Tag: Raleigh
PREVIEW: Brand New Black Stringband Symposium Set for IBMA’s Conference
This year, a new event will debut at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, North Carolina. Presented by IBMA and The Banjo Gathering, Roots Revival: Black Stringband Symposium will explore Black contributions to bluegrass and traditional music over two days of the week-long event with six especially programmed sessions.
On Thursday, September 26, conference-goers, virtual participants, and symposium attendees will engage with sessions like “Navigating Narratives: Being a Black Woman in Folk Music” and “Alive in the Archives.” On Friday, September 27 programming will include “Making Instruments” and “Journey of a Song,” featuring musicians Hubby Jenkins, Amy Alvey, and Mike Compton, as well as two special showcases: “Black Music in Appalachia” and “Beyond Bluegrass.” (See a full schedule with panel descriptions below.) Virtual passes for the symposium are available here, in person passes can be purchased here.
“First of all, I’m extremely excited to be part of this event,” said artist, scholar, and educator Brandi Waller-Pace, who will be participating in the symposium programming. “I’m happy to see something happening at IBMA that provides a platform for black people from a multitude of backgrounds and experiences to talk about all of these key things within these musical forms that we have been excluded and erased from. I really hope that this is the beginning of more widespread recognition and acknowledgment for our contributions in this field and for our own cultural reclamation.”
Other artists, creators, and experts on the symposium’s lineup include Art Bouman, Dena Ross Jennings, Kelle Jolly, Jen Larson, Valerie Díaz Leroy, Waller-Pace, Tray Wellington, Nelson Williams, and many more. Organizers Lillian Werbin, of the Banjo Gathering, Elderly Instruments, and Bluegrass Pride, and Kristina Gaddy, author of Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo’s Hidden History, set out to spotlight the many ways in which Black musicians, builders, and researchers navigate bluegrass and traditional music spaces as they built the event from the ground up.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with IBMA on Roots Revival,” explains Gaddy via email. “We’ve put together these panels to highlight both the important history and contributions of Black Americans in bluegrass and traditional music, and to showcase how these traditions evolved over the 20th century and continue to be innovated by Black musicians in the 21st.”
“It is a humbling experience to bring these conversations forward,” added Werbin. “I am looking forward to hearing insight and delving into the experiences each panelist brings to the space.”
Sponsors from across the roots music landscape showed up in force to make the symposium happen, with programs supported by organizations and companies like the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention, Bluegrass Pride, the DC Bluegrass Union, Folk Alliance International, Pisgah Banjos, and of course the IBMA Foundation, Elderly Instruments, IBMA, and the Banjo Gathering.
Roots Revival, the first event of its kind programmed in tandem with IBMA, will work to tell a more complete story about the origins and influences that shaped the bluegrass genre as we know it today. Make plans to attend World of Bluegrass and Roots Revival today.
Roots Revival: Black Stringband Symposium
Raleigh Convention Center (500 South Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC) Room 304
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
1:30PM – Welcome
2:00PM – “Navigating Narratives: Being a Black Woman in Folk Music”
“Navigating Narratives: Being a Black Woman in Folk Music” builds on the “Avoiding Tokenism in Trad Music” panel from 2023, and includes panel of Black women in the traditional music industry explores how they each build upon their experiences and the expectations placed upon them to create authentic representation in the industry.
3:30PM – “Alive in the Archives”
This panel will explore how Black bluegrass and folk musicians use source and archival recordings to bridge the gap in person-to-person transmission of music between Black musicians who were recorded in the 20th century and musicians today. Musicians and scholars will play some tunes and discuss their research methods and limitations.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
11:15AM – “Making Instruments”
Within the history of American traditional music, Black instrument builders have often been overlooked, from the creators of gourd banjos in early America to contemporary makers today. They will explore how building instruments honors the history of the music while making it more accessible to broader audiences.
12:45PM – “Journey of a Song”
This panel and showcase will explore how songs from the Black tradition became bluegrass standards. Musicians Amy Alvey, and Hubby Jenkins will play some songs and they’ll also be in conversation with cultural historians Valerie Díaz Leroy and Jen Larson, discussing how we can accurately and appropriately bring music’s history into our performances and recorded work.
2:15PM – “Black Music in Appalachia” Showcase
In this showcase, Black Appalachian musicians Dena Ross Jennings, Kelle Jolly, and Tray Wellington will be performing and discussing the influences the region has had on their music.
3:45PM – “Beyond Bluegrass” Showcase
In recent years, Arnold Shultz has been acknowledged as a core figure in Bluegrass history. This showcase features musicians Darcy Ford, Art Bouman, and Nelson Williams and how they build a diversity of styles and bring in other traditional music into their repertoire.
More information is available here and via worldofbluegrass.org.
Artwork courtesy of IBMA and the Banjo Gathering.
