I was fortunate to grow up in a time and place where some of the first generation of bluegrass artists were still out performing – and that is my heart. To see these guys on stage made me want to dive in the music more and learn all I could from the people that helped create it. Bobby Osborne is part of the reason I play bluegrass music for a living. I wanted to be like him. He’s also one of the reasons I still play music for a living. At one time, I was gonna give it all up – several times actually – but Bobby’s love for the genre 70-plus years after he started was encouraging. He also believed in me and I can never thank him enough for that.
I met Bobby for the first time in 2004 and got a picture with him (that is included in the new album’s liner notes). The kid in that picture would have never guessed what the next 20 years would hold for him.
Touring with Karl Shiflett’s Big Country Show and then The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, I was around Bobby a lot on the circuit and always made time to visit him. I later joined him for a few months at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music in Hyden, Kentucky, where I took lessons from him. From there, we somehow became buddies. I started visiting him at home and stayed in constant communication with him.
The new album on Turnberry Records, Keep On Keepin’ On, is a reflection of our friendship. It started as a project with Bobby, then was shelved for quite a while. I couldn’t bear to hear his voice on this record after his passing in June 2023. Then, with a little help from friends and Bobby’s spirit, the project became one that was for Bobby. The original idea was awesome, but what it has bloomed to be with all these amazing guests to help me out– I would have never imagined. I hope folks enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it, and Long Live Bobby Van Osborne! – C.J. Lewandowski
March 17, 1973 was an extremely historic moment for bluegrass music. In this video you are viewing the very first time that bluegrass was played in The White House with the most iconic bluegrass song of all time, “Rocky Top.” Bobby was so proud of this moment and spoke of it often. You can see the joy in his face.
This features a 1970s Gibson mandolin that he later traded for a 1924 Gibson F-5. It was plugged right into an amp, which was also a historical moment for bluegrass. Bobby gave me the strap he is wearing in this video and it now resides in the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky.
The Osborne Brothers were all over network television for decades and this is an example of such with “Ruby.” Even in his 40s, Bobby is stretching his boundaries. The instruments are tuned up 1/2 step, playing a E flat in D position. These are suits that were made by all the wives of the band members, as well.
“Rosie Bokay” is probably my favorite song on the new album. Paul Brewster sings the album cut and is also featured on the guitar in this video. Bobby heard Lincoln Hensley kick this off in the studio, just toying around, and he immediately said, “Let’s do that.” So we did! What Bobby wanted, Bobby got. He sang a scratch vocal, but was never able to get back in the studio.I think Bobby would be very proud of Paul’s vocals on the song.
The look in Bobby’s eyes was incredible in this video. I have a feeling he was proving a point to someone for some reason. Could it have been the divorce he was going through? Could it be the heart surgery that was near to this video taping? Who knows. I just know that Bobby was singing his ass off and I love it!
This has nothing to do with Bobby’s music, but I feel like this needs to be recognized. This is an hour-long interview pertaining to his time in the Korean War. A huge part of Bobby’s life. It may be a long video, but if you want to learn about Bobby Van Osborne, this is mandatory.
He was truly an incredible force of a human being in every aspect. Thank you for your service, Bobby.
This is live at Bean Blossom in 2009 featuring a song from Bobby’s solo career that he recorded on Rounder Records. Bobby talked about cutting this song again on the newest project, but we didn’t get to it. What a great message, right? Bobby’s compassion for people was always present.
Bobby did a YouTube series of him playing his favorites. Here is an example of Bobby playing his own piece, “7th of December.” Mind you, he was in his late 80s and could still play great. This is one of the actual tunes of his own that he taught me while visiting him at his house.
Twin banjos, steel guitar, the Grand Ole Opry, the best singing – can’t ask for anything else.
Bobby worked for several months with The Stanley Brothers before being shipped off to basic training and planned to return to work with them when he came back home. He had no idea his brother was working with Bill Monroe.
This video was filmed at the most important place to Bobby, the Grand Ole Opry. The twin banjos of Sonny and Bobby’s son, Wynn, are just amazing, This song is also featured on the new project. Bobby singing it at 91 years old is a different kind of hurt.
Photo Credit: C.J. Lewandowski (left) and Bobby Osborne (right) by Jeff Daugherty.
“Bluegrass music is a truly American artform. It reflects the culture and the time in which it’s created, and as with many traditional artforms, a preservationist stance is held on a pedestal. Bluegrass music’s history is very gendered, and when this happens, the music can’t reach its full potential.”
My teacher Laura Orshaw told me this.
There has been no shortage of amazing women bluegrass musicians to come out of the roots department at Berklee College of Music. Gillian Welch, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and on and on. I’m going into my senior year at Berklee this fall as a mandolin principle, and one of the reasons I went to Berklee was how inspired I was by these women and their music.
Towards the end of my sophomore year, my friend Katelynn Casper – a brilliant bluegrass fiddler – came up with an idea. She wanted to start a bluegrass ensemble of all women and non-binary folks. Katelynn approached Matt Glaser, the artistic director of the American Roots Music Program, about helping us create a class in which we would study and perform in a group. Excited by the prospect, he brought in Laura Orshaw (the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys) to be our mentor. In the past few years, there had been a strong influx of women who came to Berklee and wanted to play roots music, so it didn’t take us long to find people who wanted to join the project.
