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2025 SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Award winners

Tonight the 2025 Bluegrass Music Awards are being announced in Nashville at the Sheraton Music City hotel during the 41st annual SPBGMA National Convention & Band Championship.

Our SPBGMA correspondent, Nick Newlon, will be reporting the winners as they are announced. To see the list as it progresses, simply return to this page throughout the evening as we will add the information during the awards show.

And the winners are:

Bluegrass Promoter of the Year – Aaron McDaris
Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year – SiriusXM 77
Bluegrass DJ of the Year – Chris Jones – SiriusXM
Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year – Daryl Mosley
Bluegrass Album of the Year – If There’s A Will There’s A Way by Junior Sisk for Mountain Fever Records
Bluegrass Song of the Year – Tennessee Hound Dog by The Grascals for Mountain Home Music Company
Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year – Maddie Dalton
Dobro Performer of the Year – Matt Leadbetter
Guitar Performer of the Year – Kody Norris
Mandolin Performer of the Year – Alan Bibey
Banjo Performer of the Year – Kristin Scott Benson
Fiddle Performer of the Year – Mary Rachel Nalley Norris
Female Vocalist of the Year – Rhonda Vincent
Male Vocalist of the Year – Kody Norris
Gospel Group of the Year – Authentic Unlimited
Vocal Group of the Year – The Kody Norris Show
Instrumental Group of the Year – East Nash Grass
Bluegrass Band (Overall) of the Year – Rhonda Vincent & The Rage
Bluegrass Entertainer(s) of the Year – Kody Norris

Congratulations to all the 2025 winners!

Thursday at the 50th anniversary SPBGMA convention in Nashville

Shamanov Sisters jamming at SPBGMA ’25 – photo © Roger Black

Roger Black shared this gallery of photos from opening day at the 2025 SPBGMA Fest in Nashville, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the organization founded by Chuck Stearman in 1975. While this Nashville weekend is technically the 41st National Convention & Band Championship and Bluegrass Music Awards, it is 50 for the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America.

Happy anniversary, SPBGMA!

If You Don’t Climb the Mountain video from Wilson Banjo Co

Pinecastle Records has brought out a music video for the new single from Wilson Banjo Co, just as the band releases a five-track EP, Lonely As It Gets, which nicely showcases the latest iteration of the group.

The video is for If You Don’t Climb the Mountain, written by Jeff Hovis and Rick Lang, which was filmed by the folks with Bonfire Recording Studio on a hotel roof during last September’s World of Bluegrass convention in Raleigh, NC.

It’s a bluesy song about the need to put in the work to obtain the results you hope for in life, perfectly encapsulated in the last line of the chorus: “If you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t enjoy the view.”

Founder and band leader, banjo picker Steve Wilson – who really does make banjos – says that the song is a great fit for Andrew Crawford, who has joined the band on guitar along with his wife, Brandi Colt on mandolin.

“If You Don’t Climb the Mountain is a powerful anthem that Rick Lang brought to us, and we were instantly inspired by the lyrics and the dynamic groove. It truly sets the tone for the 10th Anniversary of Wilson Banjo Co. My wife and I gave up everything completely stable in our lives to follow this bluegrass dream ten years ago, and never looked back. We don’t do it for fame and fortune, but for the love of the music and creation, fulfillment in the journey, and we do hope to make enough folks happy that we can pay the bills and continue to climb our mountain.

We are strong believers in being a captain of our own destiny and not just ‘following the leader’ or ‘working for the man,’ for as long as the good Lord permits us.

We knew this was the perfect song to debut Andrew Crawford’s tenacious, gravely tone as a new lead singer with Wilson Banjo Co., and he absolutely crushed it along with the entire band driving the arrangement from start to finish.

We couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out, and hope it inspires you too!”

With Wilson on banjo, Crawford on guitar, and Colt on mandolin, the group is completed by Adam Bachman on reso-guitar and Jamie Carter on bass. Darren Nicholson plays mandolin on the track.

Have a look and listen to If You Don’t Climb the Mountain below.

