The
Gibson Brothers took home the “Entertainer of the Year” Award at the
23rd annual International Bluegrass Music Awards Thursday night,
September 27 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Brothers Eric and Leigh
Gibson, along with their band (Mike Barber, Clayton Campbell and Joe
Walsh) also picked up an award for “Gospel Recorded Performance of the
Year” for “Singing As We Rise.”
Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice was another big winner of the night, winning “Album of the Year” (The Heart of a Song)
and “Single of the Year“ (“A Far Cry From Lester & Earl”). Russell
Moore (of Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out) and Dale Ann Bradley were
male and female vocalists of the year, respectively, and Joe Mullins
& The Radio Ramblers were the recipients of the prestigious Emerging
Artist award. A full listing of all this year’s winners and award
recipients appears below.
Doyle Lawson and the late Ralph Rinzler were the 2012 Hall of Fame inductees.
As
always, some of the best musicians in bluegrass delivered a night
filled with amazing performances. Hosts Del McCoury and Laurie Lewis
joined an ensemble called “the Masters of Bluegrass” — J.D. Crowe,
Bobby Hicks, Jerry McCoury and Bobby Osborne — to get the show off to a
rousing start.
Other standout performances included Dailey & Vincent’s stirring a cappella
rendition of “When The Roll is Called Up Yonder,” which brought the
audience to its feet; Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen’s bluegrass
interpretation of The Box Tops’ classic “The Letter;” and Hall of Fame
inductee Doyle Lawson’s performance, with his band Quicksilver, of
“Dixie Home.”
A
stunning all-star finale, led by last year’s “Entertainer of the Year”
recipient Steve Martin, filled the Ryman stage with some of bluegrass
music’s top banjo players and musicians, in a tribute to late banjo
legend Earl Scruggs, who died earlier this year. Participants in the
Scruggs tribute included Tom Adams, Eddie Adcock, Jessie Baker, Terry
Baucom, Sam Bush, Kristin Scott Benson, Alison Brown, Jason Burleson,
Greg Cahill, Jason Carter, J.D.Crowe, Jason Davis, Joe Dean, Steve
Dilling, Glenn Gibson, Eric Gibson, Mark Johnson, Doyle Lawson, Laurie
Lewis, Del McCoury, Rob McCoury, Lynn Morris, Joe Mullins, Mike Munford,
Chris Pandolfi, Graham Sharp, Sammy Shelor, Sleepy Man Banjo Boys
(Jonny, Robbie & Tommy Mizzone), Ron Stewart, Mike Sumner, Tony
Trischka, Scott Vestal, Pete Wernick, and Roland White.
the first time ever, the 2012 IBMA Awards Show was broadcast live
from the Ryman as streaming video on BluegrassNation.org and
BluegrassToday.com. The Awards Show was also broadcast live on Sirius XM
Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14), on 650 WSM AM,
and will be syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign
networks, thanks to sponsors Compass Records, ArtistWorks Academy of
Bluegrass, Deering Banjos, BMI, the International Bluegrass Music
Museum, BluegrassToday.com, Boston Bluegrass Union, VisitRaleigh.com,
and 650 WSM AM. Program directors and station managers may register as
affiliates by calling 888-GET-IBMA or 615-256-3222.
Goes On” by Carl Jackson, Ronnie Bowman, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley,
Rickey Wasson, Randy Kohrs, D.A. Adkins, Garnet Bowman, Lynn Butler,
Ashley Kohrs, Gary Payne, Dale Pyatt, Clay Hess, Alan Bibey, Jay Weaver,
Ron Stewart & Jim VanCleve (artists); Jerry Salley, Carl Jackson,
Larry Cordle, Jim Van Cleve & Randy Kohrs (producers); Rural Rhythm
Records
Earlier this week, IBMA’s new Momentum Awards,
designed to recognize promising new talent, were presented. This year’s
recipients of the Momentum Awards – which focus on artists and business
people in the early years of their careers in bluegrass music – are:
bassist Samson Grisman (son of legendary mandolinist David “Dawg”
Grisman, performs with The Deadly Gentlemen), fiddler Alex Hargreaves
(performs with Sarah Jarosz), and fiddler Christian Ward (performs with
Sierra Hull)
Mentor of the Year: Five-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year and producer Mike Bub