EBMA Pioneers and Personalities Project

EBMAThe first round of Bluegrass Pioneer and Personalities awards has been announced by the European Bluegrass Music Association.

This special award category was created during 2012 by the EBMA to recognize the most influential figures in the European bluegrass community, both past and present. It will acknowledge pioneers in performance, journalism, luthiery, promotion, radio and other fields directly related to bluegrass.

To be considered for this award, one must meet the following criteria:

  • To be born in Europe or to have lived in European countries long enough to be considered European ‘naturalised citizens’;
  • To be representative of the European bluegrass culture;
  • To have inspired others to join the European bluegrass community;
  • To have acted in harmony with the principles of the EBMA’s mission statement.

An award will be given each year in these two categories:

  • Pioneers: To have been among the first who had a significant impact on the popularization of the bluegrass music genre in their own country or area in Europe, with special reference to their popularity and longevity in the bluegrass music community;
  • Personalities: To have promoted or contributed to promote special projects or have reached special achievements during the last year.

We reported last week that Niall Toner of Ireland was the recipient of the first Bluegrass Personality of the year.

Here are the 2013 EBMA Bluegrass Pioneers:

  • Mick Larie (France)
  • The Greenhorns (Czech Republic)
  • Pieter Groenveld (Netherlands)
  • Pete Stanley (UK)
  • Arne Sørensen (Denmark)
  • Silvio Ferretti (Italy)

These awards will be officially distributed on March 16 during the 5th European Bluegrass Summit in Prague.

Congratulations all!

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.