If You Don’t Climb the Mountain, and the full Lonely As It Gets EP, are available now from popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.

Doc Watson: A Life in Music

The University of North Carolina Press has released a new biography on one of that state’s most influential native sons, Doc Watson.

Doc Watson: A Life in Music, by Eddie Huffman, relates the history and career of the blind guitarist whose playing and singing helped revitalize interest in authentic mountain music from the 1960s onward. Watson was embraced by the folk festival scene, particularly following his breakout performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963, and his debut, self-titled solo album which released the following year.

Huffman is a native North Carolinian, living in Greensboro, whose previous work includes a similarly detailed biography of John Prine.

With Doc, Huffman has carefully researched Watson’s life and music, and from the selected bibliography included in the book, seems to have read most of what has been published about the flatpicking hero. He describes Doc’s time here on earth from his earliest days growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina, through the folk music era, raising and eventually bringing his son, Merle, into the act, and the good times when Doc & Merle were headlining bluegrass festivals and selling tons of records.

It then covers Merle’s tragic death in 1985 and the ensuing memorial festival, MerleFest, which has become one of the largest celebrations of Americana music in the world. Huffman finishes with the passing of both Doc and his wife, Rosa Lee, and several of the tribute projects assembled in their wake.

Huffman’s is a concise book, running to 288 pages, with a number of historical photos scattered throughout. It’s hard to imagine why any Doc Watson fan wouldn’t want this one in their collection.

Doc Watson: A Life in Music is available directly from the publisher in hard cover, and will be arrive at popular online resellers on January 28 in print and digital editions.

Larry Cordle drops video for Old Richmond Road

Veteran bluegrass hero Larry Cordle has released a music video for his current single, Old Richmond Road, consisting of photographs that visualize the lyrics of the song.

Old Richmond Road is a cross between a love song to his beloved wife, Wanda, and a memoir of their marriage and life together. It describes places and people that populated their lives, which is nicely set off in the video by a collection of photos from Cord’s own archive.

The combination of the personal frankness in these lyrics with images of Larry and Wanda together, makes this a highly emotional viewing experience. Especially once you understand that the road in the title, and the directions in the first verse, describe the way to Wanda’s house when she and Larry were first dating back in Kentucky.

We should all to have someone who loves us this well.

Support on the audio track comes from Clay Hess on guitar, Steve Thomas on mandolin, Jenee Fleenor on fiddle, Mike Anglin on bass, and Mike Rogers on percussion. Mike and Larry add harmony vocals.

The song and the video are starkly beautiful, but what else would you expect from Larry Cordle?

Check it out…

Old Richmond Road is available now from popular download and streaming services online, and to radio programmers via AirPlay Direct.

Do-It-Yourself Mandolin from Jeremy Chapman

Jeremy Chapman, mandolinist with The Chapmans and co-proprietor with his two brothers of The Acoustic Shoppe, a full-service bluegrass music store in Springfield, MO, has a new book with Hal Leonard titled Do-It-Yourself Mandolin.

Like all of the books in Hal Leonard’s Do-It-Yourself series, Chapman’s mandolin manual is meant to assist new students of the instrument who are learning on their own. Using a number of exercises and nearly four dozen well-known songs and tunes, Jeremy takes you through basic mandolin fundamentals like picking, strumming, melodies, and chords, plus more advanced techniques like tremolo and cross-picking.

Chapman says that the book is based on what he’s seen work with his students over the years.

“Over two decades of teaching private mandolin lessons have given me a good understanding of some of the common hurdles learners face. I’ve found that teaching techniques within the framework of a song makes the process more engaging and effective. Collaborating with Hal Leonard on their Do-It-Yourself series was an exciting opportunity to bring these teaching methods to a broader audience. I also worked closely with our media production team at The Acoustic Shoppe to develop top-tier video and audio content that perfectly complements the book’s lessons.”

Running 96 pages, the following pieces are presented in the book, with audio and video examples available online with a link provided in the book.

