we were creating during that time, which was important for our mental health. I was mixing at my house and when parts would come in, I’d put them into the track. What started with a rhythm guitar click track morphed into the Stringdusters sound. Those moments felt like we were making music together, and we were, just in a different way.

Given that you’re putting some definite socio-political content out with “Toward the Fray,” do people come around after shows wanting to argue?

Hall: Not too much. It’s presented in such a way that it’s all in context for people interested in the band and our music and what we have to say. Now if we were shoving messages down everybody’s throat on social media every day, I’m sure there would be more arguments happening. But that’s not how conversation should happen. Our job is to write songs expressing our feelings and put them out there, create work based on how we feel and what we think. That’s what we’ve done with this album and there’s not been a lot of pushback. What is there to argue about? It’s what we’re feeling, are people going to say no, it’s not? It is what it is. I hate arguing on social media, which never helps. Just create the art and move along.

Falco: As long as it’s genuine, you can say whatever you want about the feelings you’re putting out there, and then it’s all fair game. It just needs to be genuine because that’s the only way to write songs and play music.

Want to win tickets to see the Infamous Stringdusters at the Echoplex in Los Angeles? Enter our ticket giveaway.

Photo Credit: Jay Strausser Visuals

Artist of the Month: The Infamous Stringdusters

Posted on by Editor

The Infamous Stringdusters continue their career ascent with Toward the Fray, a new album that comes on the heels of a Grammy nomination for a Bill Monroe tribute EP and hosting duties at the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. Their first new album in three years, Toward the Fray captures the live energy of the band, though all five guys put an emphasis on the lyrics, too. Upon announcing the project, band member Andy Hall stated, “Sometimes the times call for some serious reflection, and these songs really hit home. Get ready to go deep with us!”

As the Bluegrass Situation’s Artist of the Month for March, the ‘Dusters paired off for upcoming interviews, with longtime sound engineer Drew Becker joining the fray. Look for the award-winning band in Colorado later this month before the ensemble travels the West Coast. Then it’s back to Colorado for a stop at Red Rocks Amphitheater just before Memorial Day — another reason to look forward to summer.

Although the world has seen its share of upheaval over the last few years, which is certainly reflected in Toward the Fray, the band lineup has remained consistent: Travis Book on bass, Andy Falco on guitar, Jeremy Garrett on fiddle, Andy Hall on Dobro, and Chris Pandolfi on banjo (and he’s also the only member who doesn’t take a lead vocal). The band released the album on their own label, Americana Vibes.

In our 2019 interview, Book stated, “Our band can be challenging to listen to because it’s not one-dimensional. You’ve got four guys that sing, and every song sounds a little different, and certainly the way I approach every song is as though it’s its own universe. The people who are into our band, they’re ready to go wherever. If you’re into one singer or one style, you’re not going to get very much of that when you come to our show.”

That’s still the case with Toward the Fray, as the band members shuffle the songwriting credits among them, including the exceptional instrumentals. It’s a project that should easily sustain the band throughout the festival season. Keep an eye out for our BGS Artist of the Month interviews in the coming weeks, and meanwhile, enjoy our Essentials playlist.

Photo Credit: Jay Strausser Visuals

WATCH: Andy Hall Plays “Amazing Grace” on Resophonic Guitar

Posted on by Editor

Not many instruments can match the fiddle for expressive, emotive power, but a few special players have been able to conjure a similar magnetism from the steel guitar. This year, modern dobro icon and member of the Infamous Stringdusters Andy Hall released 12 Bluegrass Classics for Resophonic Guitar, interpreting songs that are pillars in the traditionalist songbook. Hall, a player associated more closely with progressive styles than conventional ones, lends his signature shred to the standards of the bluegrass repertoire.

Upon announcing the project, he stated, “I’ve always striven to push the envelope as a player, but never had the chance to put my stamp on some of the formative tunes I’ve always played at jam sessions. I chose songs that were familiar to me. These are tunes that I’ve been playing for years, and that have shaped my playing.” He told BGS all about it in an interview this fall, too. As 2020 comes to a close, we hope you enjoy Andy Hall’s performance of “Amazing Grace.”

