The International Bluegrass Music Association has extended the deadline to submit names to be considered for their 2016 Momentum Awards. These annual awards are designed to highlight bluegrass artists and industry people in the early years of their musical careers, and recognize them for their achievements.
The deadline to put names forward is stretched now to July 20 at 5:00 p.m. (CDT). Submission is a simple process online where any IBMA member can suggest an artist, band, festival, industry professional or mentor for consideration.
To do so, you will need to provide contact information for a potential nominee, including web, Facebook, and video links plus photos or MP3 files. The more information that is provided, the more easily your candidate can be considered. While not specifically limited by age, it is common to select young players and singers for the band, vocalist, and instrumentalist awards.
IBMA wants everyone to understand that there is no reason to be skittish about nominating yourself if you think you might be deserving. The bottom line is that if they don’t know about you, they can’t consider you for the nominations! They especially urge bluegrass associations and clubs to submit on behalf of musicians that may be known in a given region, but wouldn’t necessarily be on the national radar just yet. That’s the whole point of these awards, to give them a boost at the beginning.
Eight awards in five categories will be given during the World of Bluegrass convention in Raleigh, NC at a special awards luncheon on September 29.
- Momentum Band
- Momentum Vocalist (male or female)
- Momentum Instrumentalist (three awards)
- Momentum Festival/Event/Venue
- Momentum Industry Involvement
- Momentum Mentor
The criteria for these various categories are posted online, as is the submission form for suggesting candidates. If you have ever been dissatisfied with the choices made by the organization, here is a perfect way to ensure that your input will be received.