Amazing Grace
The Andy Griffith Show Theme (The Fishin’ Hole)
Are You Washed In The Blood?
Ashokan Farewell
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Boil Them Cabbage Down
The Boys Of Bluehill
Cooley’s Reel
Cripple Creek
Eighth Of January
Eleanor Rigby
Father Kelly’s Reel (The Rossmore Jetty)
Gentle On My Mind
He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands
Home Sweet Home
Hot Corn, Cold Corn
I Saw The Light
I Walk The Line
I’m Goin’ Back To Old Kentucky
In The Sweet By And By
The Irish Washerwoman
It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More
King Of The Road
Liberty
Little Rock Getaway
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
Losing My Religion
Man Of Constant Sorrow
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Old Joe Clark
Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior
Poor Wayfaring Stranger
Ring Of Fire
Rocky Top
Salt Creek
Shady Grove
Skip To My Lou
Swallowtail Jig
Take Me Back To Tulsa
Take Me Home, Country Roads
This Little Light Of Mine
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Wagon Wheel
Wildwood Flower
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Yellow Submarine
Your Cheatin’ Heart

All exercises and songs are presented in metered tablature, and several tunes are presented with a number of variations, showing first the basic melody, and then ways to add a bit of flourish to a solo.

That’s enough to give anyone a good start!

Do-It-Yourself Mandolin is available for $24.99 from Hal Leonard online, from a great many music stores worldwide, and of course, from The Acoustic Shoppe.

Peter Rowan accepts Lifetime Achievement Award at Folk In Fusion

Anna Kline, Peter Rowan, and Alison Brown as Pete accepts his Lifetime Achievement Award

Lifelong bluegrass icon Peter Rowan accepted a Lifetime Achievement Achievement Award last night at the kickoff concert for Ireland’s Your Roots Are Showing conference, Folk In Fusion.

The show was held at the INEC Arena in Killarney, where Rowan performed along with Ron Block, Rhiannon Giddens, Sandy Kelly, Brendan McCreanor, Gerry O’Connor, Liam Ó Maonlaí, and Kenny Sharp and Brown Liquor Music.

Rowan’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the first such given by the organization, was presented by Anna Kline, Business Development Director for the IBMA, and Alison Brown, award-winning banjo player and producer, and founder of Compass Records.

Brendan McCreanor, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Your Roots Are Showing, says that Peter was a perfect choic. for the debut of this award.

“Peter Rowan’s music is timeless, blending tradition with innovation in a way that resonates deeply. Playing onstage with him was an unforgettable experience, and this award is a fitting tribute to his profound impact on the global folk community and the stories he’s brought to life.”

After accepting his award Peter played a brief set on stage and then sat in with many of the artists on the bill.

Congratulations Peter Rowan!

Ralph II to play the Opry in honor of Dr. Ralph’s induction

Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys have been invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry on January 17 at the Ryman Auditorium in honor of his father, Dr. Ralph Stanley’s, distinction as the first Opry member to be inducted in the new millennium on January 15, 2000.

It was a big year for Dr. Ralph, who also recorded a chilling a cappella version of O Death for the O Brother, Where Art Thou film by the Coen Brothers, for which he won a Grammy for Best Male Country Performance in 2002, and appeared in the Down From The Mountain documentary and performance film.

Ralph II says that the honor of standing in for the Good Doctor on Friday isn’t lost on him.

“I’ve had the honor of playing the Grand Ole Opry many times as a member of my dad’s band, and each performance has felt special, but fronting the Clinch Mountain Boys at the Ryman on the 25th anniversary of Dad’s induction—and during the 100th year of the Opry itself—is an indescribable thrill.”

What a wonderful remembrance for Dr. Ralph, and for The Stanley Brothers!

Tickets for this Ryman show, which will also feature John Conlee, Suzy Boggus, and Jeanie Seeley, are available online.

New book from Barbara Martin Stephens – The People and the Music

Barbara Martin Stephens, groundbreaking female booking agent and artist manager during the early days in Nashville, and ex-wife of enduring bluegrass icon Jimmy Martin, has released a second book.