The ensemble started in October of 2023 with about 12 members, enough for us to break into two ensembles. I got to be in both groups, in one as mandolinist and the other as bassist. Our focus between both groups was to play music mostly written by women who we looked up to and were maybe overlooked.
Through the course of our year together, we moved through a catalog of songs and tunes written by our heroes and then delved into original material. We wrote songs and tunes together and on our own and fleshed them out as a band. It was an empowering experience to be a part of and it was beautiful to watch my friends explore a new kind of confidence in their music.
This past April, the American Roots Music Program sent all of us down to Washington, D.C. In June of 2022, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage opened up an exhibit entitled Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change. Laura had caught wind of the exhibit and wanted us to visit, so we could witness its content and impact. The exhibit explored many women who were significantly overlooked in music, but yet the world would have been drastically different had their music not been a part of it.
We heard and read stories of when Loretta Lynn put out “The Pill” and how much of an uproar it caused; stories of how Elizabeth Cotten had to put her music on hold to raise her children and didn’t come back to it until she was in her 60s, putting out “Freight Train” and “Oh Babe It Ain’t No Lie” and still was not given much credit.
Walking through the exhibit, I couldn’t help but think about all the different musical influences I have and how so many of those influences were inspired by these women, but how that was never really talked about.
On the same trip, we also got the privilege of going to Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and learning about some of the history of their record label and how it came to be. When we were checking it out, both ensemble bands did a little recording in the archives to commemorate the trip. Playing our originals and covers written by powerful women was an incredible experience. We were surrounded by original recordings and records that made bluegrass and old-time what it is now and some of the music that brought each of us to the genres to begin with.
While we were down in D.C., we also got the chance to hang out with Kimber Ludiker (fiddle) and Avril Smith (guitar), two members of Della Mae. In both groups, the inspiration from Della Mae was so apparent – we all learned many of their songs. Getting to stand up and play their songs with them was a mind-blowing experience.
Taking part in this project has been such an inspiring experience. As a kid who grew up in the bluegrass and old-time world, there weren’t always a lot of women to play music with, so to get the opportunity to dedicate time each week to just sit down with a group of deeply passionate women and non-binary folks who are also such remarkable roots musicians was an indescribably moving experience.
A common conversation amongst us during that time was how freeing and comfortable it felt to play music in a setting like this. Whether or not you think about it, music as a whole is an intensely male dominated world – and bluegrass isn’t any different.
“Here’s a question that crossed our minds every week,” Laura said. “‘What would bluegrass be like without patriarchy or bias?’ The answer comes through music, not essays, and this project certainly chipped away at our goal.”
Being in this ensemble, I learned a lot about myself. Being surrounded by a community of women and non-binary folks playing music taught me a lot about my confidence as both a person and a musician. Being in that environment gave me an amazing place to explore.
“When Matt [Glaser] asked me to be the curator of this project, I couldn’t have guessed how impactful and enlightening it would be for me. Working in an all-women and non-binary band filled a void for all of us – creatively, academically, and socially,” Laura continued. “Students shared experiences of the not-so-glamorous parts of working in a male-dominated field. They studied the music and songs of their heroes, who sometimes got overlooked in other classes and ensembles. They wrote songs, arranged music, and tried on different leadership roles in the band.
“But most of all, they encouraged and inspired each other to be better musicians. The mutual dedication and enthusiasm were palpable in every rehearsal.”
It’s been an experience of a lifetime to learn the music I love with a group of women who want to push the boundaries of the genre. To sit with a group of people who understand the intricacies of being a woman or gender non-confirming person playing bluegrass – or even music in general – was a very comforting experience. We all grew so much as people and musicians.
Photos courtesy of Emma Turoff. Lead image: Ensemble, No Man’s Land. Inset image: Ensemble, Ain’t That Just Like A Man.
Over the past decade, The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have established themselves as a modern voice in traditional bluegrass. They are equal parts researchers, archivists, and artists, continually reframing what it means to be “traditional” – with a particular focus on the ways that bluegrass and roots music have always been progressive and boundary breaking.
For BGS, I spoke via video call to mandolinist CJ Lewandowski and fiddler Laura Orshaw around the release of their new album, Wanderers Like Me. We talked about their unique approach and mission for the group, we covered a lot of ground, and I left the conversation feeling inspired to put more thought behind my own mission in music making.
I see that you are coming up on 10 years as a band. Many years ago I had the pleasure of writing a bio for The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, and I’d love to know a bit about the way the band has developed and changed over the years?
CJ Lewandowski: I think we are all ten years older than when we started, for one, and that’s a lot. It started as four guys working at a distillery, you know, working a day job. … There was no traveling, no planning, no pushing to be something. And it naturally progressed. There were videos coming out and promoters started calling and asking us to come out and play.
A lot of people plan for stuff, and they push and push, and everything we’ve been involved with before this band was like that, plowing through clay. You push and you push and never get anywhere. Then this band just happened. We didn’t think we’d be traveling in a bus and going all over the world, but here we are!
