Tag: Louisa Branscomb

Nominees for IBMA’s 2020 Industry Awards and Momentum Awards Announced

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The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced the nominees for this year’s IBMA Industry Awards and IBMA Momentum Awards, which will be presented during IBMA’s Virtual World of Bluegrass event. The announcement was made today on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction channel.

The IBMA Momentum Awards will take place Tuesday, September 29; the IBMA Industry Awards will take place Wednesday, September 30, and will include the presentation of the 2020 Distinguished Achievement Awards. Specific times and additional details for both events, and for other IBMA World of Bluegrass 2020 virtual events, will be shared in the coming weeks.

IBMA INDUSTRY AWARDS

The Industry Awards recognize outstanding work in categories including Broadcaster of the Year, Event of the Year, Graphic Designer of the Year, Liner Notes of the Year, Writer of the Year, Sound Engineer of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year. Nominees are selected by specially appointed committees made up of bluegrass music professionals who possess significant knowledge of that field. The recipient of each award is decided on by the Panel of Electors, an anonymous group of over 200 veteran bluegrass music professionals selected by the IBMA Board of Directors.

The 2020 IBMA Industry Awards nominees are:

Broadcaster of the Year
Barb Heller
Michael Kear
Brad Kolodner
Peter Thompson
Alan Tompkins

Event of the Year
The 2019-2020 Emelin Theatre Bluegrass Concert Series – Mamaroneck, NY
FreshGrass – North Adams, MA
Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival – Farmers Branch, TX
Augusta Heritage Center Bluegrass Week – Elkins, WV
Tell It To Me: The Johnson City Sessions 90th Anniversary Celebration – Johnson City, TN

Graphic Designer of the Year
Grace van’t Hof
Eric Barie
Michael Armistead
Carla Wehby
Lisa Berman

Liner Notes of the Year
Katy Daley – Live at the Cellar Door, The Seldom Scene
Bill Nowlin – The Early Days of Bluegrass, Various Artists
Katie Harford Hogue & Matt Combs – The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Volume 1, Various Artists
Craig Havighurst – Bad For You, The SteelDrivers
Ted Olson – Tell It to Me: Revisiting the Johnson City Sessions, 1928-1929, Various Artists

Songwriter of the Year
Ronnie Bowman
Louisa Branscomb
Milan Miller
Jerry Salley
Donna Ulisse

Sound Engineer of the Year
Van Atkins
Adam Engelhardt
Randy LeRoy
Stephen Mougin
Jason Singleton

Writer of the Year
Bill Conger
Thomas Goldsmith
Derek Halsey
Justin Hiltner
Kip Lornell

IBMA MOMENTUM AWARDS

The Momentum Awards recognize musicians and bluegrass industry professionals who, in the early stages of their careers, are making significant contributions to or are having a significant influence upon bluegrass music. These contributions can be to bluegrass music in general, or to a specific sector of the industry. The Mentor Award, in contrast to the other Momentum Awards, recognizes a professional who has made a significant impact on the lives and careers of newcomers to the bluegrass industry. Starting with recommendations from the IBMA membership, nominees are chosen by a multi-stage process by committees made up of respected musicians and industry leaders in the bluegrass world.

The 2020 IBMA Momentum Award nominees are:

Mentor of the Year
Alan Bibey
Rick Lang
Scott Napier
Annie Savage
Valerie Smith

Industry Involvement
Malachi Graham
Adam Kirr
Kara Kundert
Jonathan Newton
Kris Truelsen

Vocalist
Tabitha Agnew
Amanda Cook
Victoria Kelley
Leanna Price
Melody Williamson

Instrumentalist (2 selected)
Tabitha Agnew
Thomas Cassell
Alex Edwards
Miles Quale
Lauren Price Napier
Liam Purcell
Sullivan Tuttle

Band
AJ Lee and Blue Summit (San Jose, CA)
Colebrook Road (Harrisburg, PA)
Midnight Skyracer (UK)
Seth Mulder & Midnight Run (East Tennessee)
The Slocan Ramblers (Toronto, Ontario)

“While most genres of music only award high profile artists and recordings, the bluegrass music community also celebrates other industry professionals and rising stars achieving excellence during the year,” said IBMA’s Executive Director Paul Schiminger. “The IBMA Industry Awards recognize the exceptional contributions of those talented professionals behind the scenes who are essential to bluegrass music. The IBMA Momentum Awards were added several years ago to shine a bright light on the many early-stage professionals making a huge impact in bluegrass music and the generous mentors providing them invaluable guidance and support. Congratulations to each and every nominee!”