BGS Receives IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award
(Editor’s Note: On Thursday, September 28, 2023, BGS contributor, musician, songwriter, and bluegrass industry leader Jon Weisberger presented BGS with IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award at the organization’s annual business conference. Below, enjoy Weisberger’s award presentation speech, adapted for print, and photos from the Industry Awards luncheon.)
The International Bluegrass Music Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award was created as the organization’s first honor, just a year after its 1985 founding. Among the first recipients were Bill Monroe, gospel songwriter Albert E. Brumley, and (now-BGS contributor) Neil V. Rosenberg.
After 1991, when the Hall of Honor (now the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame) was established, the DAA became a way to recognize a variety of accomplishments — a lifetime of achievement for many recipients, but also activities taking place in more compressed timespans, as when the Coen Brothers and T Bone Burnett were recipients in 2001 for the singular act of creating the film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and the accompanying soundtrack album. And while most of the recipients are people, some are entities, like WSM’s Grand Ole Opry (2000), the Station Inn (2003), and Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (2016).
Either way, the award criteria direct the selection committee to consider those who “have fostered bluegrass music’s image with developments that will broaden the music’s recognition and accessibility.” Further, the award criteria state, “Their contributions should be unique given the relative period of time in which they were made and should embody the spirit of one who pioneers or opens new possibilities for the music.” These are descriptions that fit the Bluegrass Situation perfectly.
Having celebrated its 10th anniversary just last year, this site contains an extensive amount of material that recalls a multitude of highlights from that first decade. So rather than recount them, I chose, when presenting the award—an invitation for which I’m deeply grateful — to recognize what Ed Helms, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, their dedicated staff and many contributors have done to broaden the music’s recognition and accessibility and open new possibilities for the music is to look at why these things are important and how they have met the challenge.
For more than 50 years, bluegrass music has been dependent, for the renewal of its audiences and of its musicians, on exposure beyond its cloistered garden. From The Beverly Hillbillies through the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Circle album through the mainstream success of Ricky Skaggs and Alison Krauss to O Brother and, more recently, artists like Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings, our music has needed not only community-building institutions that cater to those already familiar with it, but a plethora of vehicles that expose new audiences to this music.
This is how many people, including many in the IBMA, first became aware of bluegrass, and in the past decade, no one has done more to introduce this music to new audiences than the Bluegrass Situation. By covering the broad range of roots music under its “bluegrass” rubric, and by insisting on presenting the full range of bluegrass music and musicians in all their diversity, the Sitch has invited hundreds of thousands into the fold — and the same is true of the events the Bluegrass Situation has organized and sponsored.
Indeed, one of the Sitch’s distinctive contributions has been its dual role as a chronicler of the broad array of bluegrass and related musical artists and as a presenter, bringing the artists and the music they make directly to audiences. Especially through its curated stages at major music festivals, the Bluegrass Situation has introduced thousands — tens of thousands by now — to artists like bluegrass Hall of Famers Ricky Skaggs, Del McCoury, and Sam Bush.
In this way, the Sitch has spent more than a decade devoted both to the important work of bringing a wide variety of roots music to audiences across the country and around the world, and to the important work of bringing the whole array of bluegrass artists, from Larry Sparks, Junior Sisk, Michael Cleveland, and High Fidelity to the Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Molly Tuttle, and Billy Strings to the attention of those attracted to the Sitch’s website and events by its coverage and presentation of all the other roots music artists within their purview. So, someone who visits the site to read an Allison Russell feature has an opportunity to learn about Lynn Morris, while another who attends the Bourbon & Beyond festival to see The Black Keys might have their ear caught by the sound of Dan Tyminski or The Cleverlys performing on the Sitch’s curated stage.
These are the kinds of connections — and the kind of day in, day out, year in and year out work — that, in the words of the Distinguished Achievement Award criteria, “broaden the music’s recognition and accessibility.” These are the ways in which bluegrass is able to draw in new generations of fans — and new generations of musicians and industry activists, too. For more than 10 years, now, Ed Helms, Amy Reitnouer Jacobs and the Bluegrass Situation have been doing the work, and all of us in the bluegrass community have benefitted from their efforts. It gave me great pleasure to present them with this award.
Photos by Rob Laughter, Dan Schram, and Willa Stein as noted; Lead image of Hiltner, Reitnouer Jacobs, and Weisberger by Dan Schram; All photos courtesy of IBMA.
See the Full Winners List from the 2023 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards
The unofficial theme of the “Biggest Night in Bluegrass” – the 34th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, held tonight at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina – was “Bluegrass Prom,” the colloquial and affectionate nickname given to the awards ceremony by its attendees, honorees, and nominees.
Hosted by Molly Tuttle, who took home three trophies, and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, the three-hour production featured a performance by Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee Sam Bush, songs from each of the night’s Entertainer of the Year nominees – including Sister Sadie paying tribute to Wilma Lee Cooper, another Hall of Fame inductee – touching remembrances of bluegrass forebears Bobby Osborne and Jesse McReynolds, and culminated with Secor, Tuttle and her band Golden Highway, Del McCoury Band, and more leading the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Wagon Wheel.”