Laura Orshaw: The coolest thing for me is seeing the material and the message of the band start to come together. Everybody is really interested in super regional groups from around where they grew up, or maybe just bands they got interested in, so the members have interesting and diverse listening palates.
For several years, the band was doing a lot of covers that people hadn’t heard before, drawing on that research. Then, for the past five years, we’ve been doing a majority of original material and I think that the conversations that it brings up within the band are new … like, “How did you come up with this?”
For example, a lot of the more recent songs are about traveling. … For me, I spin that from the women’s perspective, a lot of them are about mom or a woman waiting back home and I like to think about, “What if a woman sings this song?” I think a lot about those classic themes but making sure they’re relevant to the modern days.
You’re one of the few bands that has never changed their commitment to traditional bluegrass over the years. Tell me about that interest in maintaining your style and how to you resist the temptation to move in more commercial directions?
CL: We had a manager at one point and we were talking about different material we could cover, and I said, “I don’t know if that’s gonna fit us…” And he said, “Well whatever you play, you’re gonna play it the way you play, so it’s gonna sound like you.” I think about that a lot, because I think he’s right.
I try to stray from the word “traditional” and think more about “authentic.” It’s just the way we play, and the way we learned to play from the mentors in our home regions. Anything we do is going to sound like that. We just play and sing true to ourselves, it’s not a plan or an act, we kind of let it go with the flow
There has been pressure sometimes– maybe the band should push this way or that way, but all in all, it’s like, “Well, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it…” We are all just true to the way we play
LO: What CJ said, “whatever you do is gonna sound like you” – with the current album coming out, it’s the first time we’ve had a really heavily involved producer, Woody Platt (formerly of the Steep Canyon Rangers), working with us from pre- to post-production. I think five people are going to have their own opinion about every suggestion that comes up, but because of Woody we did try a lot of things that I don’t think we would have individually gone for. And after we all did them, we usually liked them.
CL: Woody had our sound in mind, and he said, “The main thing is, I want you guys to be you.” We spread our wings, we got a little more vulnerable. There’s a natural progression to all of this and this record is a great next step.
LO: It was just really refreshing to work with a producer and have that level of focus and excitement, having that external voice that studied and focused is huge.
Since the time I wrote your bio, Laura has formally joined the band, tell me about what she’s added to the group and how that came about? I think it’s such a magical fit, and really rounds out the sound of the band.
CL: Her first show with us was in December 2017 at the Station Inn and after that she did some sporadic shows with us and played on our next couple records. In January 2020, she joined full time and she has officially been with us for four/four and a half years now. We tried a lot of different fiddle players on the road and nothing fit quite like what she had on the table; the attitude, the drive, and the musicianship
I’m a huge fan of triple-stacked harmonies, like Jimmy Martin and Osborne Brothers, so she brought a completely different vocal opportunity to the group. There was us three guys, and we could do some three-part harmonies, but with her we could move to different keys and had a lot more flexibility. … And of course, her fiddle playing is sassy and full of energy.
A lot of people ask about the name, The Po’ Ramblin “Boys,” but there’s a tradition of that in bluegrass, with Bessie Lee playing with The Blue Grass Boys, and Gloria Belle with The Sunny Mountain Boys. I like playing into that. But it’s also the band saying, “Hey we aren’t limiting.” Like, whoever can cut the gig, we love you! We’re very open and try to be as inclusive as possible. There are a lot of demographics in the group and she just added another one. …
Bluegrass Unlimited dubbed us as being “progressively traditional,” and it’s true in that everything that is traditional now, once was progressive. I don’t try to stand on a soapbox, and it took me a long time to figure it out, but I’m a queer artist, and I didn’t have anyone to go to when I was figuring that out and I didn’t feel I had a place. So, a lot of the stuff we do today has an open mind to it. [I’m included in] an exhibit in American Currents at the Country Music Hall of Fame and I put a rainbow guitar strap in there just to say, “Hey we’re out here, and holler at me if you need something.” Because I didn’t have anyone to look up to in that way.
Can you tell me a little bit about the album art for this new record, Wanderers Like Me?
CL: The cover photo is a painting of a cowboy. It plays into the title and many of the songs on the record and goes back to the story of wandering all over the country. But that piece of art was painted by our bass player Jasper’s great-grandfather, who was a North Dakota scene painter born in 1900 who painted all the way until his passing. His artwork is in governors’ mansions, he was a very prominent artist and to include something like that for our album art is also another way of honoring tradition.
LO: The way I see bluegrass, it’s a truly American art form. just like painting scenes, it reflects the culture and the time that it was painted in. In a lot of traditional art forms, there’s a kind of preservationist stance, but I think as a band we don’t like to have that mindset as a way to hold up barriers, or to say we don’t like modern or progressive music. A lot of what is told about American and bluegrass history is through a very particular lens; it’s very easy to see a fuller picture when you start digging. We travel and meet a lot of people, we live in modern society, we all have a lot broader perspectives than the people creating music years ago. So, we just see this mindset as a way to make the music reach its full potential. Preserve and broaden it by being aware of what’s going on around us, thinking about language and thinking about American art forms.