Photo credit: Tobin Voggesser

BGS Wraps: The Infamous Stringdusters, “Joy to the World”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Infamous Stringdusters
Song: “Joy to the World”
Album: Dust the Halls
Release Date: December 4, 2020

In Their Words: “Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, after all touring was indefinitely canceled, we were trying to figure out how to stay connected musically as a band spread out all around the country. We started to consider doing some remote recording projects (each guy from his own home studio), but doing a brand new original Stringdusters album requires us to be together. I had actually already started thinking about a Christmas album last year, but never had the time to start recording it, so when the idea came up we were able to use that list of mostly traditional songs and added an Andy Hall arrangement of ‘Winter Wonderland.’

“I put together arrangements for the band, wrote charts, made a guitar track and the guys all added their parts one by one. As the pieces were coming in and I was assembling and mixing them in my studio, the songs started to come to life and I felt like the band was together again. It was truly therapeutic and particularly nice that it was joyful holiday music, which helped me through some of the darkness happening in the world around us. We hope this album can help bring a little of that joy in to people’s homes, and we wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.” — Andy Falco, The Infamous Stringdusters

Enjoy more BGS Wraps here.

On New Solo Album, Resophonic Guitarist Andy Hall Reaches for the Jam Songs

Posted on by Amy Reitnouer

Andy Hall is one of the fiercest slide guitarists we have around not just today, but probably ever. If there’s any doubt, you needn’t look further than his newest release, 12 Bluegrass Classics for Resophonic Guitar. The Denver-based singer and Dobro player of the Infamous Stringdusters has always pushed the envelope, but had never taken the time to put his own stamp on the formative tunes that all musicians of the genre play with one another. From teaching thousands of students online via ArtistWorks, to his work with Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, or Jack Black, it’s obvious that Hall is a master of the instrument, and the art itself.

BGS visited with Hall to talk all things pandemic, resophonic guitars, and what this record means in a time like our own. 

BGS: What was your initial inspiration for this recording?

Andy Hall: It was an interesting time in the spring when I was recording it, you know, but it’s all about taking opportunities that present themselves and making the most of the situation and what you can do. When everything stops, you have no idea what’s happening, you’re pretty quickly trying to figure out how to continue to be expressive. Our band the Stringdusters has toured so much for so long. …I don’t want to say I took it for granted, but when it all went away it was surprising — there was this withdrawal from doing the things that I love to do.

These are songs I’ve played for years and years, and I’ve always wanted to put my stamp on them, my take, you know? I totally overlooked them as anything I would record, because I always played them in jams. For most people, they don’t know these songs. So, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get a recorded version of all these jam songs. It was really just a matter of me sitting, playing, and enjoying these tunes enough to get a good representation of them.

At the same time that you’ve put your own stamp on these tunes, you said that they were formative. I noticed the speed-up in “House of the Rising sun,” just like Mike Auldridge of the Seldom Scene would do. Are there any influences you’re drawing from, more than others, on this record?

Everyone has their own version of what their “classic” tune would be for a certain instrument. So “House of the Rising Sun,” definitely based on the Mike Auldridge version. To me, if you do that song on Dobro, that’s just how it goes. “Dixie Hoedown” was on Jerry Douglas’ first solo record, and something like “Fireball Mail” couldn’t be a more quintessential dobro song. I was always too impatient to sit and get every nuance of somebody’s playing, so I kinda gloss over it for the general idea and fill in the blanks myself. So due to my impatience I have my own style with a lot of them.

So that’s what a lot of these are like, but you can trace most of them back to an original version — like “Cherokee Shuffle,” Sally Van Meter, a great dobro player from Colorado, did that on a record called the Great Dobro Sessions. One that’s totally my own is the first one on the record, “Leather Britches.” I’d never really heard a version of that, but I wanted to try and get that repetitive, cyclical, rolling sound of the fiddle. So a lot of them are jam tunes that I never heard a Dobro version of, and wanted to develop my own thing with. 

“Foggy Mountain Rock” really comes through that way. 

I actually was fortunate enough to get to play with Earl Scruggs some, and that tune is a perfect example of how I didn’t take the time to learn it officially like Josh Graves. When I auditioned for Scruggs’ band, I went to his house and jammed with both Earl and a fiddle player named Glen Duncan. My mind was just blown, you know, we’re just sitting in Earl’s living room playing “Foggy Mountain Rock.” When we finished playing it, it was clear I hadn’t done it the way he was used to hearing it. And he complimented it! “Oh, I love how you put that four chord in there. I love when people do their own thing.” That really justified my whole approach. If Earl Scruggs says it’s cool, then I’m good. 

