International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMAs) Announce 2018 Winners – Induct Hall of Famers
The International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMAs) held court Thursday (9-27) night at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina as the capstone of their yearly conference. Top performers in bluegrass walked away with coveted prizes, including Balsam Range winning the evening’s top prize for Entertainer of the Year, Special Consensus winning Album of the Year for their record Rivers & Roads, and Song of the Year going to “If I’d Have Wrote That Song” by Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers.
The women of bluegrass once again did well in the instrumental awards, with Sierra Hull winning for Mandolin Player of the Year, and Molly Tuttle taking Guitar Player of the Year for the second year straight, and after recently winning Instrumentalist of the Year at the Americana Music Awards. Emerging Artist of the Year went to the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys.
The event was hosted by bluegrass group Hot Rize, and saw the induction of Ricky Skaggs, Tom T Hall, Dixie Hall, and Paul Williams into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. The IBMA’s Special Awards program earlier in the day featured Distinguished Achievement Award winners Chris Thile of Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, George Gruhn, Christopher Howard-Williams, Curtis McPeake and Walter Saunders.
Now the focus of the assembled bluegrass masses will go to the Wide Open Bluegrass portion of the week, featuring many performances in Raleigh.
- Entertainer of the Year – Balsam Range
- Album of the Year – Rivers & Roads – Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
- Song of the Year – If I’d Have Wrote That Song – Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers (artist), Larry Cordle/Larry Shell/James Silvers (writers)
- Female Vocalist of the Year – Brooke Aldridge
- Vocal Group of the Year – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
- Male Vocalist of the Year – Buddy Melton
- Emerging Artist of the Year – Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
- Banjo Player of the Year – Ned Luberecki
- Instrumental Group Of The Year – Travelin’ McCourys
- Guitar Player of the Year – Molly Tuttle
- Mandolin Player of the Year – Sierra Hull
- Fiddle Player of the Year – Michael Cleveland
- Dobro Player of the Year – Justin Moses
- Bass Player of the Year – Tim Surrett
- Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year – Speakin’ to That Mountain – Becky Buller (artist), Becky Buller/Jeff Hyde (writers), Crepe Paper Heart (album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow Recording (label)
- Instrumental Recorded Performance Of The Year – Squirrel Hunters – Special Consensus with John Hartford, Rachel Baiman & Christian Sedelmyer (10 String Symphony), & Alison Brown (artists), Traditional arranged by Alison Brown/Special Consensus (writers), Rivers & Roads (album), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
- Recorded Event Of The Year – Swept Away – Missy Raines with Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, and Molly Tuttle (artists), single release, Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records (label)
September 28, 2018 @ 11:11 am
Po Ramblin boys Mando player is playing on a mando built by my best friend in Canada…he just got it within last 2 months. Pretty damn cool 👍🏼👍🏼
September 28, 2018 @ 3:15 pm
If The Dead South ain’t playing, I ain’t attending.
I like my bluegrass bloody.
September 28, 2018 @ 6:20 pm
Lot’s of the old guard got the big awards.
September 28, 2018 @ 8:39 pm
The one thing that bothers me about the Texas music scene is that there is not enough bluegrass support to consistently have Austin/New Braunfels as a regular stop for these bands.
September 29, 2018 @ 7:24 pm
Ya’ll got Wood & Wire, though, who recently made the drive up here to SW PA. They were a solid act and very entertaining.
September 28, 2018 @ 11:18 pm
Any word on when the 2018 ACM honors will air on tv, if at all?? CBS usually airs it , the past two years at least. This year it took place end of August.
Anyone? Maybe saving it for filler programming around the holidays… like the Kennedy Honors show?
October 1, 2018 @ 6:55 am
It was not filmed for television this year. I attended and there were some great moments – Chris Stapleton performing Alan Jackson’s “Here in the Real World,” and a great salute to Matraca Berg. Joe Diffie received a standing ovation prior to even singing one note of George Jone’s “The Grand Tour.” There’s a highlight video on ACM’s YouTube channel worth checking out.
In theory, Jon Pardi seemed like a perfect fit to co-host the show. Whether it was a lack of preparation, nerves, or whatever….he was a disaster. Lauren Alaina did great carrying the show.
September 29, 2018 @ 7:49 am
I’ve been out of the Bluegrass scene for 10 years,and haven’t been an IBMA member for that same amount of time,but I’m SO proud to see The Po Ramblin Boys take that award. I watched Jereme and Josh grow up, and I think a lot of CJ and Jasper too. They’ve put in the work, they play real Bluegrass, and they absolutely deserve it.
September 29, 2018 @ 11:21 pm
I’m okay with most of the winners (there’s so much talent in that genre that they really couldn’t have gone wrong with any of the nominees as winners). But, I”ll echo the “Po Ramblin Boys” love. I saw them live recently, and they’re just a neat, neat live band. Their win was the thing that stuck out most to me during the ceremony, along with the hall of fame inductions.