Tuttle tops IBMA nominations

Del McCoury Band scored two along with numerous individual awards and Michael Cleveland four.

Sam Bush, Wilma Cooper and David Grisman will enter the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame . Five will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award.

The five nominees for "Entertainer of the Year" are Appalachian Road Show (first nomination), reigning award holder Billy Strings, nine-time winner Del McCoury Band, Molly Tuttle Golden Highway with their second nomination and The Po' Ramblin' Boys with their third.

Recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Award are the website The Bluegrass Situation, Tom Ewing, Red Wine, Terry Baucom, and Carl Goldstein.

Awards will be handed out Sept. 28 in Raleigh, N.C.

Nominees are:
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Authentic Unlimited
Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Del McCoury Band
Sister Sadie

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Billy Strings
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
The Infamous Stringdusters
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
The Travelin' McCourys

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Blue Ridge Mountain Baby" - Appalachian Road Show , Songwriters: Barry Abernathy/Jim VanCleve Label: Billy Blue Records, Producer: Appalachian Road Show
"Crooked Tree" - Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway; Songwriters: Molly Tuttle/Melody Walker Label: Nonesuch Records, Producers: Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle
"Diane" - Sister Sadie, Songwriters: Jeffrey Nath Bhasker/Samuel Tyler Johnson/Cameron Marvel Ochs, Label: Mountain Home, Producer: Sister Sadie
"Heyday" - Lonesome River Band, Songwriters: Barry Huchens/Will Huchens, Label: Mountain Home Music Company, Producer: Lonesome River Band
"Power of Love" - Rick Faris, Songwriters: Johnny Colla/Huey Lewis/Christopher Hayes, Label: Dark Shadow Recording, Producer: Stephen Mougin

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Crooked Tree - Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Label: Nonesuch Records, Producer: Jerry Douglas and Molly Tuttle
Lovin' of the Game - Michael Cleveland, Label: Compass Records, Producers: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
Lowdown Hoedown - Jason Carter, Label: Fiddle Man Records, Producers: Jason Carter and Brent Truitt
Me/And/Dad - Billy Strings and Terry Barber, Label: Rounder Records, Producers: Billy Strings and Gary Paczosa
Radio John: The Songs of John Hartford - Sam Bush, Label: Smithsonian Folkways, Producer: Sam Bush

GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
"The Glory Road" - Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers, Songwriters: Paul Martin/Harry Stinson/Marty Stuart, Label: Billy Blue Records, Producers: Joe Mullins and Adam McIntosh
"Jordan" - Darin & Brooke Aldridge with Ricky Skaggs, Mo Pitney and Mark Fain, Songwriter: Fred Rich Label: Billy Blue Records, Producer: Darin Aldridge and Mark Fain
"The Scarlet Red Lines" - Larry Sparks, Songwriter: Daniel Crabtree, Label: Rebel Records, Producer: Larry Sparks

"Take a Little Time for Jesus" - Junior Sisk, Songwriter: David Marshall, Label: Mountain Fever Records Producers: Junior Sisk and Aaron Ramsey

"Tell Me the Story of Jesus" - Becky Buller with Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs, Songwriter: Fanny Crosby, arrangement by Becky Buller, Label: Dark Shadow Recording, Producer: Stephen Mougin

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
"Contact" - Michael Cleveland with Cody Kilby, Barry Bales, and Béla Fleck, Songwriter: Michael Cleveland, Label: Compass Records, Producer: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
"Foggy Morning Breaking" - Alison Brown with Steve Martin, Songwriters: Alison Brown/Steve Martin, Label: Compass Records, Producers: Alison Brown and Garry West
"Gold Rush"- Scott Vestal's Bluegrass 2022, Songwriter: Bill Monroe, Label: Pinecastle Records Producer: Scott Vestal
Kissimmee Kid" - Jason Carter, Songwriter: Vassar Clements, Label: Fiddle Man Records, Producers: Jason Carter and Brent Truitt
"Scorchin' the Gravy" - Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Songwriter: Frank Solivan, Label: Compass Records, Producer: Frank Solivan

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Authentic Unlimited
East Nash Grass
Henhouse Prowlers
The Tennessee Bluegrass Band
Tray Wellington

COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
"Alberta Bound" - Special Consensus with Ray Legere, John Reischman, Tisha Gagnon, Claire Lynch, Pharis & Jason Romero, Songwriter: Gordon Lightfoot, Label: Compass Records, Producer: Alison Brown
"Big Mon" - Andy Leftwich with Sierra Hull, Songwriter: Bill Monroe, Label: Mountain Home Music Company, Producer: Andy Leftwich
"Foggy Morning Breaking" - Alison Brown with Steve Martin, Songwriter: Alison Brown/Steve Martin Label: Compass Records, Producer: Alison Brown and Garry West
"For Your Love" - Michael Cleveland with Billy Strings and Jeff White, Songwriter: Joe Ely, Label: Compass Records, Producer: Jeff White, Michael Cleveland, and Sean Sullivan
"From My Mountain (Calling You)" - Peter Rowan with Molly Tuttle and Lindsay Lou, Songwriter: Peter Rowan, Label: Rebel Records, Producer: Peter Rowan

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Greg Blake
Del McCoury
Danny Paisley
Larry Sparks
Dan Tyminski

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Brooke Aldridge
Dale Ann Bradley
Jaelee Roberts
Molly Tuttle
Rhonda Vincent

BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kristin Scott Benson
Alison Brown
Béla Fleck
Ned Luberecki
Scott Vestal

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Bub
Todd Phillips
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Vickie Vaughn

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Deanie Richardson

RESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Matt Leadbetter
Justin Moses

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chris Eldridge
Trey Hensley
Billy Strings
Bryan Sutton
Molly Tuttle

MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Alan Bibey
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury

Bush, "The King of Newgrass" and mandolin player, was in the Bluegrass Alliance, Bush before forming New Grass Revival. . Bush spent the first part of the 1990s in Emmylou Harris's Nash Ramblers, then worked on other projects including touring and recording with his own Sam Bush Band

Born in West Virginia, Cooper spanned bluegrass and country music from the 1950s into the 1990s, first with husband Stoney Cooper (1918-1977) and then on her own until retiring in 2001. They recorded for Columbia Records, then moved to Nashville and joined the Grand Ole Opry, recording hits for Hickory Records that included "Come Walk With Me" and "There's A Big Wheel."
Grisman emerged from the New York City folk music scene, then turned to bluegrass in the mid-1960s, performing and recording with Red Allen, Hazel & Alice, and the New York Ramblers. By the early 1970s, he had relocated to California's Bay Area, performing with the short-lived Muleskinner supergroup, then with long-time friend Jerry Garcia in Old & In The Way before launching his own David Grisman Quartet with guitarist Tony Rice. The group explored bluegrass, jazz, swing music, and more in what became known, honoring his nickname, as "Dawg music."

Each year, the IBMA presents five Distinguished Achievement Awards to individuals and organizations to recognize their significant contributions to bluegrass music with its highest honor outside of induction into the Hall of Fame. This year's recipients of IBMA's Distinguished Achievement Awards include:

The Bluegrass Situation is an website for bluegrass and roots music for the last 10 years. The media outlet was founded by Ed Helms and Amy Reitnouer-Jacobs.

Terry Baucom, "The Duke of Drive," has had a major impact on bluegrass music as a musician and trailblazer. As a founding member of Boone Creek, the original Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, Blue Ridge, Lou Reid,Terry Baucom & Carolina, and Terry Baucom's Dukes of Drive.

Tom Ewing has been playing bluegrass since 1962 and writing about it since 1976. One of Bill Monroe's last Blue Grass Boys (1986-96), Ewing appeared on Monroe's final three albums. During his career, he has also played with Earl Taylor, Jim & Jesse, and David Davis & the Warrior River Boys, in addition to releasing two albums featuring his original songs. He wrote the monthly "30 Years Ago" column from 1994 to 2008 for Bluegrass Unlimited, edited The Bill Monroe Reader in 2000, and wrote a biography of the "Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe: The Life and Music of the Blue Grass Man," published by the University of Illinois Press in 2018.

Carl Goldstein has presented bluegrass music for over five decades. As the Chair of the Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music, he was persuaded by Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe to launch what became the first Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival. He remained its Festival Director until stepping down in 2022 after 50 years at the helm.

Based in Genova, Italy, Red Wine has been a bluegrass music pioneer outside the U.S., melding traditional and contemporary bluegrass, country, gospel, and swing music into their own Italian-influenced style. The band formed in 1978.