Do you teach many of these in your class over at ArtistWorks?

There are a couple in my school. “Panhandle Rag” is in there, “Cherokee Shuffle.” I’m about to transcribe not just the melodies, but the solos for a few of these so that the students can have a crack at them. It seems primed for that kind of thing. This is a specialty project geared at Dobro nerds. With the Stringdusters or other projects I do it’s a bit more broad, usually song-based. This record definitely ties into ArtistWorks; it’s just getting deep into the slide guitar thing… because that’s what I love! 

“I am a Pilgrim” is so woody, while “Cherokee Shuffle” has that cutting metallic ring of the Dobro… Can you talk about some of the guitars you used on this record?

“I am a Pilgrim,” “Amazing Grace,” and maybe “Foggy Mountain Rock” were all played on a 1929 Squareneck Tricone National guitar. To me it just has a super unique blues sound. So I used it on the tunes that were slower, just to get some variety. I wrestled with how much variety to put on the record in that way, because I have a bunch of different slide instruments. I’ve got a Chaturangi, which is an Indian slide guitar with all of these resonant strings, of course lap steels and things of that nature, but I decided I wanted to keep it kind of Americana sounding. The National fit into that. All the rest I did on my favorite Beard guitar.

Speaking of formative years, I’m curious if there are any younger Dobro players that stick out to you, or even influence you?

For sure. As a Dobro player, when I was in my twenties, at a certain point I kinda felt like I had heard everything, because there weren’t all that many. I’d heard all of the Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes, Mike Auldridge and Josh Graves. There’s a lot to dig into, but compared to any other instrument, there was a much smaller pool of stuff to draw on. It’s been cool as new players come up to hear new styles. I think the first guy that was new when I first moved to Nashville was Randy Kohrs. He had a technique that nobody else had.

Out of that came a couple of younger players that I really love like Josh Swift, who played in Doyle Lawson’s band for years. His technical ability is just insane — nobody else can do what he does. There’s a young guy named Gaven Largent who I remember teaching when he was probably 12. There’s a guy named Tommy Maher, who plays in a band called Fireside Collective. Andy Dunnigan from the Lil Smokies, he uses the Dobro very lyrically, and he’s the lead singer too. I love seeing that — a lead singer Dobro player!

I’d say one of my biggest influences in recent years is Roosevelt Collier, a lap steel player. I met him in 2013, on JamCruise, and of course became fast friends with the slide guitar connection. We stayed in touch and actually did a record together a few years back. Roosevelt’s very gospel, sacred steel, very singing, very emotive style, is something I’ve really tried to absorb. It just gets you in the chest. 

What do you foresee, or hope, will be the impact of this record?

There’s something about the coronavirus, or the lockdown, that made every part of life simpler. A lot of things got stripped away and we just got down to basics, be it hanging out with our families and making food, or with the music we’re not doing big tours or big production — we’re sitting in our basements by ourselves playing. It’s certainly one of the silver linings of the whole pandemic thing, the simplicity and the sweetness, and that’s what I was feeling with this. It’s just a reflection of me sitting and playing, and hopefully people will relate to that. People have had to strip everything down to being simple, and that’s what this record is. It’s a reflection of that return to the basics that the pandemic has put on us. It’s really forced us to get back to the root of why we do what we do!

Photo credit: Tobin Voggesser

IBMA Awards Nominees, Hall of Fame Inductees and Distinguished Achievement Awards Revealed

Posted on by Editor

Nominees for the 31st Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards have been revealed, with six nominees competing for Entertainer of the Year in 2020: Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Del McCoury Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Sister Sadie, and Special Consensus. The extra nominee is due to a tie; in addition, the Album of the Year category has seven nominees, also due to a tie.

Three inductees will join the Bluegrass Hall of Fame: owner of Nashville’s iconic Station Inn, J.T. Gray; hardcore bluegrass traditionalists The Johnson Mountain Boys; and one of the premier bands at the forefront of the contemporary/progressive bluegrass movements of the 1970s and ’80s, New Grass Revival.