In the instrumentalist categories, there were notable first-time wins in two categories, Trey Hensley taking home Guitar Player of the Year – in a field that included both Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings – and Vickie Vaughn, of Della Mae, High Fidelity, and more, receiving the Bass Player of the Year trophy. Kristin Scott Benson took home her sixth Banjo Player of the Year Award, Greg Blake of Special Consensus won his first IBMA award for Male Vocalist of the Year, and the night’s final and most prestigious recognition, Entertainer of the Year, went to Billy Strings, a well-deserved third consecutive win in the category.
See the full list of winners (in bold) from tonight’s IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, presented by our friends at Yamaha, below:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR:
Appalachian Road Show
Billy Strings
Del McCoury Band
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Authentic Unlimited
Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Del McCoury Band
Sister Sadie
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Billy Strings
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
The Infamous Stringdusters
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
The Travelin’ McCourys
SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Blue Ridge Mountain Baby”
Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Songwriters: Barry Abernathy/Jim VanCleve
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Appalachian Road Show
“Crooked Tree”
Artist: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Songwriters: Molly Tuttle/Melody Walker
Label: Nonesuch Records
Producers: Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle
“Diane”
Artist: Sister Sadie
Songwriters: Jeffrey Nath Bhasker/Samuel Tyler Johnson/Cameron Marvel Ochs
Label: Mountain Home
Producer: Sister Sadie
“Heyday”
Artist: Lonesome River Band
Songwriters: Barry Huchens/Will Huchens
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Producer: Lonesome River Band
“Power of Love”
Artist: Rick Faris
Songwriters: Johnny Colla/Huey Lewis/Christopher Hayes
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Producer: Stephen Mougin
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Crooked Tree
Artist: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Label: Nonesuch Records
Producer: Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle
Lovin’ of the Game
Artist: Michael Cleveland
Label: Compass Records
Producers: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
Lowdown Hoedown
Artist: Jason Carter
Label: Fiddle Man Records
Producers: Jason Carter and Brent Truitt
Me/And/Dad
Artist: Billy Strings and Terry Barber
Label: Rounder Records
Producers: Billy Strings and Gary Paczosa
Radio John: The Songs of John Hartford
Artist: Sam Bush
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Producer: Sam Bush
GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR:
“The Glory Road”
Artist: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Songwriters: Paul Martin/Harry Stinson/Marty Stuart
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Joe Mullins and Adam McIntosh
“Jordan”
Artist: Darin & Brooke Aldridge with Ricky Skaggs, Mo Pitney and Mark Fain
Songwriter: Fred Rich
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Darin Aldridge and Mark Fain
“The Scarlet Red Lines”
Artist: Larry Sparks
Songwriter: Daniel Crabtree
Label: Rebel Records
Producer: Larry Sparks
“Take a Little Time for Jesus”
Artist: Junior Sisk
Songwriter: David Marshall
Label: Mountain Fever Records
Producers: Junior Sisk and Aaron Ramsey
“Tell Me the Story of Jesus”
Artist: Becky Buller with Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs
Songwriter: Fanny Crosby, arrangement by Becky Buller
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Producer: Stephen Mougin
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR:
“Contact”
Artist: Michael Cleveland with Cody Kilby, Barry Bales, and Béla Fleck
Songwriter: Michael Cleveland
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
“Foggy Morning Breaking”
Artist: Alison Brown with Steve Martin
Songwriters: Alison Brown/Steve Martin
Label: Compass Records
Producers: Alison Brown and Garry West
“Gold Rush”
Artist: Scott Vestal’s Bluegrass 2022
Songwriter: Bill Monroe
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Scott Vestal
“Kissimmee Kid”
Artist: Jason Carter
Songwriter: Vassar Clements
Label: Fiddle Man Records
Producers: Jason Carter and Brent Truitt
“Scorchin’ the Gravy”
Artist: Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Songwriter: Frank Solivan
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Frank Solivan
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Authentic Unlimited
East Nash Grass
Henhouse Prowlers
The Tennessee Bluegrass Band
Tray Wellington
COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR:
“Alberta Bound”
Artist: Special Consensus with Ray Legere, John Reischman, Tisha Gagnon, Claire Lynch, Pharis & Jason Romero, Patrick Sauber
Songwriter: Gordon Lightfoot
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown
“Big Mon”
Artist: Andy Leftwich with Sierra Hull
Songwriter: Bill Monroe
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Producer: Andy Leftwich
“Foggy Morning Breaking”
Artist: Alison Brown with Steve Martin
Songwriter: Alison Brown/Steve Martin
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown and Garry West
“For Your Love”
Artist: Michael Cleveland with Billy Strings and Jeff White
Songwriter: Joe Ely
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
“From My Mountain (Calling You)”
Artist: Peter Rowan with Molly Tuttle and Lindsay Lou
Songwriter: Peter Rowan
Label: Rebel Records
Producer: Peter Rowan
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Greg Blake
Del McCoury
Danny Paisley
Larry Sparks
Dan Tyminski
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Jaelee Roberts
Molly Tuttle
Rhonda Vincent
BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Kristin Scott Benson
Alison Brown
Béla Fleck
Ned Luberecki
Scott Vestal
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Mike Bub
Todd Phillips
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Vickie Vaughn
FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Deanie Richardson
RESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Matt Leadbetter
Justin Moses
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Chris Eldridge
Trey Hensley
Billy Strings
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle
MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Alan Bibey
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
Photo Credit: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway by Chelsea Rochelle
PREVIEW: IBMA’s World of Bluegrass, This Week in Raleigh
The biggest week in bluegrass has arrived. The International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual business conference and festival begins tomorrow, September 26, and continues through Saturday, September 30, in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s the 10th year the event has been hosted in the music-rich state of North Carolina.
