Balsam Range, The Earls top IBMA nominations

Bill Keith, the groundbreaking banjo player from Boston, who played with Bill Monroe, and singer/guitarist Larry Sparks will join the Hall of Fame.

The Earls of Leicester, a group including Jerry Douglas and Shawn Camp, released its debut disc earlier this year. Balsam Range, a North Carolina-based bluegrass quintet, won the IBMA Vocal Group of the Year award last year.

Distinguished Achievement Award
Alison Brown
Murphy Henry
International Bluegrass Music Museum
"Bashful Brother" Oswald Kirby
Steve Martin

Entertainer of the Year
Balsam Range
Hot Rize
The Earls of Leicester
The Gibson Brothers
The Del McCoury Band

Vocal Group of the Year
Balsam Range
Blue Highway
Flatt Lonesome
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
The Gibson Brothers

Instrumental Group of the Year
Blue Highway
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
Punch Brothers
Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
The Earls of Leicester

Song of the Year
"Big Black Train" - Earls of Leicester (artist), Stanley Johnson, George Sherry (writers)
"Fiddlin' Joe" - Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (artist), Mark Brinkman (writer)
"Her Love Won't Turn On A Dime" - Lonesome River Band (artist), Bart Butler, Timothy Johnson, Shane Minor (writers)
"Moon Over Memphis" - Balsam Range (artist), Mark W. Winchester (writer)
"Southern Flavor" - Becky Buller (artist), Bill Monroe, Guy Stevenson, DeWayne Mize (writers)

Album of the Year
Brotherhood - The Gibson Brothers (artist), Eric Gibson, Leigh Gibson, Mike Barber (producers), Rounder
Five - Balsam Range (artist), Balsam Range (producer), Mountain Home Music Company
The Earls of Leicester - The Earls of Leicester (artist) Jerry Douglas (producer), Rounder
Too - Flatt Lonesome (artist), Andrea Roberts, Tim Surrett (producers), Mountain Home Music Company
When I'm Free - Hot Rize (artist), Hot Rize (producer), Ten In Hand Records

Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year
"Holding To The Right Hand" - Lonesome River Band (artist), Turn On A Dime (album), Marvin Clark (writer), Sammy Shelor (producer), Mountain Home Music Company
"Insured Beyond The Grave" - J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams (artist), Standing Tall and Tough (album), Ira Louvin, Charlie Louvin (writers), Doyle Lawson (producer), Mountain Home Music Company
"Stacking Up the Rocks" - Balsam Range (artist), Five (album), Buddy Melton (writer), Balsam Range (producers), Mountain Home Music Company
"What a Wonderful Savior Is He" - The Gibson Brothers (artist), Brotherhood (album), William G. Brewster (writer), Eric Gibson, Leigh Gibson, Mike Barber (producer), Rounder Records
"Who Will Sing for Me" - The Earls of Leicester (artist), The Earls of Leicester (album), Carter Stanley, Ralph Stanley (writer), Jerry Douglas (producers), Rounder Records

Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year
"Backdraft (You Light It, You Fight It" - Balsam Range (artist), Five (album), Buddy Metlon, Marc Pruett, Tim Surrett, Darren Nicholson, Caleb B. Smith (writer), Balsam Range (producer), Mountain Home Music Company
"Come Along Jody" - Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper (artist), On Down the Line (album), Benjamin F."Tex" Logan (writer), Jeff White, Michael Cleveland (producers), Compass Records
"Cumberland Gap" - Lonesome River Band (artist), Turn On A Dime (album), Sammy Shelor (arrangement), Sammy Shelor (producer), Mountain Home Music Company
"The Three Bells" - Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes (artists), The Three Bells (album), Jean Villard, Bert Reisfeld (writers), Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes (producer), Rounder Records
"Yeah Man" - Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen (artist), Cold Spell (album), Michael Munford (writer), Frank Solivan (producer), Compass Records