Additionally, the following will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award: festival pioneers Norman & Judy Adams, Musicians Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) founders Darrel & Phyllis Adkins, fiddle virtuoso/educator Darol Anger, San Diego’s KSON Bluegrass Special host Wayne Rice, and bluegrass innovator Jack Tottle.

The IBMA Awards will be broadcast on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction on Thursday, October 1. However, the annual World of Bluegrass Conference will be virtual-only, due to COVID-19 concerns.

The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards nominations are below.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR (Tie)

Balsam Range
Billy Strings
Del McCoury Band
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Sister Sadie
Special Consensus

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Sister Sadie
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Mile Twelve
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Sam Bush Band
The Travelin’ McCourys

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Tie)

Chicago Barn Dance
Artist: Special Consensus
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown

Home
Artist: Billy Strings
Label: Rounder Records
Producer: Glenn Brown

Live in Prague, Czech Republic
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek

New Moon Over My Shoulder
Artist: Larry Sparks
Label: Rebel Records
Producer: Larry Sparks

Tall Fiddler
Artist: Michael Cleveland
Label: Compass Records
Producers: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan

Toil, Tears & Trouble
Artist: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Label: Rounder Records
Producer: Dave Maggard

Tribulation
Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show

SONG OF THE YEAR

“Both Ends of the Train”
Artist: Blue Highway
Writers: Tim Stafford/Steve Gulley
Label: Rounder Records
Producers: Blue Highway

“Chicago Barn Dance”
Artist: Special Consensus with Michael Cleveland & Becky Buller
Writers: Becky Buller/Missy Raines/Alison Brown
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown

“Haggard”
Artist: The Grascals
Writer: Harley Allen
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Producers: The Grascals

“Hickory, Walnut & Pine”
Artist: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Writers: Slaid Cleaves/Nathan Hamilton
Label: Rounder Records
Producer: Dave Maggard

“Living Like There’s No Tomorrow”
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Writers: Jim McBride/Roger Alan Murrah
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek

GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR

“Angel Too Soon”
Artist: Balsam Range
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Producers: Balsam Range

“Because He Loved Me”
Artist: Dale Ann Bradley
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Dale Ann Bradley

“Gonna Rise and Shine”
Artist: Alan Bibey & Grasstowne
Label: Mountain Fever Records
Producer: Mark Hodges

“I’m Going to Heaven”
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek

“Little Black Train”
Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Barry Abernathy, Darrell Webb, and Ben Isaacs

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR

“Tall Fiddler”
Artist: Michael Cleveland with Tommy Emmanuel
Label: Compass Records
Producers: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan

“Shenandoah Breakdown”
Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Doyle Lawson and Rosta Capek

“Soldier’s Joy”
Artist: Jesse McReynolds with Michael Cleveland
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Jesse McReynolds

“The Appalachian Road”
Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, and Appalachian Road Show

“Guitar Peace”
Artist: Billy Strings
Label: Rounder Records
Producer: Glenn Brown

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Appalachian Road Show
Carolina Blue
High Fidelity
Merle Monroe
Mile Twelve

COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR

“Chicago Barn Dance”
Artists: Special Consensus with Michael Cleveland & Becky Buller
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown

“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
Artists: Jason Barie featuring Del McCoury & Paul Williams
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Jason Barie

“Tall Fiddler”
Artists: Michael Cleveland with Tommy Emmanuel
Label: Compass Records
Producers: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan

“The Barber’s Fiddle”
Artists: 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
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Producer: Stephen Mougin

“On and On”
Artists: Gena Britt with Brooke Aldridge
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Gena Britt

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Ronnie Bowman
Del McCoury
Russell Moore
Danny Paisley
Larry Sparks

FEMALE VOCALIST

Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Amanda Smith
Molly Tuttle
Rhonda Vincent

BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Kristin Scott Benson
Gena Britt
Gina Furtado
Ned Luberecki
Scott Vestal

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Barry Bales
Mike Bub
Todd Phillips
Missy Raines
Marshall Wilborn

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Becky Buller
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Deanie Richardson

RESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Phil Leadbetter
Justin Moses

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Trey Hensley
Billy Strings
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle
Jake Workman

MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Alan Bibey
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury

 

IBMA Reveals Award Nominees, Hall of Fame Inductees, Distinguished Achievement Winners

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Five of the top bands in bluegrass earned IBMA Entertainer of the Year nominations from the International Bluegrass Music Association. The ballot was revealed on Wednesday morning in Nashville.