From Tuesday to Thursday, industry professionals, artists, musicians, songwriters, lawyers and more will participate in panels and professional development during Wide Open Bluegrass, the conference portion of the week’s programming. Highlights will include a keynote address by Matt Glaser of Berklee College of Music (Tuesday), the Momentum Awards Luncheon (Wednesday) and Industry Awards Luncheon (Thursday) — plus a BGS-presented panel on podcasts, An Essential Guide To Podcasting (Wednesday), which will be moderated by Keith Billik of Picky Fingers and will feature Basic Folk hosts Cindy Howes and Lizzie No, among others. During the evenings, when conference events have concluded, attendees and fans will enjoy the Bluegrass Ramble, IBMA’s roster of more than thirty showcasing acts and bands at venues peppered throughout downtown Raleigh.
On Thursday evening, it’s the so-called “Bluegrass Prom,” the 34th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, held at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts just steps away from the conference center and host hotel. Hosted by Ketch Secor and Molly Tuttle, the biggest night of the biggest week in bluegrass will see artists and bands like Billy Strings, Sister Sadie, Tray Wellington, Del McCoury Band and many more vie for awards like Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Best New Artist and beyond. The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum will also induct three new members during the ceremony, mandolinist Sam Bush, innovator and stylist David Grisman and the legendary and chart-topping Wilma Lee Cooper.
The awards show marks the week’s transition from conference to festival, as Bluegrass Live! takes over the Red Hat Amphitheater and all of downtown Raleigh on Friday and Saturday. On the main stage, enjoy headliners like Mighty Poplar, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Missy Raines & Allegheny and an all-star banjo collaboration of Tray Wellington, Jake Blount and Kaïa Kater. Vendors, artisans, food trucks and more will line the streets of downtown, where dozens more bands will perform for the second-largest bluegrass festival audience in the world – nearly 200,000 bluegrass and roots music fans will make Raleigh their destination this weekend.
Below, find our short list of events, bands, panels, showcases, presentations and shows not-to-be-missed at IBMA’s World of Bluegrass and Bluegrass Live!
Panels & Conference Events
The World of Bluegrass business conference gets going bright and early tomorrow morning, with a New Attendee Orientation at Raleigh Convention Center room 304 at 9 a.m. Once you have the lay of the land, check out these conference programs and panels throughout the week. Don’t miss your IBMA professional member constituency meeting – they’re held throughout the week for the various constituencies – and don’t miss the exhibit hall, full of vendors, organizations, festivals and more. It opens Wednesday at 1 p.m.
IBMA KEYNOTE ADDRESS & RECEPTION BY MATT GLASER
TUESDAY 4PM – 5:30PM | RCC BALLROOM
Matt Glaser, who served as chair of Berklee College of Music’s String Department for 28 years and has pioneered its American Roots Music Program, will give a “dynamic” presentation for this year’s keynote entitled, Hidden Threads: Bluegrass in the American Musical Tapestry.” Glaser will explore the many styles, genres and formats that influenced and informed the creation of bluegrass – jazz, blues, gospel, old-time and so much more.
SUPERSESSION – WOMEN IN THE BUSINESS OF BLUEGRASS
WEDNESDAY 9AM – 9:50AM | RCC 306
An absolutely star-studded panel will explore how women and femme folks continue to carve out spaces for themselves, professionally, in these roots music communities. Panelists include: Deering Banjos chief executive Jamie Deering, event planner and promoter Claire Armbruster (Planning Stages), the owner/operator of Elderly Instruments, Lillian Werbin, broadcaster and radio host Michelle Lee, BGS contributor and collaborator Brandi Waller-Pace, a non-profit founder, organizer and educator (Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival & Decolonizing the Music Room), Rounder Records co-founder Marian Leighton Levy, Mary Beth Martin of the Earl Scruggs Center and Carly Smith of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.
