Alison Krauss & Union Station, Billy Strings Lead 2025 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Nominees
The 2025 IBMA Awards will be held Sept. 18 at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tenn., during the annual IBMA World of Bluegrass, which runs Sept. 16-20. This marks the awards ceremony's first to be held at the venue in Chattanooga, following a long stint in Raleigh, N.C. The nominees and honorees announcement was made during a live event held at the SiriusXM Studios in Nashville.
More from Billboard
Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem,' Kendrick Lamar & SZA's 'Luther' Lead Luminate's 2025 Midyear Charts
GWAR's Blöthar Urges Americans to 'Rise Up!' Against Trump Effort to Defund Public Media: 'This Could Very Well Silence the Music'
Premios Juventud 2025 Will Take Place in Panama: Here's Everything We Know
Alison Krauss & Union Station, Strings, Appalachian Road Show, East Nash Grass and The Del McCoury Band are competing for the entertainer of the year honor. Alison Krauss & Union Station, who released their first project in over a decade earlier this year, were previously named entertainer of the year in 1991 and 1995. Strings took home the entertainer of the year honors in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Del McCoury Band's 2024 win in the category marked their 10th overall entertainer of the year win. Meanwhile, the Appalachian Road Show celebrate their second nomination in the category, while East Nash Grass earn their first nomination in the category. (They earned the IBMA's new artist of the year accolade last year.)
Also announced were this year's Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees, which are pioneering Black guitarist Arnold Shultz, who influenced musicians including Bill Monroe; bluegrass band Hot Rize (which included musicians such as Tim O'Brien, Pete Wernick, Nick Forster, Charles Sawtelle and Bryan Sutton over the years) and group The Bluegrass Cardinals, who toured from 1974 to 1997.
'IBMA is excited to bring the biggest night in bluegrass to our new host city, Chattanooga,'Ken White, executive director of IBMA, said in a statement. 'Our mission is to inspire innovation by recognizing the great work done by artists this past year and to honor tradition by inducting new members into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. The early influence of Arnold Shultz on Bill Monroe continues to shine through in the playing of even the youngest member of Kids on Bluegrass. You will undoubtedly see once in a lifetime performances. Don't miss it.'
This year's IBMA distinguished achievement award goes to five recipients: Alan Arthur Knoth, Penny Parsons, Ron Thomason, Sidley Austin LLP and Missy Raines.
Knoth, also known as 'Cuzin' Al,' a pioneering bluegrass radio host who influenced the bluegrass music community in Northern California. His career launched at KTAO in Los Gatos, Calif., in 1970 and continued at KFAT in Gilroy and at KPIG in Freedom. His show, 'Cuzin Al's Bluegrass Show,' highlighted traditional bluegrass music along with Hawaiian songs and comedic recordings. He also helped inspired the creation of the Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society and served on the California Bluegrass Association board.
Parsons spent more than 45 years advocating for bluegrass music as a writer, publicist, producer, manager and booking agent, launching her career in 1979. Her work has included time at Sugar Hill Records, Record Depot Distribution and MerleFest, as well as leading her publicity and promotions firm the Penny Parsons Company. Parsons has contributed to Bluegrass Unlimited since 1981 and worked with bluegrass artist Curly Seckler, working as his manager, producer and biographer from 2004 to 2017. Her accolades include the 2016 IBMA print media person of the year award and her biography, Foggy Mountain Troubadour earning the Association of Recorded Sound Collections certificate of merit.
Thomason, leader of the Dry Branch Fire Squad, began hosting the Grey Fox Festival in 1984. He started with Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys in 1969, then joined the Dry Branch Fire Squad and promoting traditional bluegrass music.
The law firm Sidley Austin LLP has contributed to the IBMA through pro bono legal services since 2015, when Sidley Austin partner and co-head of the company's global corporate governance practice Holly Gregory initiated the partnership. The firm provided support in transitioning the IBMA to 501c3 nonprofit status, protecting the IBMA's intellectual property and assisting with travel visa processes for international bands, among other support.
Trailblazing bassist Raines has won the IBMA's bass player of the year honor 10 times and is the first woman to achieve the honor. She is known for work as a duo with Jim Hurst, but also for leading Missy Raines & the New Hip, co-founding the Helen Highwater Stringband and issuing the Grammy-nominated project Royal Traveller.