The Entertainer of the Year nominees are Balsam Range, Sam Bush Band, The Earls of Leicester, Del McCoury Band, and Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers.

Due to a tie, seven titles will compete for the Song of the Year category. The IBMA Awards will take place Thursday, September 26, at the Duke Energy Performing Arts Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, with hosts Jim Lauderdale and Del McCoury.

Mike Auldridge, Bill Emerson, and the Kentucky Colonels have also been named as inductees into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

Distinguished Achievement Award recipients include radio personality Katy Daley, Mountain Home label founder Mickey Gamble, former IBMA executive director Dan Hays, The Lost and Found founder Allen Mills, and Japanese language magazine Moonshiner, now in its 37th year covering bluegrass and acoustic music.

The full ballot is below.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Balsam Range
Sam Bush Band
The Earls of Leicester
Del McCoury Band
Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Balsam Range
I’m With Her
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
Sister Sadie

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Sam Bush Band
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
The Earls of Leicester
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
The Travelin’ McCourys

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Appalachian Road Show
Carolina Blue
High Fidelity
Mile Twelve
Billy Strings

SONG OF THE YEAR (7 nominees, due to a tie)

“Dance, Dance, Dance”
Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Writers: Brenda Cooper/Joseph Cooper/Steve Miller
Producers: Barry Abernathy, Darrell Webb, Ben Isaacs
Executive Producer: Dottie Leonard Miller
Label: Billy Blue Records

“The Girl Who Invented the Wheel”
Artist: Balsam Range
Writers: Adam Wright/Shannon Wright
Producer: Balsam Range
Executive Producer: Mickey Gamble
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

“The Guitar Song”
Artist: Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers with Del McCoury
Writers: Bill Anderson/Jamey Johnson/Vicky McGehee
Producer: Joe Mullins
Associate Producer: Jerry Salley
Label: Billy Blue Records

“The Light in Carter Stanley’s Eyes”
Artist: Peter Rowan
Writer: Peter Rowan
Producer: Peter Rowan
Associate Producer: Tim O’Brien
Label: Rebel Records

“Next Train South”
Artist: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Writer: Mac Patterson
Producers: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, Dave Maggard, Ken Irwin
Label: Rounder Records

“Take the Journey”
Artist: Molly Tuttle
Writers: Molly Tuttle/Sarah Siskind
Producer: Ryan Hewitt
Label: Compass Records

“Thunder Dan”
Artist: Sideline
Writer: Josh Manning
Producer: Tim Surrett
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

City on a Hill
Artist: Mile Twelve
Producer: Bryan Sutton
Label: Independent

Del McCoury Still Sings Bluegrass
Artist: Del McCoury Band
Producers: Del and Ronnie McCoury
Label: McCoury Music

For the Record
Artist: Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers
Producer: Joe Mullins
Associate Producer: Jerry Salley
Label: Billy Blue Records

I Hear Bluegrass Calling Me
Artist: Carolina Blue
Producers: Bobby Powell, Tim and Lakin Jones
Executive Producers: Lonnie Lassiter and Ethan Burkhardt
Label: Pinecastle Records

Sister Sadie II
Artist: Sister Sadie
Producer: Sister Sadie
Label: Pinecastle Records

GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR

“Acres of Diamonds”
Artist: Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers
Producer: Joe Mullins
Associate Producer: Jerry Salley
Label: Billy Blue Records

“Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout”
Artist: Claire Lynch
Producer: Jerry Salley
Label: Billy Blue Records

“I Am a Pilgrim”
Artist: Roland White and Friends
Producers: Ty Gilpin, Jon Weisberger
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

“I See God”
Artist: Marty Raybon
Producer: Jerry Salley
Label: Billy Blue Records

“Let My Life Be a Light”
Artist: Balsam Range
Producer: Balsam Range
Executive Producer: Mickey Gamble
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR

“Cotton Eyed Joe”
Artist: Sideline
Producer: Tim Surrett
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

“Darlin’ Pal(s) of Mine”
Artist: Missy Raines with Alison Brown, Mike Bub, and Todd Phillips
Producer: Alison Brown
Label: Compass Records

