Alison Krauss and Steve Martin lead Bluegrass Award nominations

The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced the nominees for their 22nd annual Bluegrass Music Awards. The awards will be held on September 29 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

New artists the Boxcars lead the nominations with nine including both Entertainer and Emerging (New) Artist of the Year. Individual members of the group, though, are not new to the awards with Adam Steffey being a seven-time Mandolin Player of the Year and Ron Stewart having been given the Fiddle Player of the Year in 2000.

Russell Moore & IIIrd Time Out were next with eight nominations followed by The Gibson Brothers and Alison Krauss and Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas with seven. Five nominations went to the Lonesome River Band and Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

The IBMA has also announced that the new members of the Bluegrass Hall of Fame will be Del McCoury and George Shuffler. From their press release:

In the department of chill-bump raising, screaming high tenor bluegrass singers, there's no one dearer to the hearts of bluegrass fans than Del McCoury. With more than 50 years of performing under his belt, nine IBMA Entertainer of the Year awards, a Grammy in 2006 and the prestigious National Heritage Award in 2010, McCoury and his band are universally regarded among the greatest ambassadors for the genre.

McCoury first came to national attention as the lead singer and driving rhythm guitarist with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys during 1963 and 1964, after playing banjo in regional bands in the Baltimore/Washington area for several years. Forming Del McCoury & The Dixie Pals band around 1967, he played the festival circuit, largely in the Northeast. He moved from Pennsylvania to Nashville in 1992, changing the name of his group to The Del McCoury Band, which included sons Ronnie on mandolin and Rob on banjo. McCoury gained national recognition for his hard-edged, high energy style of bluegrass, winning numerous honors. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2003.

Del's infectious smile and easy-going but always professional manner are as genuine as his musical integrity, which has built bridges for bluegrass to other styles of music and musicians. His collaborations on recordings; at diverse tour dates; and on national broadcast outlets in genres as diverse as jazz, pop, country and the jam band scene are important catalysts for bringing bluegrass to new audiences.

Cross PickingGeorge Shuffler's influences in bluegrass are as an innovative bass player, guitar stylist and featured vocalist and humorist, primarily as a sideman in some of the most important bands in the music's history.

Shuffler grew up in a large family near Valdese, North Carolina, learning his first guitar chords at age 10. Young George listened to many of the groups performing live on various 50,000-watt radio stations around the country, and Merle Travis was his idol. In the early 1940s Shuffler was working in a local string band with a regular $20-a-week job at a bakery. Filling in as bass player with Charlie & Danny Bailey and the Happy Valley Boys at a theatre and several other venues in Granite Falls, N.C., Shuffler accepted a $60 a week job with the Baileys and left with them for Nashville and The Grand Ole Opry, his first professional job.

After the Baileys quit the business, Shuffler worked with a comedy team for a while, returned to Valdese and got married and worked with several bands playing guitar and singing. Carter Stanley called Shuffler on December 28, 1950 and said he and Ralph were leaving Bristol to move to WVLK in Versailles, Kentucky, and he asked Shuffler to join the Stanley Brothers to play bass—an offer George accepted. Following WVLK, Shuffler worked with The Stanley Brothers in numerous markets. His "walking style" of bass playing, introduced on the Stanley Brothers' 1953 Mercury Recordings, would imprint itself on a number of younger players, including Hall of Fame member Tom Gray. Primarily a bass player, Shuffler was in and out of the Stanley group many times until the early 1960s, when it got down to just Carter, Ralph and George.

Inspired by Bill Napier, Shuffler perfected his signature style of cross-picking that would be widely emulated. Following Carter Stanley's death December 1, 1966, Shuffler stayed on with Ralph for several months. He then worked with Don Reno and Bill Harrell until 1969, recording several albums with them on bass. For a number of years he also led The Shuffler Family gospel group, which recorded more than a half dozen albums.

The nominees:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

The Boxcars
Dailey & Vincent
The Gibson Brothers
The Grascals
Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Blue Highway
Dailey & Vincent
The Gibson Brothers
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Blue Highway
The Boxcars
Sam Bush Band
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
The Infamous Stringdusters

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Balsam Range
The Boxcars
Sierra Hull & Highway 111
Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Jamie Dailey
Leigh Gibson
Russell Moore
Dan Tyminski
Josh Williams

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Dale Ann Bradley
Sonya Isaacs
Alison Krauss
Claire Lynch
Rhonda Vincent

SONG OF THE YEAR

Help My Brother - The Gibson Brothers (artists), Leigh Gibson (songwriter)
I Am Strong - The Grascals featuring Dolly Parton (artists); Jamie Johnson, Susanne Mumpower-Johnson, Janee Fleenor (songwriters)
I'll Take Love - Dale Ann Bradley with Alison Krauss & Steve Gulley (artists), Louisa Branscomb & Dale Ann Bradley (songwriters)
Trains I Missed - Balsam Range (artists); Walt Wilkins, Gilles Godard, Nicole Witt (songwriters)
Walkin' West to Memphis - The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chris Henry (songwriter)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

The All-Star Jam: Live At Graves Mountain - Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Crowe Brothers, Lonesome River Band, Mark Newton, Lou Reid & Carolina, Carl Jackson, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Carrie Hassler with Brand New Strings
Almost Home - Larry Sparks
The Boxcars - The Boxcars
Help My Brother - The Gibson Brothers
Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers
Trains I Missed - Balsam Range