More nominations are set to be revealed, including nominees for the 2025 IBMA Momentum Awards, which highlight artist and industry professionals in the early stages of their bluegrass music careers, as well as the 2025 IBMA Industry Awards. The nominations will be announced the week of July 20.
See the full list of this year's nominees below:
Entertainer of the year:
Alison Krauss & Union StationAppalachian Road ShowBilly StringsEast Nash GrassThe Del McCoury Band
Song of the year:
'5 Days Out, 2 Days Back' – Alison Brown, Steve Martin, Featuring Tim O'BrienSongwriters: Steve Martin/Alison BrownProducers: Alison Brown/Garry WestLabel: Compass Records
'Big Wheels' – Authentic UnlimitedSongwriter: Jerry ColeProducer: Authentic UnlimitedLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Coal Dust Kisses' – The GrascalsSongwriters: Susanne Mumpower/Jerry SalleyProducer: The GrascalsLabel: Mountain Home Music Company
'My Favorite Picture of You' – Darin & Brooke AldridgeSongwriters: Darin Aldridge/Brooke Aldridge/Dennis DuffProducers: Darin Aldridge/Mark FainLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Outrun the Rain' – Jason Carter & Michael ClevelandSongwriters: Terry Herd/Jimmy YearyProducers: Jason Carter/Michael ClevelandLabel: Fiddle Man Records
Album of the year:
Arcadia – Alison Krauss & Union StationProducer: Alison Krauss & Union StationLabel: Down the Road RecordsCarter & Cleveland – Jason Carter & Michael ClevelandProducers: Jason Carter/Michael ClevelandLabel: Fiddle Man Records
Earl Jam – Tony TrischkaProducers: Tony Trischka/Lawson WhiteLabel: Down the Road RecordsHighway Prayers – Billy StringsProducers: Billy Strings/Jon BrionLabel: Reprise Records
I Built a World – Bronwyn Keith-HynesProducers: Brent Truitt/Bronwyn Keith-HynesLabel: Sugar Petunia Records
Vocal group of the year:
Alison Krauss & Union StationAuthentic UnlimitedBlue HighwaySister SadieThe Del McCoury Band
Instrumental Group of the year:
Billy StringsEast Nash GrassMichael Cleveland & FlamekeeperMolly Tuttle & Golden HighwayThe Travelin' McCourys
Gospel recording of the year:
'Blue Collar Gospel' – Jerry Salley Featuring The Oak Ridge BoysSongwriters: Rick Lang/Bill Whyte/Jerry SalleyProducer: Jerry SalleyLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Dear Lord' – Darin & Brooke AldridgeSongwriter: Daniel DavisProducers: Darin Aldridge/Mark FainLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Even Better When You Listen' – Joe Mullins & The Radio RamblersSongwriters: Rick Lang/Mark BonDurantProducer: Joe Mullins & The Radio RamblersLabel: Billy Blue Records
'He's Gone' – Jaelee RobertsSongwriter: Kelsi HarrigillProducer: Byron HouseLabel: Mountain Home Music Company
'Wings of Love' – Authentic UnlimitedSongwriters: Jesse Brock/Stephen Burwell/Jerry Cole/Eli Johnston/John MeadorProducer: Authentic UnlimitedLabel: Billy Blue Records
Instrumental recording of the year:
'Bluegrass in the Backwoods' – Jason Carter & Michael ClevelandSongwriter: Kenny BakerProducers: Jason Carter/Michael ClevelandLabel: Fiddle Man Records
'The Drifter' – Danny RobertsSongwriter: Danny RobertsProducers: Danny Roberts/Andrea RobertsLabel: Mountain Home Music Company
'A Drive at Dusk' – Authentic UnlimitedSongwriter: Jesse BrockProducer: Authentic UnlimitedLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Kern County Breakdown' – Jason Carter & Michael ClevelandSongwriter: Buck Owens/Don RichProducers: Jason Carter/Michael ClevelandLabel: Fiddle Man Records
'Ralph's Banjo Special' – Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt & Alison BrownSongwriter: Ralph StanleyProducer: Alison BrownLabel: Compass Records
New artist of the year:
AJ Lee & Blue SummitBronwyn Keith-HynesJason CarterRed Camel CollectiveWyatt Ellis
Collaborative recording of the year:
'5 Days Out, 2 Days Back' – Alison Brown & Steve Martin Featuring Tim O'BrienSongwriters: Steve Martin/Alison BrownProducer: Alison Brown/Garry WestLabel: Compass Records
'A Million Memories (A Song for Byron)' – Darin & Brooke Aldridge Featuring Vince GillSongwriter: Vince GillProducers: Darin Aldridge/Mark FainLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Cora Is Gone' – Bobby Osborne & C.J. Lewandowski Featuring Rob McCoury & Billy StringsSongwriter: Mac OdellProducer: C.J. LewandowskiLabel: Turnberry Records
'Outrun the Rain' – Jason Carter, Michael Cleveland, Jaelee Roberts & Vince GillSongwriters: Terry Herd/Jimmy YearyProducers: Jason Carter/Michael ClevelandLabel: Fiddle Man Records
'Ralph's Banjo Special' – Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt & Alison BrownSongwriter: Ralph StanleyProducer: Alison BrownLabel: Compass Records
