The complete story: IBMA award nominations....

Nashville, TN....IBMA is proud to announce the nominees for the 20th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, hosted by Grammy^®-winning country artist Kathy Mattea and the legendary bluegrass band, Hot Rize, on Thursday, October 1, 2009, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Two decades after the very first IBMA Award Show--an intimate industry gathering at the Executive Inn's Showroom Lounge in Owensboro, Kentucky, hosted by Vince Gill and the Dirt Band's John McEuen--bluegrass music's premier night continues to be the most anticipated evening of the year. Now a generation away from that first show, the bluegrass tradition of passing the music on from one generation to the next also continues, evidenced by the six bands nominated for Entertainer of the Year in 2009. All have gained valuable experience as journeymen musicians with established artists in the past, and have now become the band leaders and musical stylists who will inspire future generations.

Reigning Entertainers of the Year Dailey & Vincent apprenticed with legendary stars Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs. Key members of The Grascals were members of the Osborne Brothers band.Doyle Lawson himself is a former member of The Country Gentlemen and Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys. Del McCoury is a former guitarist and lead singer with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys. Members of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out were former sidemen in Lawson's band, Quicksilver. And Dan Tyminski has been one of Alison Krauss's right-hand men in Union Station for a number of years.

Dan Tyminski and two Union Station alumni, Adam Steffey and Barry Bales, have taken the opportunity to make a name for their own group the past two years, while Alison Krauss focused on a critically acclaimed recording and tour dates with Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant. On the strength of Tyminski's chart-topping album Wheels, the band leads with nine nominations. In addition to Entertainer of the Year, Instrumental Group, Album of the Year, Song of the Year for the title cut, and Male Vocalist nods, band members Ron Stewart, Bales and Steffey are nominated for their individual instrumental skills, with Stewart earning nods in both the Banjo and Fiddle Player categories.

Dailey & Vincent, whose popularity has only continued to grow since they received seven awards in 2008, including Entertainer of the Year, have a new album out on Rounder Records entitledBrothers from Different Mothers and seven new IBMA nominations. Along with nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist--an award Dailey took home last year--the band is up for Vocal Group; Album of the Year; Bass Player (Vincent); Gospel Recorded Performance for "On the Other Side," a song written by Jimmy Fortune, Kevin Denney & Tom Botkin; and "After the Fire is Gone," a song Vincent recorded with his award-winning sister Rhonda Vincent and the legendary Bobby Osborne.

Multiple Emmy^®- and Grammy^® winning actor, musician and best-selling author, Steve Martin, burst onto the bluegrass scene this year, trusty banjo in hand, to receive nominations in six IBMA award categories: Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for "The Crow," Recorded Event of the year for both "Daddy Played the Banjo" and "The Crow," Banjo Player, Best Liner Notes and Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project. After charity appearances in Los Angeles and New York and an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry in May, Martin has recently announced a cross-country series of tour dates in support of his album, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. The Crow currently sits at the top of the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart, and Steve has brought mainstream media attention to bluegrass music with a number of appearances on television and radio programs this year, including A Prairie Home Companion, American Idol's season finale,Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, CBS Early Show, Tavis Smiley and Late Show with David Letterman. Martin, whose fans will remember his impressive banjo chops from his early days as a stand-up comedian, wrote all the songs on The Crow.

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper have been recognized with six nominations, including Instrumental Group, Bass (Marshall Wilborn), Fiddle (Cleveland), Mandolin (Jesse Brock), Print Media Person (guitarist & lead singer, Tom Adams), and Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for the Bill Monroe classic tune, "Jerusalem Ridge."

The Grascals, who were named Entertainers of the Year in 2006 and 2007, have nominations in

five categories. Along with nods for Entertainer and Album of the Year for Keep on Walkin', current Banjo Player of the Year Kristin Scott Benson is nominated for Instrumental Recorded Performance for her original composition "Don't Tread on Me," and she receives a new Banjo Player nomination. The entire band is recognized in the Recorded Event of the Year category for their collaboration with Vince Gill, "Sad Wind Sighs."

The following groups received four nominations each for their outstanding contributions during the current eligibility period: Blue Highway, The Isaacs, Danny Paisley, The Del McCoury Band, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage.

The bluegrass industry's highest honors of the year go to the new members of the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. This year's inductees are The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, the legendary string band formed in 1937 by Ezra, Ray and Ned Cline in West Virginia; and The Dillards, the influential band from Salem, Missouri, known for their popular appearances on The Andy Griffith Show who blazed a trail on the West Coast in the 1960s for progressive bluegrass bands and were instrumental in laying the foundation for the "country rock" music genre. (For complete information on this year's inductees, please visithttp://www.ibma.org/ibma.awards/currentpress/HOFPress.asp.)

IBMA's Distinguished Achievement Award is an honor which recognizes individuals, groups and businesses for ground-breaking work and fostering the music's image and accessibility. This year's recipients are early bluegrass pioneer Hylo Brown; long-time event producer from Maine, PatiCrooker; veteran performer and radio announcer Jody Rainwater; author, musicology and radio broadcaster Dick Spottswood; and the National Council for the Traditional Art's Joe Wilson.. (For complete information on this year's recipients, please visithttp://www.ibma.org/ibma.awards/currentpress/distachieve.asp.)

