Category: IBMA 2005

The IBMA has just announced that Alison Krauss and Ricky Skaggs will host the 2005 Awards Show for the International Bluegrass Music Association, to be held on October 27 in Nashville, TN. This will be the third year in a row for Ms. Krauss as a co-host, and a repeat performance for Ricky Skaggs as well.

Expectations are high for this year, as the event is hosted for the first time in Nashville, with the Awards Show at the historic Ryman Auditorium, original home of the Grand Ol’ Opry. Awards are given in more than a dozen categories with the winners chosen by the professional voting members of the IBMA, making it a true “peer reviewed” award.

See a list of past award winners here.

Read the entire press release.
“????

ALISON KRAUSS AND RICKY SKAGGS TO HOST 16TH ANNUAL IBMA AWARDS SHOW AT RYMAN AUDITORIUM
“????
NASHVILLE “”??? “Bluegrass Music’s Night of Nights” has always showcased the best of bluegrass music”????from”????newcomers to industry stalwarts,”????right down to the hosts of the show, and the 16th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Show is no exception.”???? Multiple IBMA award winning artist, bluegrass veteran and the most highly decorated female Grammy winner in history, Alison Krauss, will return as host of the”????show for the third year in a row, along with six-time IBMA Instrumental Group of the Year”????winner, ten-time Grammy Award winner”????and longtime bluegrass ambassador Ricky Skaggs.”???? Krauss and Skaggs have both been hugely successful as hosts of previous broadcasts, inflecting humor and great performances to sold out crowds.
“????
The 16th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Show is scheduled to be held for the first time at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville”????on Thursday, Oct. 27th.”???? The broadcast production of the Awards Show will begin at 8:00 pm (CST), and will feature a a large number of live musical performances from bluegrass music””???s most outstanding artists, the announcement of recipients in 17 categories, and two inductions into the Bluegrass Hall of Honor.
“????
Alison is a four-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, two-time IBMA Entertainer of the Year and three-time IBMA Album of the Year winner with Union Station.”???? Krauss hit a career milestone in February 2004 when she became the most highly awarded female artist in Grammy history at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, winning her 17th statue.”???? This year has already proven to be exciting with the release of her band Union Station’s newest album Lonely Runs Both Ways in addition to starting a successful partnership with restaurant giant Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, now sponsoring their current tour and featuring a”????CD titled Home On The Highways sold only in Cracker Barrel restaurants.”????
“????
The band recently released their second video from the Lonely Runs Both Ways”????CD to television in addition to making appearances on Sesame Street and Austin City Limits.”???? Last year, Krauss joined country star Brad Paisley for a video shoot for their chart topping duet “”???Whiskey Lullaby,””??? directed by actor Rick Schroeder for which he won Best Director at the CMA Awards.”???? She was also a featured performer”????in the highly”????talented cast of the”????Great High Mountain Tour.
“????
No stranger to”????creating music”????for film and television, Alison has recorded songs for numerous soundtracks in the recent past including “”???You Will Be My Ain’ True Love” which she performed live with pop icon Sting, during the 76th Annual Academy Awards broadcast on February 29, 2004 in addition to “The Scarlet Tide” recorded for the Cold Mountain soundtrack, starring Nicole Kidman. “????Both songs were Oscar nominees.”????
“????
By the age of 21, Ricky Skaggs was already considered a “recognized master” of one of America’s most demanding art forms, bluegrass music.”””??His career took him in different directions, catapulting him to popularity and success in the mainstream of country music, only to return him to his original love years later.”””??He continues to be”????one of the most sought after performers on the bluegrass scene today.”???? His hard-driving mandolin style, traditional sound”????and superior band Kentucky Thunder keep him in constant demand.
“????
At the recent Grammy Awards Skaggs”????newest album,”????Brand New Strings, was recognized as the Best Bluegrass Album. The award was especially gratifying because it was decided by artists, musicians, engineers, and producers from across the entire music industry.”???? It’s no exaggeration to say that Brand New Strings features some of the best new songs and musical performances of Ricky Skaggs’ illustrious career.
“????
Marching”????towards his 35th year as a”????professional musician, this ten-time Grammy Award winner continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music. Known affectionately today as a true ambassador for bluegrass music, Skaggs has brought the genre to greater levels of popularity in the past few years than the father of bluegrass music “”??? legendary Bill Monroe “”??? could ever have imagined.”???? With seven consecutive Grammy nominated classics behind him, all from his own record company, Skaggs is definitely one of the genre’s top artists who are assuring the music will continue to be in good hands.”???? Skaggs has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press as well as appearances on CNN, The Tonight”????Show”????and CMT to name a few.
“????
The International Bluegrass Music Awards will be recorded live and made available for worldwide radio broadcast in more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks.”???? Program directors and station managers may contact Shari Lacy, IBMA Marketing/PR Director at 888-GET-IBMA or (615) 256-3222 for broadcast information.”???? For ticket information contact the IBMA office at 888-GET-IBMA, or visit www.ibma.org.””””””””””