“Earl’s Breakdown”
Artist: The Earls of Leicester
Producer: Jerry Douglas
Label: Rounder Records

“Fried Taters and Onions”
Artist: Carolina Blue
Producers: Bobby Powell, Tim and Lakin Jones
Executive Producers: Lonnie Lassiter and Ethan Burkhardt
Label: Pinecastle Records

“Sunrise”
Artist: Sam Bush & Bela Fleck
Producers: Akira Otsuka, Ronnie Freeland
Label: Smithsonian Folkways Records

COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR

“Burning Georgia Down”
Artist: Balsam Range with Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble
Producer: Balsam Range
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

“Darlin’ Pal(s) of Mine”
Artist: Missy Raines with Alison Brown, Mike Bub, and Todd Phillips
Producer: Alison Brown
Label: Compass Records

“The Guitar Song”
Artist: Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers with Del McCoury
Producer: Joe Mullins
Associate Producer: Jerry Salley
Label: Billy Blue Records

“Please”
Artist: Rhonda Vincent and Dolly Parton
Producers: Dave Cobb, John Leventhal, Frank Liddell
Label: MCA Nashville

“Soldier’s Joy/Ragtime Annie”
Artist: Roland White with Justin Hiltner, Jon Weisberger, Patrick McAvinue, and Molly Tuttle
Producers: Ty Gilpin, Jon Weisberger
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Shawn Camp
Del McCoury
Russell Moore
Tim O’Brien
Danny Paisley

FEMALE VOCALIST

Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Sierra Hull
Molly Tuttle
Rhonda Vincent

BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Gina Furtado
Mike Munford
Noam Pikelny
Kristin Scott Benson
Scott Vestal

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Barry Bales
Mike Bub
Beth Lawrence
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Hunter Berry
Becky Buller
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan

RESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Phil Leadbetter
Justin Moses

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Kenny Smith
Billy Strings
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle
Josh Williams

MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Alan Bibey
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
Frank Solivan

The Infamous Stringdusters Look to the Light on ‘Rise Sun’

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The Infamous Stringdusters’ new album Rise Sun acts as an invocation. Across 13 tracks, the band — consisting of Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Andy Hall (Dobro), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), and Travis Book (double bass) — summon the light, which is all the more astonishing considering they tend to formulate their ideas individually before bringing them to the table. When the band came together to record the follow-up to 2017’s Grammy-winning Laws of Gravity, they found themselves interested in sharing a similar message: about hope, about love, about light.

As Book explains, “I only get to sing so many songs a night; I only get to record so many songs in a lifetime. What do I want those to look like? What am I trying to do here? Do I have the opportunity to raise the vibration? Do I have an obligation? I mean, these are the existential questions that I’m going through and we’re all going through as we’re making this record. That’s why it’s so oriented towards the light. It’s the opposite of Dark Side of the Moon.”

As with past albums, Rise Sun is dazzlingly energetic. But there’s also a sense of time—that strange paradox wherein it speeds up as it runs out—threading the project. It can be heard in Garrett’s swift, almost giddy fiddle on the opening title track, Pandolfi’s pacing banjo on “Truth and Love,” and the band’s shared meter, chiming as a mystical grandfather clock on “Planets.” The Stringdusters recorded the album in order, framing the songs with melodic interludes that bring the whole affair closer to the feel of their energetic live shows. As the band gets older and time ebbs, there’s still much to say — new messages that spread a little light.

BGS: You’re a bluegrass band famous for not coloring within the lines, so to speak. How do you set about stretching those boundaries in ways that make sense to both you and your fans?

Book: Our band can be challenging to listen to because it’s not one-dimensional. You’ve got four guys that sing, and every song sounds a little different, and certainly the way I approach every song is as though it’s its own universe. The people who are into our band, they’re ready to go wherever. If you’re into one singer or one style, you’re not going to get very much of that when you come to our show.

The album’s message revolves around wanting a better world, and so many songs involve some theme of light. Since you all write individually, how did you all cohere around that? Was it all kismet?

That’s what happened. It comes out of the culture of our band. We all live in different places, and this last couple of years has been transitional for all of us—in terms of our personal lives and our professional lives. We’re all firmly entering into the second half of our lives, and growing personally and spiritually, and digging in a little more deeply.