Tickets for the 20th Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, bluegrass music's biggest night of the year, are available at 888-438-4262, (615) 256-3222 and www.ibma.org. Tickets go on sale at the Ryman Auditorium box office on August 15.

The award show will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio ("Bluegrass Junction" Channel 14) and syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks, thanks to the sponsorship of Martha White, GHS Strings, Sugar Hill Records, Deering Banjos, Bluegrass Music Profiles and the International Bluegrass Music Museum. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates online at www.ibma.org.

The International Bluegrass Music Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), which serves as the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. The IBMA Award Show is the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass week, including the industry's Business Conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest, slated for September 28 - October 4 in Nashville.

Interesting Facts from the 2009 Slate of Nominees:

• Ron Stewart continues his role this year of being the only person ever named as a final nominee on two instruments the same year: banjo and fiddle.

• Leading nominee Dan Tyminski was the singing voice of George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? the popular film directed by the Coen Brothers that brought bluegrass and acoustic music to the forefront of mass media attention in 2000. In addition to being a nearly professional-level golfer, Dan was also the high school foosball champion in his home state of Vermont.

• Steve Martin's high school jamming buddy, multi-instrumentalist John McEuen, of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, returns this year with three nominations for production related to Martin's album, The Crow. As noted above, McEuen was the first co-host of the International Bluegrass Music Awards in 1990.
  
  
• John's co-host at the 1^st Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, Vince Gill, is also nominated for an award this year: Recorded Event of the Year for "Sad Wind Sighs," with The Grascals.
  
  
• The members of Hot Rize, co-hosts for the International Bluegrass Music Awards this year, were the first recipients of the IBMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 1990.
  
  
• Michael Cleveland, one of the most highly-awarded bluegrass musicians still in his 20s, has received the Fiddle Player of the Year six times in the past eight years. If he wins in 2009, he'll be closing in on Stuart Duncan, who currently has eight IBMA fiddle trophies on his mantel at home.

• Band leader Alecia Nugent, originally from Louisiana, is a first-time nominee this year for Female Vocalist of the Year. Jesse Brock, a member of Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, is nominated for the first time in the Mandolin Player of the Year category.

• Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice and Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass, both who are nominated in the Emerging Artist category this year, are competing head-to-head in three more categories this year: Male Vocalist, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. .

• Voting is close this year, as evidenced by ties in two categories, leading to six finalists for Entertainer and Dobro Player of the Year, instead of the customary five.

THE NOMINEES for the

2009 INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Dailey & Vincent
• The Grascals
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• The Del McCoury Band
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out
• Dan Tyminski Band

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Blue Highway
• Dailey & Vincent
• The Isaacs
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
• Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Blue Highway
• Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
• The Infamous Stringdusters
• Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
• Dan Tyminski Band

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Jamie Dailey
• Russell Moore
• Danny Paisley
• Junior Sisk
• Dan Tyminski

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Dale Ann Bradley
• Sonya Isaacs
• Claire Lynch
• Alecia Nugent
• Rhonda Vincent

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Recording Title, Artist(s), Producer(s), Label

• Blue Side Of The Blue Ridge, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (artist), Ronnie Bowman (producer), Rebel Records
• Brothers From Different Mothers, Dailey & Vincent (artist), Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent (producers), Rounder Records
• Keep On Walkin', The Grascals (artist/producers), Rounder Records
• The Room Over Mine, Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass (artist), Ken Irwin & Danny Paisley (producers), Rounder Records
• Wheels, Dan Tyminski, (artist/producer), Rounder Records

SONG OF THE YEAR

Song Title, Artist(s), Songwriter(s)

• "Don't Throw Mama's Flowers Away," Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass (artist), Chris Stuart & Ivan Rosenberg (writers)
• "Iron & Diamonds," The Gibson Brothers (artist), Leigh & Eric Gibson (writers)
• "Leaving Baker County," Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (artist), Tom T. & Dixie Hall (writers)
• "Moneyland," Del McCoury Band (artist), John Herald (writer)
• "Wheels," Dan Tyminski (artist), Patrick McDougal (writer)

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR

Song Title, Featured Artists, Producer(s), Label

• "After The Fire Is Gone;" Bobby Osborne, Rhonda Vincent & Darrin Vincent (artists); Glen Duncan & Bobby Osborne (producers); Rounder Records
• "The Crow," Steve Martin with Tony Trischka (artists), John McEuen (producer), 40 Share Productions
• "Daddy Played The Banjo;" Steve Martin with Tim O'Brien & Earl Scruggs (artists), John McEuen (producer), 40 Share Productions
• "Proud To Be A Daughter of Bluegrass;" Daughters of Bluegrass featuring Dale Ann Bradley, Heather Berry, Lisa Martin, Gloria Belle, Sierra Hull, Rhonda Vincent, Lisa Ray, Linda Lay, Sally Jones, Jeanie Stanley, Carol Lee Cooper, Sonya Isaacs, Becky Isaacs Bowman, Michelle Nixon, Jeanette Williams, Sophie Haislip, Louise Tomberlain, Mindy Rakestraw, Lizzy Long, Frances Mooney, Lorraine Jordan, Annette Kelley, Lily Lieux, Dixie Hall, Judi Marshall, Melissa Lawrence, Beth Lawrence, Rebecca Frazier, Donica Christensen, Lisa Manning & Jenni Lyn Gardner (artists); Dixie Hall, Paula Wolak & Frances Mooney (producers); Blue Circle Records
• "Sad Wind Sighs," The Grascals with Vince Gill (artists), The Grascals (producers), Rounder Records