“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

IBMA has just announced that Wichita Rutherford will host the first ever World of Bluegrass podcast live on the web today, Thurs. August 4, 2005. They plan for the podcast to be posted online twice monthly. The full text of the press release follows.

WORLD OF BLUEGRASS PODCAST!

NASHVILLE, TENN. “? The International Bluegrass Music Association announces the first ever World of Bluegrass podcast to go live on the web today, Thurs. August 4, 2005. “?We’re always searching for new and exciting ways to communicate with our members, the entertainment industry and fans and podcasts are a wonderfully unique way to reach folks who get their information and entertainment online,” says IBMA Marketing/PR Director Shari Lacy.

The World of Bluegrass podcast will provide information about topics of interest to those in the entertainment industry in addition to supporters of the music from a fan level. Introduced and hosted by Wichita Rutherford (currently with one of the top 20 most listened to podcasts on the internet with over 500,000 downloads per week – (5minuteswithwichita), the podcasts will be posted online twice monthly and will be approximately five minutes in length. “Wichita Rutherford brings to the table an established audience of people interested in bluegrass music and helps us make them both fun and informative,” says Lacy.

The broadcasts will contain up to date information on industry news and happenings, year round IBMA activities and member efforts, World of Bluegrass and Fan Fest news and IBMA Awards related information. IBMA staff members as well as other industry professionals will provide current information on topics of interest.

“World of Bluegrass is the name of our annual gathering for bluegrass professionals and fans and we thought it would be nice to borrow that moniker for the podcast because we hope, just like the event, it will prove to be a gathering place where listenres can find information year round,” explains Lacy.

Podcasting is a method of making audio files (most commonly in MP3 format) available online in a manner that allows software to automatically download the files for listening at the user’s convenience. They are becoming increasingly popular with the “ipod generation” by meeting their need to obtain music, news and information on the go.

To hear the inaugural World of Bluegrass podcast and future postings, please visit www.5minuteswithwichita.com. The podcast will move to the www.ibma.org website in the near future.

The IBMA is a non-profit trade association for bluegrass music, whose mission is to work together for high standards of professionalism, a greater appreciation for our music, and the success of the world-wide bluegrass community

IBMA recently revised the lineup for the 2005 Fan Fest (October 28-30 in Nashville).

Read the press release…

BLUEGRASS FAN FEST 2005

October 28, 29, 30

Nashville Convention Center – Nashville, Tennessee USA

Sponsored by MARTHA WHITE, SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO, MARTIN GUITARS and BLUEGRASS RADIO NETWORK

FEATURED ARTISTS

Alison Krauss & Union Station

The Del McCoury Band

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

JD Crowe & The New South

Blue Highway

IIIrd Tyme Out

Tim O’Brien

Nashville Bluegrass Band

The Tony Rice & Peter Rowan Quartet

Lonesome River Band

Ronnie Bowman and the Committee

Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time

Claire Lynch

Marty Raybon

Curly Seckler & Friends

The James King Band

John Cowan

Cherryholmes

David Parmley & Continental Divide

Eddie & Martha Adcock

Country Gentlemen Reunion

Pat Flynn & Friends

NewFound Road

The Grascals

The Greencards

Wayne Scott featuring Darrell Scott, Tim O’Brien, Casey Driesen

Druha Trava

The Wilders

Nashville Mandolin Ensemble

Northern Sons

Open Road

Biscuit Burners

Lonesome Sisters

Jason Harrod

Last Train Home

Stairwell Sisters

Monogram

Blue Mountain

SPECIAL FEATURES

Master’s Workshops

Roots & Branches Stage

Bluegrass Exposition Center

The Grand Master Fiddler Championship

(Lineup as of 7/28/05 – Subject to change without notice)

Info at: www.ibma.org

1-888-438-4262

I’ve compiled a list of links to the candidates from ballot 2 of the 2005 IBMA awards ballots. This list is not exhaustive (though it was exhausting to put together). It includes all candidates I could find a link for quickly, except the individual vocal and instrumental performers. I may do that list another day, but for now have fun. Don’t forget to check the “Open off-site links in new window?” checkbox in the sidebar. That way the links will open in a new window and you won’t lose your place here. Click the “more” link to see the links.