Male vocalist of the year:
Billy StringsDan TyminskiDel McCouryGreg BlakeRussell Moore
Female vocalist of the year:
AJ LeeAlison KraussBrooke AldridgeJaelee RobertsSierra Hull
Banjo player of the year:
Alison BrownGena BrittKristin Scott BensonRon BlockTony Trischka
Bass player of the year:
Barry BalesMike BubMissy RainesTodd PhillipsVickie Vaughn
Fiddle player of the year:
Bronwyn Keith-HynesJason CarterMaddie DentonMichael ClevelandStuart Duncan
Resophonic guitar player of the year:
Andy HallJerry DouglasJustin MosesMatt LeadbetterRob Ickes
Guitar player of the year:
Billy StringsBryan SuttonCody KilbyMolly TuttleTrey Hensley
Mandolin player of the year:
Alan BibeyJesse BrockRonnie McCourySam BushSierra Hull
Music video of the year:
'5 Days Out, 2 Days Back' – Alison Brown & Steve Martin Featuring Tim O'BrienSongwriters: Steve Martin/Alison BrownProducer: Alison Brown/Garry WestVideographer: Joseph SpenceLabel: Compass Records
'A Million Memories (A Song for Byron)' – Darin & Brooke Aldridge Featuring Vince GillSongwriter: Vince GillProducer: Jenny GillVideographer: Travis FlynnLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Big Wheels' – Authentic UnlimitedSongwriter: Jerry ColeProducers: Bryce Free/Kyle JohnsonVideographer: Bryce FreeLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Gallows Pole' – Appalachian Road ShowSongwriter: Traditional arr. Barry Abernathy/Jim VanCleve/Darrell WebbProducer: Steve KinneyVideographer: Steve KinneyLabel: Billy Blue Records
'Tennessee Hound Dog' – The GrascalsSongwriter: Felice Bryant/Boudleaux BryantProducer: Ty GilpinVideographer: Nate ShuppertLabel: Mountain Home Music Company
'The Auctioneer' – The Kody Norris ShowSongwriters: Leroy Van Dyke/Buddy BlackProducer: James GilleyVideographer: Nate WilesLabel: Rebel RecordsBest of Billboard
Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1
Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNET
29 minutes ago
- CNET
This Bird ID App Has Helped Me Practice Mindfulness More Than Any Meditation App
Mindfulness is grounding ourselves in the present moment, which means paying attention to our inner feelings and thoughts as well as what's going on around us. Easier said than done. Like many, I struggle to keep my mind stationed in the present and often turn to meditation apps for assistance. Yet, what has helped me practice mindfulness the most came in the form of an unexpected app -- not one for breathing exercises or mental health, but one for identifying birds. Merlin Bird ID was created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2014 to help people identify the birds they see and hear. Thanks to eBird, the world's largest database of bird sounds and photos based on 800 million global sightings, the app allows you to record a bird, answer a series of questions or upload a photo to name your winged friend. Or, you can simply use the app to explore the different birds in your area, no matter where you are on the planet and even if you're offline. The app's homepage, with three avenues for identification. Anna Gragert/CNET One of my favorite features of Merlin Bird ID is that you can use it to keep track of your bird sightings and, like an IRL Pokemon GO, "collect 'em all." The first time I used the app, I sat out on my balcony, clicked the green "Sound" button and watched as the app identified the birds chirping and singing in all directions. You can see the different sound frequencies as they appear on a real-time spectrogram, a visual representation of the audio world. The next time I checked the clock, I was shocked to see that an hour had passed. Then, I dug out my binoculars and let even more time fly. What a spectrogram on the app looks like. Anna Gragert/CNET As any Merlin Bird IDer knows, there is no thrill quite like pressing the "This is my bird" button for the first time, although it never gets old. From there, you can record your location and the app, in turn, will save your report to improve its performance. Before long, I had different bird sounds memorized. In the morning, I would wake to the sound of a California Towhee's alarm-like and frankly, yes, annoying cheeping from a tree outside my window right as the sun started to rise. On walks around my neighborhood, I'd auditorially part the sound of cars and distant construction to hear the melody of House Finches mixed with staccato chirps of Lesser Goldfinches and the droning coos from a pair of Mourning Doves religiously stationed on electrical wires. It was the song that had been the soundtrack of my world but I hadn't noticed until now. By sight, I'd recognize Red-Whiskered Bulbuls with their