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Song Title, Artist(s), Songwriter(s), Producer, Label

• "Darkness Wept," Lonesome River Band (artist/producers), Dee Gaskin & Rebecca Bowman (writers), Rural Rhythm Records
• "On The Other Side;" Dailey & Vincent (artist); Jimmy Fortune, Kevin Denney & Tom Botkin (writers); Jamie Dailey & Darrin Vincent (producers); Rounder Records
• "What A Journey," Paul Williams & The Victory Trio (artist), Bret Bronson & Louise Gorman (writers), Paul Williams (producer), Rebel Records
• "When The Last Of Our Days Shall Come," Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artist), Chris Stuart (writer), Doyle Lawson (producer), Rounder Records
• "Who'll Sing for Me?" Audie Blaylock & Redline (artist), Thomas J. Farris (writer), Audie Blaylock (producer), Rural Rhythm Records

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Tune Title, Artist(s), Songwriter, Producer(s), Label

• "Angeline The Baker," Rob Ickes & Andy Leftwich (artists), public domain, Rob Haines (producer), Mel Bay Music
• "The Crow," Steve Martin (artist/writer), John McEuen (producer), 40 Share Productions
• "Don't Tread On Me," Kristin Scott Benson (artist/writer/producer), Pinecastle Records
• "Jerusalem Ridge," Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (artist), Bill Monroe (writer), Jeff White & Michael Cleveland (producers), Rounder Records
• "Struttin' To Ferrum," Lonesome River Band (artist/producer), arrangement by Gene Parker, Rural Rhythm Records

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Sierra Hull & Highway 111
• Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass
• Junior Sisk & Rambler's Choice
• The SteelDrivers
• Josh Williams Band

INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR

BANJO

• Kristin Scott Benson
• J.D. Crowe
• Steve Martin
• Sammy Shelor
• Ron Stewart

BASS

• Barry Bales
• Mike Bub
• Missy Raines
• Darrin Vincent
• Marshall Wilborn

FIDDLE

• Hunter Berry
• Jason Carter
• Michael Cleveland
• Stuart Duncan
• Ron Stewart

DOBRO

• Mike Auldridge
• Jerry Douglas
• Andy Hall
• Rob Ickes
• Randy Kohrs
• Phil Leadbetter

GUITAR

• Jim Hurst
• Tony Rice
• Kenny Smith
• Bryan Sutton
• Josh Williams

MANDOLIN

• Jesse Brock
• Sam Bush
• Sierra Hull
• Ronnie McCoury
• Adam Steffey

BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR

• Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival; Oak Hill, New York; July 2008
• 33rd Annual Tri-State Bluegrass Festival; Kendallville, Indiana; May 2008
• 2008 World Cultural Fusion Festival; Kawaguchi City, Japan; July 2008

BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR

• Kyle Cantrell; Sirius XM Satellite Radio; Nashville, Tennessee
• Katy Daly; HD Radio WAMU 88.5 Channel 2, 105.5 FM & www.bluegrasscountry.org; Washington, D.C.
• Ned Luberecki; Sirius XM Satellite Radio; Nashville, Tennessee

PRINT MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR

• Tom Adams, Banjo Newsletter
• Dan Miller, Flatpicking Guitar
• Roger Siminoff; Siminoff's Luthiers Glossary, Banjo Newsletter and Bluegrass Breakdown

LINER NOTES FOR RECORDED PROJECT

Writers, Album, Artists, Label

• Charlie Cushman, Marty Stuart, Eddie Stubbs & Johnny Warren (writers); A Tribute to Fiddlin' Paul Warren; Johnny Warren & Charlie Cushman (artists); no label
• Eddie Dean (writer); Old-Time Pickin': A Clawhammer Banjo Collection, Ralph Stanley (artist), Rebel Records
• Steve Martin (writer), The Crow, Steve Martin (artist), 40 Share Productions

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR RECORDED PROJECT

Designer, Album, Artists, Label

• G. Carr & Salli Ratts (designers), The Crow, Steve Martin (artist), 40 Share Productions
• Stumptown Printers (designer), Uncle Charlie Osborne: The June Appal Recordings, Uncle Charlie Osborne (artist), June Appal Recordings
• Loren Witcher (designer), Inside Out, Missy Raines & the New Hip (artist), Compass Records

---End of Nominee List---

HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES: The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, The Dillards

DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS: Hylo Brown, Pati Crooker, Jody Rainwater, Dick Spottswood, Joe Wilson