• Blue Highway
• The Dale Ann Bradley Band
• Sam Bush Band
• Carolina Road
• Cherryholmes
• The Chapmans
• J.D. Crowe & The New South
• David Davis & The Warrior River Boys
• Dry Branch Fire Squad
• The Gibson Brothers
• The Grascals
• King Wilkie
• The James King Band
• Alison Krauss & Union Station
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• The Lewis Family
• Lonesome River Band
• Lost & Found
• The Del McCoury Band
• Mountain Heart
• Nashville Bluegrass Band
• Nothin’ Fancy
• Dan Paisley & The Southern Grass
• David Parmley & Continental Divide
• Marty Raybon & Full Circle
• James Reams & The Barnstormers
• Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
• Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike
• Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers
• Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys
• The Larry Stephenson Band
• IIIrd Tyme Out
• Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
• The Isaacs
• NewFound Road
• Seldom Scene
• Special Consensus
• BlueRidge
• The Kruger Brothers
• Steep Canyon Rangers
• Wildfire
• Randy Waller
• Alecia Nugent
• Melonie Cannon
• Charlie Daniels
• Ginny Hawker & Tracy Schwarz
• Tim Stafford
• Randy Kohrs
• Becky Buller
• Chris Stuart & Backcountry
• Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute To The Moody Blues
• Dick Kimmel & Co.
• Jesse McReynolds with Travis Wetzel
• Rob Ickes
• John Lawless
• James Alan Shelton
• Noam Pikelny
• Danny Roberts
• Audie Blaylock & Redline
• Honi Deaton & Dream
• Due West
• The Duhks
• Fragment
• The Grass Cats
• The Greencards
• Donna Hughes
• Michelle Nixon & Drive
• Old Crowe Medicine Show
• Open Road
• John Reischman & The Jaybirds
• April Verch
• The Wilders
• Williams & Clark Expedition

Bluegrass Today will be providing “live blog” coverage during the IBMA World Of Bluegrass week in Nashville from October 24-30, 2005. In case the term is not familiar, “live blogging” means that we will be posting throughout the week from on site, and will pass along news and information about what is going on at IBMA. We will have press credentials with largely unrestricted access to the exhibit areas, the seminars and the various showcases – both official and unofficial.

Our plan is to post regular updates during the course of each day, most probably featuring a few dozen new posts daily. We think that this coverage will have benefits to two distinct groups of people:

For anyone who is attending the IBMA week functions, our coverage will allow for instant updates about evening and off-site events. If your organization or company will be hosting a showcase or hospitality suite, we can list your roster as well as time/location info. Bands can pass along their showcase schedule daily and we will attempt to make all this information available on the site as provided – including last minute changes as they occur. With IBMA week events spread out this year over a number of different venues – and many being scheduled or modified at the last minute – this central resource can be quite valuable for attendees, exhibitors, artists and even event staff.

Exhibitors who want to announce artist availabilities or special offers at their booth can pass them along to us for posting. We will be promoting our presence both prior to and during the World Of Bluegrass and expect that a large percentage of attendees will be aware of our event coverage and be checking the site daily. We will also promote the coverage to the Nashville media as most exhibitors and artists are hoping to reach the many music industry folks who work in the area, but may not be immediately inclined to attend the convention. We would be delighted if our live blog coverage is able to bring more local residents to the event, and expect that it will be effective in doing so.

Of course, bluegrass lovers worldwide who are unable to attend will be able to savor the flavor of IBMA via Bluegrass Today as we will include lots of descriptions as well as photos, audio and video from all aspects of the World Of Bluegrass.

We expect to be able to announce some more exciting news about our “live blogging” plans at IBMA soon. Stay tuned…