Titled The People and the Music – Country and Bluegrass That Is!, the book continues in the first-person memoir style of her previous volume, Don’t Give Your Heart to a Rambler: My Life with Jimmy Martin, the King of Bluegrass, but expanding to recall the many people with whom she worked starting in the 1960s in Music City.

Barbara breaks it down into three primary categories: Booking Agents, Managers, and Promoters, in which she discusses ten different agencies or agents with whom she worked closely, including her own; The Women Behind The Scenes, which includes memories of people like Betty Harford, wife of John Hartford; and Singers, Songwriters, and More, with 16 profiles of people on the artistic side of the business, like Ronnie Reno, Ginger Boatwright, Louisa Branscomb, Grant Turner, Wilma Lee Cooper, Merle Kilgore, and both Bob and Birdie Smith and Marty and Charmaine Lanham, who helped launch The Station Inn.

The People and the Music retains the easy, conversational style which Stephens established in her first book, making her rich memories of these formative years in bluegrass and country music accessible to all. If you ever wished you could have been backstage at The Ryman while Jim Reeves or The Osbornes Brothers were on stage, this collection will get you as close as can be.

The book closes with an epilogue titled My Memories of Three of the Greatest Banjo Players: Sonny Osborne, Bill Emerson, and J.D. Crowe, whose headline perfectly describes the contents, a poem Stephens composed, and a number of her favorite recipes.

Running to 347 numbered pages, The People and the Musicar is like spending an afternoon with Barbara Martin Stephens, and absorbing her many memories and stories from working on the inside of the music business as it was developing in Nashville. It’s a deep dive into another time, with more than 100 historic photographs.

The self-published book is available from many popular online resellers, in both soft cover and digital editions.

IBMA to partner with Your Roots Are Showing

The International Bluegrass Music Association has announced that they will be partnering with Your Roots Are Showing, Ireland’s Folk Conference, which takes place next week at The Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.

The Conference celebrates the many varied streams of traditional music in Ireland, which have inspired folk string music in many other parts of the world, particularly in the US and Canada which so many Irish immigrants brought when they fled the island nation during famine and oppression.

Structured a bit like IBMA’s World of Bluegrass conference, Your Roots Are Showing combines seminars, educational workshops, networking opportunities, artist showcases, and Iive performances from January 15-19, from a mix of performers in bluegrass, folk, Americana and roots music. The Conference follows the big Folk in Fusion concert on January 14 and attracts show promoters and festival managers from across the UK and Europe.

IBMA will be in attendance at the 2025 Conference, something that co-founder and Executive Director of Your Roots Are Showing, Charlene Sloan, says shows how much they have grown in just three years.

“We are absolutely thrilled to announce this exciting partnership with the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). Bringing IBMA to Ireland for this year’s event marks a significant milestone in the growth of Your Roots Are Showing. The opportunity to collaborate with an organization that has such a profound impact on the bluegrass community is truly special.

We look forward to welcoming IBMA to Killarney and celebrating the incredible legacy of Peter Rowan with his well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as hearing him share his insights during the ‘In Conversation with Peter Rowan’ panel, which will be hosted by IBMA’s Business Development Director, Anna Kline.

We’re also excited to announce that we will be attending IBMA in Chattanooga, TN this September to continue building these vital connections.”

Ken White, Executive Director of the IBMA, is similarly pleased to be involved.

“Our partnership with Your Roots Are Showing harkens back to the very beginnings of bluegrass, when Irish melodies found their way to Uncle Pen’s fiddle in Kentucky. Our bluegrass family continues to grow, proof positive that bluegrass is alive and well around the globe. From the IBMA International Band Performance Grant program to supporting our international industry partners at YRAS, we remain committed to strengthening the ties of our worldwide musical family.”

A total of 90 artists will participate in live showcases over the four days, hailing from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, USA, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Guyana, England, Scotland, Brittany, Spain, and Finland.

Complete details and schedules for the 2025 Your Roots Are Showing conference can be found online.