Recorded Event of the Year
"Against The Grain"- Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time, featuring Garth Brooks (artists), Larry Cordle (producer), MightyCord Records
"Blue Memories" - J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams (artists), Doyle Lawson (producer), Mountain Home Music Company
"For Buddy" - Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes (artists), Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes (producers), Rounder Records
"Test of Time" - Steep Canyon Rangers & Edie Brickell (artists), Carl Jackson (producer)
"TheThree Bells" - Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes (artists), Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes (producers) Rounder Records
"Southern Flavor" - Becky Buller, with Peter Rowan, Michael Feagan, Buddy Spicher, Ernie Sykes, Roland White and Blake Williams (artists), Stephen Mougin (producer) Dark Shadow Recording

Emerging Artist of the Year
Adkins & Loudermilk
Band of Ruhks
Becky Buller
Mountain Faith
Snyder Family Band
The Earls of Leicester
Volume Five

Male Vocalist of the Year
Shawn Camp
Del McCoury
Buddy Melton
Russell Moore
Tim O'Brien

Female Vocalist of the Year
Dale Ann Bradley
Becky Buller
Claire Lynch
Amanda Smith
Rhonda Vincent

Instrumental Performers of the Year

Banjo
Kristin Scott Benson
Rob McCoury
Noam Pikelny
Sammy Shelor
Ron Stewart

Bass
Barry Bales
Mike Bub
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Tim Surrett

Fiddle
Becky Buller
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Ron Stewart

Dobro
Mike Auldridge
Jerry Douglas
Andy Hall
Rob Ickes
Phil Leadbetter

Guitar
Jim Hurst
Kenny Smith
Tim Stafford
Bryan Sutton
Josh Williams

Mandolin
Jesse Brock
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
Adam Steffey

Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year
Cindy Baucom, Knee-Deep In Bluegrass (syndicated)
Becky Buller, Bluegrass Crossroads, WMSR
Kyle Cantrell, Bluegrass Junction, Sirius XM
Chris Jones, Bluegrass Junction, Sirius XM
Ronnie Reno, Reno's Old Time Music, RFD-TV

Bluegrass Event of the Year
La Roche Bluegrass Festival 2014, La Roche sur Foron, France
A Lester Flatt Celebration 2014, Sparta, Tennessee
Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Festival 2014, Richmond, Minnesota
Park Slope Bluegrass & Old-Time Jamboree 2014, Brooklyn, New York
42nd RockyGrass Festival, Lyons, Colorado

Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project
Evan Gaffney (designer), The Phosphorescent Blues, Punch Brothers, Nonesuch
Michael Gerstenberger (designer), Complete Recordings 1936-55, Chuck Wagon Gang, Bear Family Productions
Jimmy Hole (designer), Della Mae, Della Mae, Rounder
Deano Martin (designer), Trouble Follows Me, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Rebel Records
Carrie Smith (designer), The Lonesome Trio, The Lonesome Trio, Sugar Hill

Best Liner Notes for a Recorded Project
Frank Godby, If Only You Knew: The Best of Larry Rice, Larry Rice, Rebel Records
Phil Leadbetter, Next Move, Phil Leadbetter, Pinecastle Records
Randy Pitts, Laurie & Kathy Sing Songs of Vern & Ray, Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick, Spruce and Maple Music
Ted Olson, Old Time Bluegrass from the Great Smoky Mountains (1956 & 1959), Carroll Best & the White Oak String Band, Great Smokey Mountains Association
Eddie Stubbs and Bill Malone, Complete Recordings 1936-55, Chuck Wagon Gang, Bear Family Productions

Bluegrass Print/Media Person of the Year
Fred Bartenstein, The Bluegrass Hall of Fame Inductee Biographies 1991-2014
Derek Halsey, writer for the Herald Dispatch in Huntington, West Virginia, Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, and The Bluegrass Situation.
John Lawless, editor for Bluegrass Today
Ted Lehmann, blogger for Ted Lehmann's Bluegrass, Books & Brainstorms
Gary Reid, author, The Music of the Stanley Brothers and The Bluegrass Hall of Fame Inductee Biographies 1991-2014

Bluegrass Songwriter of the Yeare
Mark 'Brink' Brinkman
Becky Buller
Bill Castle
Shawn Lane
Donna Ulisse

Awards are voted on by the professional membership of IBMA, the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. The awards will be handed out Oct. 1 in Raleigh, N.C. during the IBMA's World of Bluegrass.