black crests and fire engine cheeks, a blush color waiting to be replicated in powder form. Black Phoebes made themselves known with their fluffy soot-black heads, statue stillness and ivory bellies. At the hummingbird feeder on my balcony, there is a never-ending line of customers with iridescent throats in sunset colors: Anna's Hummingbirds (my favorite, as you might guess), Allen's and even the uncommon Rufous, who spend all day fighting over sugar water when not watching the feeder from their magnolia tree perches. A customer at our feeder. I think they're an Allen's Hummingbird. Anna Gragert/CNET What's most thrilling is when the Merlin Bird app hears a bird that you can't see, making it feel as though it's your mission to treasure hunt your way to it. This is often a lesson in patience, as it may take you several tries to find the songbird you seek. Recently, while sitting in a new-to-me park, the app told me a Mountain Chickadee was nearby and I spent the next 45 minutes trying to spot it with my binoculars. It ended up on a branch directly above my head, and when I got up to leave, it flew down right by my face as if in on the joke that it was there the whole time. I've yet to find the Red-Winged Blackbird who always seems to be just out of reach, no matter where I am in my city, but I console myself with the seemingly all-knowing flock of Common Ravens (also unjustly called an "unkindness") evermore on my street and the surprising number of noises they can produce. Birds I've heard, but haven't seen yet. Anna Gragert/CNET I also often listen back to the comforting hoo-hoos of a Great Horned Owl singing a 9:30 p.m. lullaby right before the start of spring. I like time-travelling to these moments, though I have come across some retrospectively hilarious conversations I unintentionally recorded in between birdsong. With that being said, Merlin Bird ID does save your audio recordings but only on your device in the app. To share the recordings with eBird, you have to manually export and upload them. I now seek out unexplored wooded spaces to meet new feathered friends, an excuse for forest bathing, which has led me to see the shade of blue unique to a Ruddy Duck's bill. After a rainstorm, I've come across a group of Acorn Woodpeckers with impressive red mohawks excitedly pecking wet, softened wood while calling to each other. Like a conversation between punk besties over dinner. My area is known for its large flocks of Amazon parrots (and their persistent screeches), whom I've now had the pleasure of seeing up close as they use their light yellow bills to climb trees and collect their berries. And once, just once, I caught the backside of a Yellow Warbler in a nearby watershed park. The Acorn Woodpecker Anna Gragert/CNET Because of this app, I've spent more time listening to the world around me and less time in my own head, bobbing between the past and future. I've found myself surrounded by and in conversation with nature more than ever before. It may be the closest thing we have to magic here on earth. Now, perhaps that is the key to grounding yourself: Getting your butt on the ground and taking the time to listen to those who are singing around you.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kim Cattrall Shares Cryptic Message as And Just Like That Ends
Originally appeared on E! Online And just like that, has spoken. Hours after Sex and the City creator Michael Patrick King announced that And Just Like That—the sequel series to the beloved HBO show—would be ending after its current third season, the actress shared a cryptic note on Instagram Aug. 1. Posting a picture of a sunset overlooking a body of water, Kim wrote alongside emojis of a heart and a pair of lips, "It's the end of a very long week." But she isn't the only Sex and the City alum to speak out amid news of And Just Like That's final bow. Cattrall's former castmate Sarah Jessica Parker—who stars in the revival alongside Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis—reflected on her iconic character's legacy. "Carrie Bradshaw has dominated my professional heartbeat for 27 years,' SJP wrote on Instagram. "I think I have loved her most of all. I know others have loved her just as I have. Been frustrated, condemned and rooted for her. The symphony of all those emotions has been the greatest soundtrack and most consequential companion." More from E! Online Tom Selleck, 80, Looks Unrecognizable During Rare Outing Without Signature Mustache Why Bryan Kohberger Left Roommate Dylan Mortensen Alive, According to Idaho Prosecutor Former NBA Player Danilo Gallinari's Pregnant Wife Attacked by Shark She