CJ: “Being you” is it’s own art form as well… There’s a lot to just making sure that you’re being yourself.
The people that we learned from, it’s amazing to learn at the knee or the foot of these incredible people, but it’s not a boundary. It’s something that you take and grow from and learn from. Not everyone is perfect or mindful… I learned good and bad from some of these folks. You learn what to do and sometimes you learn what not to do. You take it from spades and grow from that. We want to honor people, but also make this a better realm for everyone. Just because you play traditional music doesn’t mean you have to have a traditional mindset.
I think the fact that this record is coming out on Smithsonian Folkways says a lot about the timeless nature of the music you are creating. What do you hope that folks will get from your music now and also in the future?
LO: I think that one of the most neat things is knowing [Smithsonian’s] mandate around preserving music, knowing that everything that they have and archive will be there for ever. It will always be available.
CL: there’s a lot of good material out there that’s been overlooked. I call listening through it “digging for gems.” As an artist, I hope that one day when we’re gone… someone might find our music like that. I don’t have any kids, so I really think about how my music might be left behind for the next generation. With Smithsonian, we could be dead and gone and someone’s great-grandniece could ask for a copy of our record from the label and even if it’s out of print, they will print one copy and send it to them.
You have a lot of songs about the hardships and joys of travel and touring, do you guys see yourself touring for another 10 years?
CL: There’s a lot of different factors, I think we’d all like to go as long as we can, but within this 10 years we have fiancés, marriages, children, people living in different states. In 2018, when we got Emerging Artist of the Year [award] at IBMA, I looked at everybody and I said, “OK, if you want out, get out now.” And we all put our hands in and said, “We got this.” We all got together about how if one of us going leave, then we’d all let it go.
We never really felt like there was a place for us for a long long time, so when we found success we felt like, “Wow, we did this together…” I think the future is bright, especially with this new album.
Artist:Jim Lauderdale and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys Song: “Drop the Hammer Down” Album:The Long and Lonesome Letting Go Release Date: September 15, 2023 Label: Sky Crunch
In Their Words: “The first place I heard The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys and got to sit in with them was at MerleFest a few years back. Now we have come full circle with an album together and a song that Josh Rinkel and I wrote called ‘Drop the Hammer Down.’ Here is the first time we performed it, last spring at MerleFest.” – Jim Lauderdale
Photo Credit: Jim Lauderdale by Scott Simontacchi; the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys by Amy Richmond.
With a strong blue-collar approach to their craft, the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have been running full throttle ever since forming in 2014 as the house band at Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Bandleader and mandolin player C.J. Lewandoski says the group embraced the opportunity of “paid practice,” much like J.D. Crowe & The New South did at Lexington, Kentucky’s Red Slipper Lounge in the 1970s. The distillery shows offered traditional bluegrass covers, deep cuts from artists they’re influenced by, and requests mixed in with originals — a heavy mix that always kept their listeners (and often themselves) on their toes.
That same musical direction has been revived on the band’s second album, Never Slow Down, released by Smithsonian Folkways. The new collection sees the now-quintet tackle songs from their musical mentors like the Stanley Brothers, Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, George Jones, and Jim Lauderdale, along with originals penned by guitarist Josh Rinkel.
In the case of “Ramblin’ Woman,” the cover not only honors Dickens and Gerrard but also acts as the official introduction of fiddler Laura Orshaw to the group, who handles lead vocals on the song. Calling in from their homes in East Tennessee and Boston, Lewandowski and Orshaw spoke with The Bluegrass Situation about how they complement each other musically, how they’re educating and keeping the bluegrass tradition alive, and how Lewandowski came to own Jimmy Martin’s pickup truck.
BGS: C.J., what do you feel like Laura has brought to the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. And Laura, what do you think the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have done to push you musically?
Lewandowski: We started as a core of four guys and weren’t even looking to add a fifth piece. At the same time we knew that if we ever did expand it would be with a fiddle. We didn’t want someone coming in that didn’t gel with our musical family. Over time we began bringing different fiddlers with us whenever we had extra money or if the promoters wanted one, but it never fully clicked with the band until Laura came along. She’s helped elevate our sound to a completely different level, one we didn’t even know we needed. She brings so much light to the stage and is very helpful with managerial stuff and structuring harmonies. Even without her fiddle she brings so much to the group with her harmonies. Laura, Jereme [Brown] and I could sing a song; she could lead a song on her own; or I could sing low while Jereme sings middle and she covers a high baritone. Her presence has added so many twists and turns to our music that has helped breathe new life into the songs.
Orshaw: The first time I saw the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys I was intrigued by their energy and all of the interaction between band members on stage. And like CJ said, with four out of five members having the ability to sing lead vocals, the possibilities are endless with what you can do. Everyone has their own unique style and influences that only give more personality to the songs. At the same time, whenever we join forces on harmonies, our voices all blend together seamlessly. Growing up in Pennsylvania it was always difficult finding younger people to play bluegrass music with who were doing their own thing and not just redoing what Flatt & Scruggs or The Stanley Brothers did. That’s what I love about the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys. They very much honor the tradition of bluegrass while at the same time carving their own path in the genre.