I think, for everybody, when that election went the way that it did, it tilted the axis of everyone’s awareness. When we would get together, we’d get into talking about real shit. It came as no surprise to me that when we all showed up with these song ideas, there were these themes emerging. We’re like a family oriented towards positivity and good attitudes and making everyone’s lives better, so when we go home, that pattern continues.

The band is no stranger to political fare, as with “This Ol’ Building.” And it’s not that any one track on Rise Sun feels overtly political, but what’s the band’s response to those listeners who want artists to keep art and politics separate? That seems nearly impossible nowadays.

Every act is political, I think. Why would an artist’s life be any different? Certainly, an artist has an opportunity—essentially a responsibility—to give voice to the larger questions, the larger existential crises of the culture.

Artists certainly can broadcast messages of humanity, of commonality at a time of particular divisiveness.

I can’t speak for the other guys, but when I was younger I thought it was really trite when I’d see an artist accept an award and they’d give it all up to God. I was like, “No, that’s you.” But as my awareness expands, and my gratitude for being alive increases, it seems there is a concept that I can much more closely identify with, where the idea that songs and concepts, so many of them, are already in existence. “Rise Sun,” for example, is a perfect example. I didn’t write that melody. I brought it into form, but that melody is almost timeless—it’s like gospel music. It’s not like I’m standing here, like, “God gave me that song,” but I brought it into form.

That’s the way I see the artist’s role. There is some responsibility and ownership over bringing this stuff into form, but these are concepts and ideas that everybody’s thinking about. Not everybody necessarily has the same angle on it, or the same opinion—not everybody is oriented towards the light—but these larger philosophical ideas, it’s all part of the collective consciousness. So for an artist, of course it’s political; if you’re doing anything and it has any intention or meaning, it’s political.

You all worked with Billy Hume again. What did that feel like, to return to the studio with him?

This one, we did in Denver. We recorded another record with him years ago, Silver Sky. It’s almost like Rise Sun is the third record in that.

Like a trilogy.

Yeah almost. Silver Sky is a really great record—it’s got that Billy Hume sound. He was more of a producer on that. He was more of an engineer on the last two records. Billy is incredibly skilled, and he has a great ear, and his work ethic is insane. He’ll work 16 hour days and never complain. The tone is great and it’s sort of a no-brainer—I’d assume we’d make another record with him.

Andy Falco said you guys don’t use click tracks and you don’t layer a lot during the production process. Do you record live to track?

Yeah, it’s great. These days, we get everything by the second or third take. A big part of it is preparation. We spend a lot of time figuring out how things are going to go before we go into the studio so we can reduce stress. Some bands go in and do all their figuring out in the studio. We have five people intimately entwined in the music, so like to check out everything, and see how it feels to play a song in this key, or tweak the arrangements. For us, sometimes it had a tendency to suck the life out of things, but recently it feels much more like we’re able to get things down, and then go into the studio and not be worrying, but just be deep in it and free-flowing and capture the best performance.

You chose the songs in order before you recorded them. How did that shift the recording process?

It was genius. What it meant was it took us a little bit of time to pick up speed. The opening track “Rise Sun” maybe would’ve been better if we tracked it the third day, but what it does mean is that the record has a very linear feel. We put a bunch of segues in there. It’s sort of like the live show, where a bunch of songs flow into other songs with musical interludes. I’m inside the record, but every time I get through the record and get to “Truth and Love” I start crying. It feels like I watched a Star Wars movie.

Well, talk about a heavy track. That one asks some real hard-hitting existential questions.

I get to the end and I’m overwhelmed by it.

“Planets” is such a standout, too, and I know your wife Sarah Siskind co-wrote that. The interlude that comes in around the 5:30 mark is so striking. Can you explain that moment?

We knew it was a good sonic opportunity, letting it all space out. That was a live take, that was us jamming, and then we overdubbed a little bit of piano.

You were talking about the collective unconscious earlier, but I think you all tapped into something cosmic there.

That wouldn’t surprise me, either—functioning on the astral plane. There’s a lot going on in the world that we don’t understand, or that we can’t quite quantify or make sense of, and it’s all very interesting. The way that things unfold and even just the making of a record is such an interesting combination of all kinds of random circumstances that leads to it. It’s all remarkable and amazing, and we’re all feeling really grateful to be putting this record out right now.