IBMA MOMENTUM AWARDS LUNCHEON
WEDNESDAY 11AM – 1PM | RCC BALLROOM
Each year during World of Bluegrass the Wednesday luncheon is devoted to awarding up-and-comers in the bluegrass industry, from bands and instrumentalists to industry involved professionals and mentors. You can see the full list of Momentum Awards nominees here. Plus, hear luncheon showcases by a fine selection of Bluegrass Ramble bands.
SUPERSESSION – OH, DIDN’T THEY RAMBLE: THE BLUEGRASS SIDE OF ROUNDER RECORDS
WEDNESDAY 1PM – 1:50PM | RCC 306
BGS contributor and Carolina Calling host David Menconi will release his new book, Oh, Didn’t They Ramble: Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music, next month, so it’s perfect timing for this panel examining the historical significance of this record label. The lineup will feature Rounder founders and IBMA Hall of Fame members Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy and Bill Nowlin along with broadcaster Daniel Mullins and, of course, Menconi himself.
AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PODCASTING
WEDNESDAY 2PM – 2:50PM | RCC 304
We are so excited to convene Keith Billik of Picky Fingers Podcast, Lizzie No and Cindy Howes of Basic Folk, and more BGS team members from our Podcast Network to talk about the essentials of bluegrass and roots music podcasting. If you’re interested in learning about distribution, sponsorships, syndication, editing, production, pre-production and so much more, this conversation is for you.
IBMA INDUSTRY AWARDS LUNCHEON
THURSDAY 11AM – 1PM | RCC BALLROOM
On Thursday, the Industry Awards luncheon will recognize achievements and contributions of the industry’s sound engineers, broadcasters, writers and more. Plus, IBMA will hand out their second-highest honor, the Distinguished Achievement Award, to a small handful of honorees – of which we’re one! BGS is so humbled and honored to be one recipient of this year’s Distinguished Achievement Awards. Watch for a feature on BGS and the award presentation later this week.
Plus, a few more panels and programs starred on our calendar include:
AVOIDING TOKENISM IN TRAD MUSIC
WEDNESDAY 2PM – 2:50PM | RCC 306
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION (DEI) TOWN HALL
WEDNESDAY 4PM – 5PM | RCC 306
IBMA TOWN HALL MEETING
THURSDAY 9AM – 10:30AM | RCC 306
YOUTUBE: FINDING YOUR COMMUNITY, GROWING YOUR AUDIENCE
THURSDAY 1:30PM – 2:20PM | RCC 305
IBMA WOMEN’S COUNCIL MEETING
THURSDAY 4PM – 5PM | RCC 306
THE MAKING OF WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN ALBUM AND ITS IMPACT ON THE WORLD
FRIDAY 1PM – 3PM | RCC 306
BLUEGRASS IS FOR EVERYONE JAM
SATURDAY 12PM – 2PM | RCC MAIN LOBBY
See the full conference schedule on IBMA’s website here.
Bluegrass Ramble
30+ bluegrass, old-time, and roots music bands will showcase throughout downtown Raleigh during IBMA’s World of Bluegrass. These shows are open to both conference attendees and the general public. Find out more about ticketing and admission here.
Not sure where to begin? Here are a few bands worth your attention – and perhaps a hasty jog down Fayetteville Street!
ALEX LEACH
Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and Clinch Mountain Boys alumnus Alex Leach brings a delightful ’60s and ’70s flair to his brand of central Appalachian bluegrass. We recently premiered his latest single, “Summer Haven,” and look forward to catching him live this week during the Bluegrass Ramble.
GOLDEN SHOALS
Golden Shoals are Nashville-based duo Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski, another group we were fortunate enough to recently feature in a video premiere for “Bitter,” a song co-written by Alvey and Rachel Baiman.
RACHEL SUMNER & TRAVELING LIGHT
You may recognize Rachel Sumner from her time in zany, jazz-inflected string band Twisted Pine. She’s since ventured out on her own as a solo artist with her music centered on her New England-influenced songwriting and chambergrass aesthetics – though she originally hails from the Southwest U.S.
SEQUOIA ROSE
“Bluegrass is for everyone,” after all, and we’re so glad to see Sequoia Rose on the official showcase lineup for IBMA! We were first introduced to her jamgrassy music via submission earlier this year and have been itching for a chance to hear it live.
THOMAS CASSELL
Mandolinist, writer and songwriter Thomas Cassell – who, you may know, is a BGS contributor as well – makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, though he was raised in the bluegrass-steeped mountains of Southwestern Virginia. His brand of bluegrass is all at once timeless and forward looking with its keystone being his honeyed voice, like a youthful Dan Tyminski with a dash of Russell Moore.
VIOLET BELL
North Carolina string duo Violet Bell are both ethereal and grounded. Their latest album, Shapeshifter, is a stunning conceptual work that is never burdened by the nuanced stories it tells. (Read our feature on the record here.) Omar Ruiz-Lopez and Lizzy Ross subtly and deftly complicate the roots music forms that infuse their music. A must-see at IBMA.