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

God's Front Porch - Lou Reid & Carolina
He Can Be Found - The Gibson Brothers
In God's Hands - The Boxcars
Prayer Bells of Heaven - J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams
Sailing On - Russell Moore & Dale Ann Bradley

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Goin' Up Dry Branch - Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Ground Speed - Rural Rhythm All-Stars: Sammy Shelor, Carl Jackson, Brandon Rickman, Wayne Benson, Mike Hartgrove, Mike Anglin
Jumpin' the Track - The Boxcars
Pretty Little Girl - Lonesome River Band
Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR

Graves Mountain Memories - Rural Rhythm All-Stars featuring Carl Jackson, Mark Newton, Audie Blaylock, Lou Reid, Russell Moore, Carrie Hassler, Sammy Shelor, Mike Hartgrove, Wayne Benson, Mike Anglin
I Am Strong - The Grascals featuring Dolly Parton (artists)
I'll Take Love - Dale Ann Bradley featuring Alison Krauss and Steve Gulley
Lonesome River - Lou Reid & Carolina featuring Russell Moore
Prayer Bells of Heaven - J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams

INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR

Banjo

Terry Baucom
Kristin Scott Benson
Ron Block
J.D. Crowe
Sammy Shelor
Ron Stewart

Bass

Barry Bales
Mike Bub
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Marshall Wilborn

Fiddle

Hunter Berry
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Ron Stewart

Dobro

Mike Auldridge
Jerry Douglas
Rob Ickes
Randy Kohrs
Phil Leadbetter

Guitar

Cody Kilby
Tony Rice
Kenny Smith
Bryan Sutton
Josh Williams

Mandolin

Wayne Benson
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
Adam Steffey

BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

Katy Daley; WAMU's Bluegrass Country; Washington, D.C.
Chris Jones; Sirius XM Satellite Radio; Nashville, Tenn.
Tim White; Song of the Mountains; Marion, Va.

BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR

The 31st Annual Bluegrass & Chili Festival; September 2010; Claremore, Oklahoma
Silver Dollar City's Bluegrass & Barbecue Festival; May 2010; Branson, Missouri
Wintergrass Youth Orchestra Gala; February 2011; Bellevue, Washington

BLUEGRASS PRINT MEDIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

Ralph Berrier, Jr; author of If Trouble Don't Kill Me
Tim Stafford & Caroline Wright, authors of Still Inside: The Tony Rice Story
Juli Thanki; freelance writer for The 9531 and The Washington Post, Senior Editor of District Noise

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT

Ricardo Alessio (designer) - City of Refuge - Abigail Washburn
G. Carr & Salli Ratts (designers) - Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers
Albert J. Roman (designer) - Daybreak - Sierra Hull

BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT

Colin Escott (writer) - A Mother's Prayer - Ralph Stanley
Geoffrey Himes (writer) - The Rounder Records Story - Various Artists
Steve Martin (writer) - Rare Bird Alert - Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers

Finally, the IBMA will award their Distinguished Achievement Awards to:

Greg Cahill - Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Greg Cahill has been playing bluegrass banjo since the early 1970s. Greg co-founded The Special Consensus in Chicago in 1975, a group that continues to tour nationally and internationally. Cahill created the "Traditional American Music Program" in 1984 to introduce students of all ages to bluegrass music. Since then, Cahill has been responsible for introducing bluegrass music to more than 1 million students in schools in the U.S. and around the world. "The reward for this," Greg says, "is that as each year passes a few young bluegrass musicians make it a point to find me at the record table to let me know they first heard bluegrass music when Special C came to their schools."
Bill Knowlton - Knowlton is the co-founder of the Central New York Bluegrass Association, was named Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year by IBMA in 1997, and graduated from the first Leadership Bluegrass class in 2000. Knowlton is the long-time editor of the CNYBA newsletter for the association he helped to found; he has written liner notes for County Records and articles for Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. In 1974, Bill was instrumental in the fight to save the Ryman Auditorium by getting renowned New York Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable to write about it and personally advocate for saving the auditorium. Many of Knowlton's accomplishments in the bluegrass and old-time music world were done while also serving as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
Lilly Pavlak - Journalist, photographer and sometimes booking agent/tour manager originally from the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia), now living in Switzerland. An active journalist for more than three decades who has been enormously important in telling the European bluegrass story in the U.S. (and vice versa), Pavlak is first and foremost a hardcore bluegrass fan who has devoted a large portion of her life and energy to promoting the music and artists she loves. The first American artist Pavlak heard in Czechoslovakia was Pete Seeger, in 1964. "I had never seen a live American before," Lilly recalls. "We learned the worst things about 'American imperialists' in school and some people even believed they ate little children! After the first tones of the banjo, I knew this was the strange instrument from the hillbilly music I liked so much. That was a defining moment for me, and for the bluegrass movement that followed. Nowadays the Czech Republic claims the highest concentration of bluegrass musicians on earth!"
Geoff Stelling - As a banjo and bass player in various bands since the mid-'60s, Geoff developed an ear for banjo tone and experimented with the construction until he patented a revolutionary design that his banjos are known for today: the wedge-fitted pot assembly. Prior to Geoff's design, tone rings and flanges were machined to slip-fit over the wood rim—a design affected by changes in humidity and temperature. According to many banjo players, the Stelling wedge-fit results in a pure tone and unparalleled power. Stelling also patented a "pivot-pin" tailpiece for the banjo.
Roland White - Member of The Kentucky Colonels, Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Band, Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass, The Country Gazette and the Nashville Bluegrass Band.

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