continued, "MPK and I together recognized, as we have in the past, this chapter complete." Cynthia also marveled at the franchise's decades-long journey, calling it "such a delight from start to finish." "I can't believe our wild beautiful And Just Like That ride is almost over," she wrote on her own Instagram page. "I will miss working with these people everyday SO incredibly much but know we will always be a part of each other's lives." Although Kristin felt "profoundly sad" about the show ending, she expressed gratitude to the cast and crew who worked "so hard on our show with deep love." "Thank you to you all," she added in her own post. "You hold me up and i do not take it for granted!!!" And Just Like That premiered in 2021, more than 17 years after Sex and the City went off the air. Out of the series' four main leads, Kim was the only star who opted not to return. "It's a great wisdom to know when enough is enough," she told Variety in a new 2022 interview. "I also didn't want to compromise what the show was to me. The way forward seemed clear." And while Kim did reprise her role as Samantha Jones for a cameo in the season two finale, it was a one-off thing. As she told Today in 2023, "This is as far as I'm gonna go." To see what other TV shows are also going off the air this year, keep reading... Ending: And Just Like UntamedRenewed: PluribusRenewed: Days of Our LivesRenewed: StickRenewed: Top ChefRenewed: WednesdayCanceled: The Late Show With Stephen ColbertRenewed: King of Collectibles: The Goldin TouchRenewed: The Ultimatum: Marry or Move onRenewed: MurderbotRenewed: The Flip OffCanceled: The Flipping El MoussasCanceled: Christina on the CoastEnding: UploadRenewed: Squid Game: The ChallengeEnding: Queer EyeRenewed: Slow HorsesRenewed: The BearRenewed: The BachelorCanceled: Doctor OdysseyRenewed: Outlande: Blood of My BloodRenewed: MoblandRenewed: Reacher For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Solve the daily Crossword
News24
an hour ago
- News24
‘Peaky Blinders' creator to pen new James Bond movie
Theo Wargo / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP Steven Knight will collaborate with director Denis Villeneuve to develop the 26th instalment of the Bond franchise. Amazon MGM, which gained control of the series earlier this year, aims to revive the iconic spy films after the 2021 release of 'No Time to Die'. Known for the global success of 'Peaky Blinders', Knight has also co-created 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' and written novels, along with notable TV projects like 'Taboo' and 'All the Light We Cannot See'. Steven Knight, the creator of gritty TV crime series Peaky Blinders, will write the highly anticipated next James Bond movie, studio Amazon MGM announced Thursday. Knight will work alongside previously announced director Denis Villeneuve ('Dune') to bring the world's most famous fictional spy back to the big screen after a prolonged absence. Amazon MGM Studios acquired creative control of the 007 movies in February and has moved quickly to get one of Hollywood's most valuable franchises back into production. There has been no new Bond film since 2021's No Time To Die. Knight is best known as the mind behind violent British gangster series Peaky Blinders, which was set in industrial England at the turn of the 20th century and became a global hit. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amazon MGM Studios (@amazonmgmstudios) Running for six seasons, and with a Netflix film version currently in the works, Peaky Blinders turbo-charged the careers of leading man Cillian Murphy, alongside a stellar supporting cast including Tom Hardy, Anya Taylor-Joy and Kingsley Ben-Adir. In addition to Peaky Blinders, Knight also co-created the wildly popular television quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and has penned four novels. The Birmingham, England-based screenwriter, producer and director's other TV credits include 'Taboo,' 'See,' 'This Town,' and 'All the Light We Cannot See.' The Bond films, based on Ian Fleming's novels, have earned more than $7 billion collectively at the global box office since debuting in 1962. No release date or title has yet been set for the film franchise's 26th instalment. And despite frenzied speculation among fans, there has been no announcement on which actor will replace Daniel Craig as the suave British super-spy. Among the actors most discussed to be the next Bond are Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Holland, Harris Dickinson, Jacob Elordi, and Ben-Adir - but Amazon MGM has so far refused to disclose the franchise's most closely guarded secret.