WYATT ELLIS
Our readers, followers and fans can’t get enough of mandolin prodigy Wyatt Ellis, who gracefully and virtuosically continues the now generations-old tradition of fleet-fingered youngsters shredding the mando. Like Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Chris Thile, Sierra Hull and many more before him, Wyatt enjoys cross-generational collaboration and has his sights set on a lifelong career in this music. Catch him showcasing at IBMA and tell folks thirty years from now you “saw him when.”
Keep in mind, this is merely the tip of the bluegrass iceberg for this week in Raleigh. There’s the entire lineup of the street fest plus the lineup of Bluegrass Live!’s mainstage, the Red Hat Amphitheater, to explore, too. In short, there’s nowhere else to be this week than Raleigh, North Carolina for IBMA’s World of Bluegrass conference and festival.
Graphics courtesy of IBMA
BGS Receives IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award
The International Bluegrass Music Association announced the nominees and recipients of their 34th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards today at the SiriusXM headquarters in downtown Nashville. Hosted by Bluegrass Junction DJs Joey Black and Ned Luberecki and featuring performances by nominee Lonesome River Band and brand-new Hall of Fame inductee Sam Bush, the ceremony also included announcements of this year’s IBMA Distinguished Achievement Awards, the second highest honor the organization gives out.
Italian bluegrass forebears Red Wine, banjo player and “Duke of Drive” Terry Baucom, promoter and festival organizer Carl Goldstein, and author and picker Tom Ewing were among this year’s Distinguished Achievement Recipients. Rounding out the field in the Industry category is BGS – The Bluegrass Situation – the world’s foremost online community for bluegrass and roots music.
“Of course, what we do is never driven by a need for accolades,” says BGS co-founder and executive director Amy Reitnouer Jacobs. “However, to be recognized by our peers and community is a humbling honor nonetheless.”
In 2022 BGS celebrated its tenth year of operation, marking the milestone with special anniversary content, articles, shows, and activations throughout the year. What began as a blog for bluegrass fans in Los Angeles – co-founded by actor and musician Ed Helms and Reitnouer Jacobs, who would quickly become a power player in the music industry – has since grown into a national and international community, with hundreds of thousands of followers across platforms and around the world.
“We are so honored and humbled by this recognition,” says BGS managing editor Justin Hiltner. “Bluegrass is all about community, and to have our community – the genre that built us – recognize our efforts in this way means the world. What Ed and Amy have created and brought all of us into is something truly special. Thank you to IBMA, the organization and its membership, for this award.”
BGS has produced and presented stages and concerts at some of the world’s premier events, festivals, and venues, including Bonnaroo, UK’s Long Road Festival, Bourbon & Beyond, MerleFest, Stagecoach, the Theatre at the Ace Hotel in downtown LA, the Irish Arts Center in NYC, and IBMA’s World of Bluegrass. In 2020, their online series Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, hosted by Helms, raised tens of thousands of dollars for frontline healthcare workers and personal protective equipment and, in 2016, BGS founded Shout & Shine, bluegrass’s first ever showcase celebrating diversity, inclusion, and representation in bluegrass, which ran for five years and became a column and video series.
During the presentation of the Distinguished Achievement recipients, IBMA had this to say about the outlet and media company:
The Bluegrass Situation, or more simply “BGS” or “The Sitch” has arguably been the preeminent online media source for bluegrass and roots music for the last ten years. Founded by Ed Helms and Amy Reitnouer Jacobs, The Bluegrass Situation has quickly grown into a national and international home for millions of readers to discover new artists and material, both traditional and progressive, read in-depth interviews and feature articles, and learn the history of bluegrass music. BGS has also been an important event promoter and sponsor in LA and around the country at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bourbon & Beyond, and IBMA World of Bluegrass. Members of the BGS team have also been impactful participants in helping the industry, including numerous IBMA education panels and the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show.
The Distinguished Achievement Awards will be presented during a luncheon ceremony as part of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass conference in Raleigh, North Carolina ahead of the International Bluegrass Music Awards show on Thursday, September 28. Tickets for the conference and awards show are on sale now.
BGS is so grateful, honored, and humbled by this recognition handed out by our peers, colleagues, and community. While the musical and editorial scope of BGS has always been broader than just bluegrass, it’s this genre that built us – and it’s the people in this community who we have to thank for all of our successes.
Stay tuned for more announcements to come regarding BGS’s involvement and activities at this year’s IBMA World of Bluegrass conference.
(Editor’s Note: See the full list of this year’s IBMA Awards nominees and recipients here.)
Graphic courtesy of IBMA
IBMA Announces 34th Annual Awards Nominees and Recipients
The International Bluegrass Music Association announced this year’s nominees and recipients for the 34th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards today in downtown Nashville at SiriusXM’s Music City Theater. The announcement ceremony included live performances by nominees the Lonesome River Band and Sam Bush, who will be inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at the IBMA Awards show in Raleigh, North Carolina, this September.
