Penny Parsons and Gary Reid with his 2026 IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award – photo © Tom Turk
The IBMA 2026 Industry and Distinguished Achievement Awards Luncheon was held on Wednesday, October 22, 2026 in the Chattanooga Convention Center. Chris Jones, a past IBMA Industry Award multi-winner (2014/2023 Writer of the year and 2022 Broadcaster of the Year), served as MC for the midday banquet.
Entertainment was first provided by Tonewood String Band of Denver, CO. Then the awards ceremony began.
This year’s Industry Awards were presented to:
Photographer of the Year – Scott Simontacchi (SKS Image, his Nashville-based studio where he specializes in portrait and promotional photography of prominent bluegrass artists)
Graphic Designer of the Year – Grace van’t Hof (Illustrator of Cindy Baucom Eldredge’s children’s book, SImon Solomon Dog Man Jack, as well as the artwork for Darren Nicholson’s vinyl record, Lonesome Trails & Tales)
Sound Engineer of the Year – Key Chang (audio engineer and production manager for the Del McCoury Band and the Travelin’ McCourys)
Broadcaster of the Year – Michelle Lee (host of Bluegrass Borderline syndicated radio show and Michelle Lee On Air streaming station)
Liner Notes of the Year (for a Recorded Project) – Alison Brown & Steve Martin (Safe, Sensible, and Sane collaborative roots and bluegrass 2025 album)
Songwriter of the Year – Tim Stafford (composer of 2026 tunes Typhoon and co-writer of Right Amount of Wrong among others)
Writer of the Year – Gary Reid (Bluegrass Unlimited columnist and freelance writer)
Event of the Year – California Bluegrass Association’s 50th anniversary Father’s Day Festival (In the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains)
2026 Distinguished Achievement Awards were presented to:
- Gary Reid
- Gallagher Guitar Company
- Derek Halsey
- Matt Glaser
- Marshall Family
Several notable comments were made in award presentations:
During the Industry Awards, Stafford, upon receiving the Songwriter plaque solemnly stated, “It’s a collective award. I co-write with so many. I want to dedicate this award to Ronnie Bowman.”
In the DIstinguished Achievement acceptance speeches, Reid confessed modestly, “Bluegrass music is very dear to me. It has served me well for over half a century. I still enjoy tinkering with it.”
Halsey, a veteran writer, simply stated in his acceptance speech, “This was what I was meant to do.”
David Mathis, who became owner of Gallagher Guitar Company in 2019, shared, “Want to hear something crazy? Buy a guitar company. If you do, you get to hear great guitars. Thank you to the bluegrass community that has welcomed us to the table like an old friend.”
Glaser (Berklee College of Music) confessed after hearing an album he brought home from the library where he held his first job, “Bryon Berline rearranged my molecules that day.”
Judy Marshall recalled the start of her bluegrass gospel family band. “We started out as kids. Mama made sure we went to church. We felt we had a good message to share with people. It changed our scene when Dr. Ralph heard us on a cassette tape and invited us to sing at his festival on Memorial Day weekend.”
Special recognition was given to Paul Schiminger, interim executive director of IBMA. Schiminger was presented a new honor and became the inaugural recipient of the Order of the Blue Moon.
Alison Brown presented the award and praised the selfless labors of Schiminger, “Who came out of retirement, not once, but twice to take the helm when needed.”
Closing the session was a performance by Veranda from Quebec,Canada. The band sang their first number in French and is IBMA’s International Band Performance 2026 grant recipient.
Congratulations to all the deserving winners, as well as all the nominees who work so diligently behind the scenes within the bluegrass music industry. We are truly a community which relies on the expertise of many in their respective fields.