Going off that, what are your thoughts on using your music to carry on the bluegrass legacy, helping to keep the tradition alive?
Lewandowski: We’ve always carried that tradition of bluegrass with us. We love how we were raised, the people who have invested in us and the history of the music and will always carry them with us. At the same time, it’s important to us to leave our own mark on the music as well. For instance, with some of the songs Josh wrote it wouldn’t be far-fetched to question if they were written 50 years ago or yesterday. Other songs like “Ramblin’ Woman” act as both an introduction of Laura as a band member and us paying homage to Miss Hazel Dickens.
On “Woke Up With Tears In My Eyes” I’m paying tribute to Damon Black, a farmer turned songwriter from near my hometown in Missouri. In a similar fashion, “The Blues Are Close at Hand” honors Jereme’s dad, Tommy Brown & The County Line Grass. Not everyone is as in-depth on this music as we are, though, which makes it fun when they get one of our CDs and turn it on to play. The song is all new to them, and our hope is that listeners will fall in love with these songs and dive down the rabbit holes of the discographies of the artists who originally wrote them.
It sounds like your mission of preserving the bluegrass tradition led to a perfect marriage between the band and Smithsonian Folkways. How did that partnership come about?
Lewandowski: Smithsonian Folkways has been doing just that, preserving the tradition of bluegrass and American roots music, since 1946. Back then they were traveling the backroads of America, knocking on people’s doors and capturing the music of the country. Much like it was back then, it was them that approached us about partnering. I met John Smith, associate director of Smithsonian Folkways, at Leadership Bluegrass during the IBMA conference in 2017. We didn’t talk much then, but a few months later we were playing Pickathon in Oregon and he approached us there. I remember him asking how things were going with Rounder Records, our label at the time, before saying that Smithsonian would be interested in working with us at some point.
I held on to that invitation for a while. Not long after we decided to take the leap with them. It’s a natural fit for us because John was a fan of the band before we were ever working together. He believed in our music, what we wanted to do and how we were doing it. We shared the mission of historical preservation while also continuing to make our own music in a living, breathing kind of way. As musicians, our hope is that whenever labels come to an end, their assets are donated for preservation purposes to Smithsonian Folkways to keep the history alive, and our partnering with them puts us at the head of it.
Orshaw: When the first generation of bluegrass musicians like Bill Monroe and The Stanley Brothers were making their music for the first time, they weren’t creating it with the mindset of having it sound 50 years old. They were just making something that was exciting and relevant to them and based on their experiences and influences this sound turned into what we call traditional bluegrass. Our influences are just that. We’re not trying to sound like our music is half a century old, but we are trying to think about their spirit of creativity. In their time they were creating something that had never been done before. We’re just trying to keep that same pioneering spirit alive, which has been a challenge, but a fun one to navigate.
I know that another way you’re helping to preserve the bluegrass tradition is by showing off Jimmy Martin’s old pick-up truck during your journeys. How’d you go about getting that piece of history?
Lewandowski: It’s a living piece of history. I still drive it around all the time. People are always intrigued by it, and many of them don’t know who Jimmy Martin was. I’m always happy to tell people about him and stories about the truck. Even people who are familiar with Jimmy love it. In many ways it helps to open the floodgates for people to get into his music for the first time, or the hundredth time.
I got the truck from a friend of mine who was close with Jimmy. He had a Ford pick-up that Jimmy liked so the two traded trucks. He went and got the whole thing restored except for the interior that still has a busted window crank that Jimmy fixed with a bolt and rubber hose and a broken door handle that he replaced with a hook. One day I was at my friend’s house and saw the front of the truck under a tarp while he was trying to sell me something different. When he pulled the tarp up, I immediately knew what it was. I couldn’t believe it. After a couple years of negotiating, I finally got my hands on it. In addition to talking about it with everyday folks, I also got a call recently from Eastern Tennessee State University to come to campus and show the truck off to their bluegrass program. It’s as much an educational tool as it is a way to honor Jimmy’s legacy.
Nominees for the 32nd Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards presented by Yamaha were announced today, with Balsam Range, Billy Strings, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Del McCoury Band, and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys landing in the top category of Entertainer of the Year. Alison Krauss, Lynn Morris, and the Stoneman Family will be inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame during the show as well.
Five people who have made significant contributions to bluegrass music were named as recipients of the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award: industry leader Nancy Cardwell Webster, broadcaster Lee Michael Demsey, Czech luthier/performer Jaroslav Prucha, musician/performer Cliff Waldron, and Boston Bluegrass Union’s Stan Zdonik.
The IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, September 30, at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina. Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the professional nonprofit association for the bluegrass music industry.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Balsam Range Billy Strings Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver The Del McCoury Band The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Ronnie Bowman Del McCoury Danny Paisley Junior Sisk Larry Sparks
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Brooke Aldridge Dale Ann Bradley Sierra Hull Molly Tuttle Rhonda Vincent
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Darin & Brooke Aldridge Balsam Range Blue Highway Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Sister Sadie
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Appalachian Road Show Billy Strings Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper The Infamous Stringdusters The Travelin’ McCourys
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR sponsored by Ron & Nancy McFarlane
Appalachian Road Show Carolina Blue Gina Furtado Project High Fidelity Merle Monroe
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Banjo Player’s Blues” Artist: High Fidelity Songwriter: Charlie Monroe Producers: Jeremy Stephens, Brad Benge Label: Rebel Records
“Hitchhiking to California” Artist: Alan Bibey & Grasstowne Songwriters: Wes Golding/Alan Bibey/Jerry Salley Producers: Jerry Salley, Ron Stewart, Dottie Leonard Miller Label: Billy Blue Records
“Just Load the Wagon” Artist: Junior Sisk Songwriter: J.R. Satterwhite Producers: Amanda Cook, Junior Sisk, Mark Hodges Label: Mountain Fever Records
“Leaving on Her Mind” Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Songwriter: Jack Clement Producer: Rosta Capek Label: Billy Blue Records
“Richest Man” Artist: Balsam Range Songwriters: Jim Beavers/Jimmy Yeary/Connie Harrington Producer: Balsam Range Label: Mountain Home Music Company
ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Tie)
Bluegrass 2020 Artist: Scott Vestal, Patrick McAvinue, Cody Kilby, Dominick Leslie, Curtis Vestal Producers: Scott Vestal, Ethan Burkhardt, Lonnie Lassiter Label: Pinecastle Records
Distance and Time Artist: Becky Buller Producer: Stephen Mougin Label: Dark Shadow Recording
Fall Like Rain Artist: Justin Moses Producer: Justin Moses Label: Mountain Fever Records
Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwestern Ohio’s Musical Legacy Artist: Various Artists Producer: Joe Mullins Label: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Load the Wagon Artist: Junior Sisk Producers: Amanda Cook, Junior Sisk, Mark Hodges Label: Mountain Fever Records
Still Here Artist: Steve Gulley & Tim Stafford Producers: Steve Gulley, Tim Stafford Label: Mountain Home Music Company
BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Gena Britt Gina Furtado Rob McCoury Kristin Scott Benson Scott Vestal
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Bub Todd Phillips Missy Raines Mark Schatz Marshall Wilborn
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 Phil Leadbetter Justin Moses
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR sponsored by Yamaha
Trey Hensley Billy Strings Bryan Sutton Molly Tuttle Jake Workman
MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jesse Brock Sam Bush Sierra Hull Ronnie McCoury Tristan Scroggins
COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“Birmingham Jail” Artists: Barry Abernathy with Vince Gill Songwriter: Traditional Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller Label: Billy Blue Records
“In the Resurrection Morning” Artists: Sacred Reunion featuring Doyle Lawson, Vince Gill, Barry Abernathy, Tim Stafford, Mark Wheeler, Jim VanCleve, Phil Leadbetter, Jason Moore Songwriter: Mark Wheeler Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller Label: Billy Blue Records
“My Baby’s Gone” Artists: Justin Moses with Del McCoury Songwriter: Dennis Linde Producer: Justin Moses Label: Mountain Fever Records
“Tears of Regret” Artists: High Fidelity with Jesse McReynolds Songwriters: Jesse McReynolds/Lucille Hutton Producers: Jeremy Stephens, Corrina Rose Logston, Brad Benge Label: Rebel Records
“White Line Fever” Artists: Bobby Osborne with Tim O’Brien, Trey Hensley, Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, Todd Phillips, Alison Brown Songwriters: Merle Haggard/Jeff Tweedy Producers: Alison Brown, Garry West Label: Compass Records
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“The Appalachian Road” Artist: Appalachian Road Show Songwriter: Jim VanCleve Producers: Jim VanCleve, Barry Abernathy, Appalachian Road Show, Dottie Leonard Miller Label: Billy Blue Records
“Foggy Mountain Chimes” Artists: Scott Vestal, Patrick McAvinue, Cody Kilby, Dominick Leslie, Curtis Vestal Songwriter: Earl Scruggs Producer: Scott Vestal Label: Pinecastle Records
“Ground Speed” Artists: Kristin Scott Benson, Skip Cherryholmes, Jeremy Garrett, Kevin Kehrberg, Darren Nicholson Songwriter: Earl Scruggs Producer: Jon Weisberger Label: Mountain Home Music Company
“Mountain Strings” Artist: Sierra Hull Songwriters: Frank Wakefield/Red Allen Producer: Joe Mullins Label: Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
“Taxland” Artist: Justin Moses with Sierra Hull Songwriter: Justin Moses Producer: Justin Moses Label: Mountain Fever Records
GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“After Awhile” Artist: Dale Ann Bradley Songwriter: Public Domain Producer: Dale Ann Bradley Label: Pinecastle Records
“Grit and Grace” Artist: Balsam Range Songwriters: Ann Melton/Milan Miller/Beth Husband Producer: Balsam Range Label: Mountain Home Music Company
“Hear Jerusalem Calling” Artist: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers Songwriters: Marty Stuart/Jerry Sullivan Producers: Joe Mullins, Dottie Leonard Miller Label: Billy Blue Records
“In the Resurrection Morning” Artists: Sacred Reunion featuring Doyle Lawson, Vince Gill, Barry Abernathy, Tim Stafford, Mark Wheeler, Jim VanCleve, Phil Leadbetter, Jason Moore Songwriter: Mark Wheeler Producers: Barry Abernathy, Jim VanCleve, Dottie Leonard Miller Label: Billy Blue Records
“When He Calls My Name” Artist: Alan Bibey & Grasstowne Songwriters: Alan Bibey/Ronnie Bowman Producers: Alan Bibey & Grasstowne, Ron Stewart, Jerry Salley, Dottie Leonard Miller Label: Billy Blue Records
Photo of Billy Strings: Jesse Faatz Photo of Alison Krauss: Capitol Records Photo of Molly Tuttle: Zach Pigg & Chelsea Rochelle
Plenty of artists find a day job while they work on their careers in music. CJ Lewandowski found a career in music while working his day job. A mandolin player and singer, he was working at Ole Smoky Distillery in Sevierville, Tennessee, and would frequently fill in as musical entertainment when a hired act fell through. Eventually, the distillery approached him about forming a band, and the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys were formed.