Additional inductees into the Hall of Fame, which is housed at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, include first-generation bluegrasser and country chart-topper Wilma Lee Cooper and an innovator and virtuoso who has expanded the borders of bluegrass and acoustic music throughout his career, David Grisman.
Recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Awards – IBMA’s highest honor outside of Hall of Fame induction – were also announced, highlighting the significant contributions of artists, musicians, and organizations such as Red Wine (Italy’s foremost bluegrass group), banjo player and band leader Terry Baucom, author and musician Tom Ewing, promoter and organizer Carl Goldstein, and media outlet and online hub BGS, The Bluegrass Situation.
“We are so honored and humbled by this recognition,” says BGS managing editor Justin Hiltner. “Bluegrass is all about community, and to have our community – the genre that built us – recognize our efforts in this way means the world. What Ed [Helms] and Amy [Reitnouer Jacobs] have created and brought all of us into is something truly special. Thank you to IBMA, the organization and its membership, for this award.” (Read more here.)
In the Instrumentalist, Recordings, and Artists’ categories, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Billy Strings (and his father, Terry Barber), Michael Cleveland, Del McCoury Band, and Sam Bush Band lead the nominations. View the full list below and make plans now to attend the IBMA Awards Show in Raleigh, North Carolina, as part of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass conference on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR:
Appalachian Road Show
Billy Strings
Del McCoury Band
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Authentic Unlimited
Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Del McCoury Band
Sister Sadie
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Billy Strings
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
The Infamous Stringdusters
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
The Travelin’ McCourys
SONG OF THE YEAR:
“Blue Ridge Mountain Baby”
Artist: Appalachian Road Show
Songwriters: Barry Abernathy/Jim VanCleve
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Appalachian Road Show
“Crooked Tree”
Artist: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Songwriters: Molly Tuttle/Melody Walker
Label: Nonesuch Records
Producers: Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle
“Diane”
Artist: Sister Sadie
Songwriters: Jeffrey Nath Bhasker/Samuel Tyler Johnson/Cameron Marvel Ochs
Label: Mountain Home
Producer: Sister Sadie
“Heyday”
Artist: Lonesome River Band
Songwriters: Barry Huchens/Will Huchens
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Producer: Lonesome River Band
“Power of Love”
Artist: Rick Faris
Songwriters: Johnny Colla/Huey Lewis/Christopher Hayes
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Producer: Stephen Mougin
ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Crooked Tree
Artist: Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Label: Nonesuch Records
Producer: Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle
Lovin’ of the Game
Artist: Michael Cleveland
Label: Compass Records
Producers: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
Lowdown Hoedown
Artist: Jason Carter
Label: Fiddle Man Records
Producers: Jason Carter and Brent Truitt
Me/And/Dad
Artist: Billy Strings and Terry Barber
Label: Rounder Records
Producers: Billy Strings and Gary Paczosa
Radio John: The Songs of John Hartford
Artist: Sam Bush
Label: Smithsonian Folkways
Producer: Sam Bush
GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR:
“The Glory Road”
Artist: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
Songwriters: Paul Martin/Harry Stinson/Marty Stuart
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producers: Joe Mullins and Adam McIntosh
“Jordan”
Artist: Darin & Brooke Aldridge with Ricky Skaggs, Mo Pitney and Mark Fain
Songwriter: Fred Rich
Label: Billy Blue Records
Producer: Darin Aldridge and Mark Fain
“The Scarlet Red Lines”
Artist: Larry Sparks
Songwriter: Daniel Crabtree
Label: Rebel Records
Producer: Larry Sparks
“Take a Little Time for Jesus”
Artist: Junior Sisk
Songwriter: David Marshall
Label: Mountain Fever Records
Producers: Junior Sisk and Aaron Ramsey
“Tell Me the Story of Jesus”
Artist: Becky Buller with Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs
Songwriter: Fanny Crosby, arrangement by Becky Buller
Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Producer: Stephen Mougin
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR:
“Contact”
Artist: Michael Cleveland with Cody Kilby, Barry Bales, and Béla Fleck
Songwriter: Michael Cleveland
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
“Foggy Morning Breaking”
Artist: Alison Brown with Steve Martin
Songwriters: Alison Brown/Steve Martin
Label: Compass Records
Producers: Alison Brown and Garry West
“Gold Rush”
Artist: Scott Vestal’s Bluegrass 2022
Songwriter: Bill Monroe
Label: Pinecastle Records
Producer: Scott Vestal
“Kissimmee Kid”
Artist: Jason Carter
Songwriter: Vassar Clements
Label: Fiddle Man Records
Producers: Jason Carter and Brent Truitt
“Scorchin’ the Gravy”
Artist: Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Songwriter: Frank Solivan
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Frank Solivan
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Authentic Unlimited
East Nash Grass
Henhouse Prowlers
The Tennessee Bluegrass Band
Tray Wellington
COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR:
“Alberta Bound”