In June, the IBMA and its Local Organizing Committee partners in Raleigh, North Carolina announced that due to ongoing health concerns relating to COVID-19, and the logistical challenges of creating a safe in-person event experience, this year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass will take place virtually, set for September 28-October 3.

Lead image courtesy of IBMA

Louisa Branscomb: The Songwriter Still Chasing Sunshine Round the Bend

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You may not recognize her voice, but you’ve heard her songs.

Louisa Branscomb wrote “Steel Rails,” the song that helped launch Alison Krauss’ career and inspired a new generation of young women to sing bluegrass. She is a talented singer and instrumentalist, with a dozen albums to her name. Yet it’s as a songwriter that she’s had the most influence, both in the industry and among individuals who benefit from her guidance and unique approach to writing.

In Louisa’s words, “The most powerful tool we have to move people, and bring people together, is music. And songwriting is where music begins. The most important skill a songwriter has is not craft or rhyme — it’s empathy, to connect deeply with one’s own soul and to connect to others. Two verses and a little soul can change lives, and when life is changed, the song keeps on going, crossing frontiers in ways we can only imagine.”

Louisa has been writing poetry and stories since she could first hold a pencil. At age 11, she won a composition contest, gaining her a stage performance with the Birmingham Symphony. By the time she finished college, she had written 400 songs and attracted the attention of country star Mel Tillis. He suggested she move to Nashville to work as a songwriter.

But, she told Bluegrass Today, she hated hairspray and couldn’t see herself fitting in with all that 1970s “big hair” in the country music world. Plus, she was “painfully shy.” So, she chose bluegrass over Nashville. In 1971, she played guitar and sang with Bluegrass Liberation, which Murphy Hicks Henry calls “the first modern all-female bluegrass band.” She was one of the earliest women to lead a mixed gender band after switching to banjo. Her band Boot Hill performed her originals, including “Blue Ridge Memories,” a hit in Japan.

Through 1980, Louisa played up to 250 gigs a year. Then a doctorate in psychology, a farm, a passion to teach and later, a daughter, kept her closer to home. She has since become one of the bluegrass industry’s principal advocates for songwriters, a valued mentor and an important contributor to the bluegrass repertoire, having received countless songwriting awards and nominations.

Louisa is as well-known as a teacher as she is for her own writing. She uses her fascination with psychology and her immense compassion to help others express their experiences in words and music. She has founded a number of teaching programs, including the Woodsong Farm Retreat for songwriters on her Georgia farm. Several programs engage elementary school students and foster children. And she has mentored more than a thousand hopeful songwriters.

“Dear Sister,” co-written with Claire Lynch, won Louisa the 2014 IBMA Song of the Year Award. Some of the biggest names in bluegrass have recorded her music. John Denver sang “Steel Rails” on his final album, earning the song’s second Grammy nomination.

A stunning selection of bluegrass musicians joined Louisa for her 2019 album, Gonna Love Anyway. Nearly 50 years after she wrote her most noted song, she recorded a new version of “Steel Rails” on the album. In a tribute to both the enduring appeal of that song and Louisa’s ongoing creativity, Gonna Love Anyway reached #1 on both the bluegrass and folk charts.

Photo courtesy of louisabranscomb.com

LISTEN: Louisa Branscomb’s “Gonna Love Anyway”

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Featured Songwriter: Louisa Branscomb
Hometown: Cartersville, Georgia
Song: “Gonna Love Anyway” (written by Louisa Branscomb and Jennifer Strickland, performed by Sierra Hull, Jim Hurst, Bryan McDowell, Missy Raines, & Molly Tuttle)
Album: Gonna Love Anyway
Release Date: July 26, 2019
Label: Compass Records

In Their Words: “Being a songwriter keeps you honest if you let it. When I began this project, I’d been through a time of loss and change, including a tornado that took out my farm, losing both parents, and a little heartbreak thrown in to sweeten the mix. So I was looking for images of hope and resilience. Those images became the theme, and then the songs became the album. The song I worked the project around is ‘Gonna Love Anyway,’ with images of fragility and survival at the same time: a flower blooming in December, a cloud letting go of rain, and finally the guitar you pick up on a gamble that there’s one more song. I was so honored that Molly Tuttle agreed to do this one; she herself has such artistic power and grace at the same time, so it’s a perfect match. That is true of Sierra Hull, Jim Hurst, Bryan McDowell, and Missy Raines as artists as well, and that’s why I think this collaboration is so stunning and magical.” — Louisa Branscomb

Photo credit: Vicki Burton