“There’s never really been a plan,” jokes Lewandowski, who says that regular hours on stage helped the longtime friends tighten up fast as a band. “We play the music that we like, and we happen to have some songs that we’ve written.” That no-plan plan has gotten them pretty far. In 2018, the group won Emerging Artist of the Year at the IBMA awards and in August they released their Rounder Records debut, Toils, Tears, and Trouble. They’ll also appear at Bourbon & Beyond festival in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 20.
The twelve-song album includes fan favorite “Old New Borrowed Blue,” an original, as well as inventive interpretations of songs by legends and unsung genre heroes alike. The band’s Stanley Brothers-inspired take on Roy Acuff’s “Searching for a Soldier’s Grave” is right at home alongside the Boys’ rendition of “Bidding America Goodbye,” made popular by Tanya Tucker. And “Next Train South,” originally recorded by Dub Crouch, Norman Ford & The Bluegrass Rounders in 1974, pays homage to the bluegrass tradition of Lewandowski’s native Missouri.
But as much as the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys have found solace in the bluegrass sounds of generations past, Lewandowski says he’s most inspired by the potential in the genre’s future. “I’m excited about the possibilities: the possibilities of where we can take it, the possibilities of who we can meet, and the possibilities of who we can influence,” he says. “I just hope we’ll be able to leave our mark on bluegrass as much as bluegrass has left its mark on us.”
Lewandowski opened up to The Bluegrass Situation about the role music played in his upbringing, how their days as a house band helped the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys find their footing, and why old-time music will never fade away.
BGS: What first brought you to bluegrass?
Lewandowski: I found bluegrass when I was a teenager, at a time in my life when it felt like everything was leaving me. I was a mama’s boy, and my mom passed away when I was ten. Then I had some other folks, family members, pass away. Things were changing within myself as well. I was trying to discover myself, and all this other stuff was piling up on me, too.
I found bluegrass music at that time, and along with it, I found a bunch of friends. I was never somebody with a bunch of friends in my own age bracket, and all these folks playing music around home here were thirty, forty, fifty years older than me, but I related to them. My grandpa died around that same time, too, and he was a pretty big influence on me, so I found some folks that became grandfather figures to me. They took me under their wings.
One thing I say a lot is that bluegrass has always been there for me. It’s been my medicine. It’s helped me through all those hard times, and put me in a lot of good situations, too. It’s a constant — it’s always there.
For Toil, Tears, and Trouble, you recorded several songs that were written or made popular by other artists — “Bidding America Goodbye,” “Cold Hard Truth” — as well as less-known songs by Missouri bluegrass artists. Why?
There’s a lot of great material out there. You could take a really popular song and completely change it and make it your own, or you could take a song that doesn’t even sound like it would apply to your music — the songwriter might not even know what bluegrass music was, but the song is great — and we can put our bluegrass touch to it and make it something that works. We like to pay homage to people of the past, but we want to start our own past as well, carve our own little niche out.
We’ve got songs on the album that have never been recorded before, by anyone, and that doesn’t mean they have to be written in-house by the band. “Hickory, Walnut, & Pine,” “Next Train South”– most people have never heard of them. It’s cool to dust off those songs, to pay homage to someone who might have not been in the limelight as much as Jim & Jesse, or the Osborne Brothers, and then add our own influence.
So obviously you’ve been inspired by bluegrass, but I’m sure you haven’t been entirely insulated from other kinds of music. You recorded a gospel album a few years ago, in fact. What other genres of music have impacted the way you sound?
Gospel has always been a part of all of our raisin’s. Country, of course, has influenced us too. If we all weren’t playing bluegrass music, we’d probably be out playing old country stuff. We all like steel guitar, and we all like twin fiddles. We all really like ’80s and ’90s country a whole lot, too — Alan Jackson, Randy Travis. We’ve been called honky-tonk bluegrass. And you never know where you’re gonna find something new.
With your job as the house band at the distillery, you logged more hours of stage time than most bands do in years of their careers. How do you feel like that experience benefited you?
We were playing anywhere between five to ten hours a day, sometimes seven days a week, [we] were teaching people about bluegrass music and entertaining them at the same time — and working day jobs. It was almost like a paid practice. We learned pretty quickly that imagery was a huge part of the show. We started in bib overalls, and then we’d go to summer suits, with our hair styled, and then we’d go to the cowboy hats for the springtime.