Artist: Special Consensus with Ray Legere, John Reischman, Tisha Gagnon, Claire Lynch, Pharis & Jason Romero, Patrick Sauber
Songwriter: Gordon Lightfoot
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown
“Big Mon”
Artist: Andy Leftwich with Sierra Hull
Songwriter: Bill Monroe
Label: Mountain Home Music Company
Producer: Andy Leftwich
“Foggy Morning Breaking”
Artist: Alison Brown with Steve Martin
Songwriter: Alison Brown/Steve Martin
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Alison Brown and Garry West
“For Your Love”
Artist: Michael Cleveland with Billy Strings and Jeff White
Songwriter: Joe Ely
Label: Compass Records
Producer: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
“From My Mountain (Calling You)”
Artist: Peter Rowan with Molly Tuttle and Lindsay Lou
Songwriter: Peter Rowan
Label: Rebel Records
Producer: Peter Rowan
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Greg Blake
Del McCoury
Danny Paisley
Larry Sparks
Dan Tyminski
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Jaelee Roberts
Molly Tuttle
Rhonda Vincent
BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Kristin Scott Benson
Alison Brown
Béla Fleck
Ned Luberecki
Scott Vestal
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Mike Bub
Todd Phillips
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Vickie Vaughn
FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Deanie Richardson
RESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Matt Leadbetter
Justin Moses
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Chris Eldridge
Trey Hensley
Billy Strings
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle
MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Alan Bibey
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Terry Baucom
The Bluegrass Situation
Tom Ewing
Carl Goldstein
Red Wine
BLUEGRASS MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:
Sam Bush
Wilma Lee Cooper
David Grisman
Photo of Sam Bush by Jeff Fasano; photo of Molly Tuttle by Samantha Muljat.
LISTEN: Grizzly Goat, “Raleigh, NC”
Artist: Grizzly Goat
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Song: “Raleigh, NC”
Release Date: December 14, 2022
In Their Words: “On the eve of moving to Raleigh, North Carolina, I received some terrible news about the future of this band, Grizzly Goat. It was the type of blow that nearly ended the band right then and there, a real gut punch. The next morning in a fog of disappointment and heartbreak, I wrote this strangely upbeat song. Who knows why it came out that way. Fortunately, the band overcame and out of this harrowing close call, we had our next single! Grizzly Goat has been together in some form since 2013, when we were in our early 20s. We’ve all had so many path altering experiences over the last decade; college, marriages, birth and loss, cross-country moves. Our unwavering passion for creating music together hasn’t come without its challenges and sometimes navigating the turbulence is fatiguing. Though this song has an upbeat vibe, I wrote it in response to feeling that weight.” — Nate Waggoner, Grizzly Goat
Photo Credit: Mike Mather
The Show On The Road – American Aquarium
This week, we’re back for the fall season with the first face-to-face taping in nearly two years. I was able to catch up with the fearless deep-voiced frontman BJ Barham of North Carolina roots-rock favorites American Aquarium, in the front bar of The Troubadour in LA as his tour was passing through.
As a new dad myself who just experienced my wife going through a terrifying birth, BJ’s songs hit me a little harder these days. I can’t think of a country artist today with as big a following from North Carolina to Texas who would center the title track of his record around the unspoken tragedy of a late miscarriage, but Barham pulls it off with a remarkable sensitivity. Like Isbell, Barham notes that his career really began when he got sober and could finally examine the dark corners of his history, his relationships and the fractured history of the South he grew up in.
Though hard to say, naming a record about working through deep loss Chicamacomico makes all the sense in the world. It’s a real place of course, a life-saving station built in 1874 on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and a beach area where BJ and his wife tried to go to blow off steam and forget their sorrows. Now a proud dad to a little daughter (see the cheerful country banger “Little Things”) Barham has learned that in the end, being a father and husband first doesn’t make him less of a hard-working, deep-thinking artist. In fact, it’s finding that balance that has allowed him to write the most powerful songs of his career.
BGS Top 50 Moments: Shout & Shine
It was late 2016 when the world first learned of North Carolina’s HB2 – the “bathroom bill” – prohibiting trans folk from using bathrooms and locker rooms that aligned with their gender identity. The International Bluegrass Music Association was having its conference in Raleigh that autumn, and we at BGS were feeling restless about wanting to do something at the conference to create a safe space for marginalized artists who were already not feeling welcome at the annual event. And thus the first ever Shout & Shine was conceived and held at the Pour House in Raleigh on September 27, 2016.
In the years since its inception, Shout & Shine has taken on multiple forms – from a one-night showcase, to a day-long stage, to an ongoing editorial column and video series on the BGS homepage, Shout & Shine continues to create a dedicated space for diverse and underrepresented talent in the roots music world.
You can read about the first Shout & Shine event from 2016 here and more Shout & Shine video sessions and features here.