There’s always been a progression. There has to be something. You have to realize that a lot of the folks who came into that distillery didn’t know what bluegrass was, and they left with a sense of it. We were exposing new people to bluegrass music, which has always been a goal of ours. It was an education for them, but an education for us as well — all the while, we were getting tighter as a group. We spent over a year and a half solely playing at that distillery, with no intentions at all of traveling or anything. It allowed us to hone in on a lot of things together.
You often hear people describe your music as “old-time.” What does that mean to you?
The music that we play is the music that we were raised up on. There’s always been a progression to bluegrass music, since the very beginning of it. You can look at when Flatt & Scruggs came on the scene — key changes, tempo changes, five-string banjo roll, all that crazy stuff. So over the recent years of bluegrass music, it’s progressed, but it’s progressed somewhat faster than we — the band, I mean — may have wanted it to.
So we rewound the progression a little bit and found where we thought the music should be in this time. Some people would say that there’s stuff older-sounding than what we’re playing. And then a lot of people say that there’s stuff that sounds newer than what we’re playing, of course. People can take it however they want to, because everyone has a different definition of traditional, everyone has a different definition of old-time, or old-fashioned, everyone has a different definition of progressive music, as well. So we kind of keep it simple and say that we play bluegrass. [Laughs]
Are there any aspects of bluegrass music that you think it’s particularly important to try to preserve, or that you worry are vanishing?
Excuse my language, but I think that’s a big ol’ crock of shit. This music has been around for a long time, and it’s bigger than it ever has been. Yes, everywhere has their own definition of bluegrass and how they want to play it and how they want to present it. And there’s a lot of freedom in that. Just look at Bill Monroe: He evolved until the day he died. I’d tell anybody, just play the music that you love, and if you’re true to yourself and true to your music, the music can’t die. It won’t die. It’ll never die.
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
2019 marks the third year of Bourbon & Beyond and the BGS stage. Tickets are now available — stay tuned for more information and BnB content, a festival preview, and the full schedule announce. Find out more: Bourbon & Beyond.
Full Schedule:
Friday
5:20 PM Greensky Bluegrass 3:45 PM Mipso 1:40 PM The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys 11:45 AM Amythyst Kiah
Saturday
4:20 PM The Travelin’ McCourys 2:55 PM Fruition 1:25 PM Cedric Burnside 12:05 PM Ben Sollee
Sunday
4:15 PM Dustbowl Revival 2:40 PM Birds Of Chicago 1:20 PM The Lil Smokies 11:50 AM Front Country
Some of the most decorated artists in bluegrass, such as Balsam Range, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and the Travelin’ McCourys, picked up even more International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday night (Sept. 27) in Raleigh, North Carolina. Other top winners included longtime favorites like Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, Special Consensus, and Becky Buller.
Instrumentalist awards were presented to Michael Cleveland (fiddle), Sierra Hull (mandolin), Justin Moses (Dobro), Ned Luberecki (banjo), Tim Surrett (bass) and Molly Tuttle (guitar). Hot Rize, the IBMA’s first-ever Entertainer of the Year recipient in 1990, hosted the show.
The recipients of the 2018 IBMA Awards, presented by the International Bluegrass Music Association, are listed below:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR: Balsam Range
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR: The Travelin’ McCourys
SONG OF THE YEAR: “If I’d Have Wrote That Song” – Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers (artist), Larry Cordle/Larry Shell/James Silvers (writers)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Rivers & Roads – Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF A YEAR:https://thebluegrasssituation.com/?p=10924&preview=true “Speakin’ to That Mountain” – Becky Buller (artist), Becky Buller/Jeff Hyde (writers), Crepe Paper Heart (album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE: “Squirrel Hunters” – Special Consensus with John Hartford, Rachel Baiman, Christian Sedelmyer, and Alison Brown (artist), Traditional arranged by Alison Brown/Special Consensus (writers), Rivers & Roads (album), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR: The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR: “Swept Away” – Missy Raines with Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, and Molly Tuttle (artists), single release, Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Brooke Aldridge
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR: Buddy Melton
BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ned Luberecki
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tim Surrett
DOBRO PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Justin Moses
FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Michael Cleveland
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Molly Tuttle
MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Sierra Hull
Previously-announced inductees into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame – Ricky Skaggs, Paul Williams, Tom T. and Dixie Hall – were honored at this evening’s show.
At the Special Awards Luncheon earlier in the day, the recipients of the following awards were announced:
BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR: Steve Martin (Northern Kentucky-based host of Steve Martin’s Unreal Bluegrass)
BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR: Bluegrass on the Green; Frankfort, Illinois
BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT (tie): Craig Havighurst – The Story We Tell by Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers Peter Wernick – Carter Stanley’s Eyes by Peter Rowan
BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT: Lou Everhart A Heart Never Knows by The Price Sisters
BLUEGRASS PRINT/MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR: Neil Rosenberg
BLUEGRASS SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR: Jerry Salley
SOUND ENGINEER OF THE YEAR: Ben Surratt
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