Del McCoury named “Entertainer of the Year”
Molly Tuttle takes “Album of the Year” Honor
Raleigh, North Carolina — Del McCoury received the coveted “Entertainer of the Year” Award at the 35th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards. The Awards show, hosted by artists John Cowan and Missy Raines, was held September 26 at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts.
Previously announced inductees into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame – Katy Daley, Jerry Douglas, and Alan Munde were also honored during the show with heartfelt acknowledgement.
The recipients of the 2024 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Del McCoury Band
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Authentic Unlimited
INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
The Travelin’ McCourys
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Fall in Tennessee”
Recorded by Authentic Unlimited
Written by John Meador & Bob Minner
Produced by Authentic Unlimited
Billy Blue Records
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
City of Gold
Recorded by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Produced by Jerry Douglas & Molly Tuttle
Nonesuch Records
GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“God Already Has”
Recorded by Dale Ann Bradley
Written by Mark “Brink” Brinkman & David Stewart
Produced by Dale Ann Bradley
Pinecastle Records
INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“Knee Deep in Bluegrass”
Recorded by Ashby Frank
Written by Terry Baucom
Produced by Ashby Frank
Mountain Home Music Company
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
East Nash Grass
COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
“Brown’s Ferry Blues”
Recorded by Tony Trischka with Billy Strings
Written by Alton & Rabon Delmore
Produced by Béla Fleck
Down the Road Records
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Danny Paisley
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jaelee Roberts
BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rob McCoury
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Vickie Vaughn
FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Deanie Richardson
RESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Gaven Largent
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Cody Kilby
MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jesse Brock
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR (TIE)
“Fall in Tennessee”
Authentic Unlimited
“Alberta Bound”
Special Consensus with Ray Legere, John Reischman, Patrick Sauber, Trisha Gagnon, Pharis & Jason Romero, and Claire Lynch
2024 Inductees to International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame:
Alan Munde has been at the forefront of bluegrass music as a banjo player, bandleader, and educator for over five decades. Hailing from Norman, Oklahoma, he played in his first band, The Stone Mountain Boys, in 1965. A subsequent jam session with Byron Berline, Sam Bush, and Wayne Stewart led to the recording of the highly acclaimed instrumental album Poor Richard’s Almanac. Starting in 1970, Munde began a two-year hitch with the King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin. From there, it was off to California and the country-rock group, the Flying Burrito Brothers. Munde scored a 20-year run with the progressive West Coast group Country Gazette. One of the Gazette’s seminal early releases was A Traitor in Our Midst. Other career highlights include Munde’s teaching bluegrass at South Plains College in Texas, serving as a columnist for Banjo Newsletter, and sitting as member of the IBMA board of directors. He was a 2008 recipient of an IBMA Distinguished Achievement award.
Jerry Douglas has reigned as bluegrass music’s preeminent Dobro player ever since the middle 1970s when he started with the Country Gentlemen. His fascination with the instrument began at age six when he saw Dobro legend Josh Graves perform on a Flatt & Scruggs show. Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, Douglas rotated through a series of bands including J. D. Crowe’s New South, Boone Creek, and The Whites. This same period found Douglas becoming an in-demand session player, for both bluegrass and country music albums. In time, he amassed credits on literally thousands of recording sessions. In 1998, he was asked to join Alison Krauss’s Union Station and in 2014 he launched the award-winning Flatt & Scruggs tribute band, the Earls of Leister. Douglas has earned numerous IBMA Awards, including ten for Dobro Player of the Year. He also won fourteen Grammy Awards, and was selected the CMA’s Musician of the Year in 2002, 2005, and 2007. He is also a former vice president of IBMA’s board of directors.
Katy Daley (Patricia Cole Meloon Brown) made her mark as a bluegrass broadcaster in the Washington, D.C., metro area, starting in the early 1970s. Her entry to bluegrass radio came in a circuitous way. She jokingly told WAMU-FM broadcaster Gary Henderson that listening to his program was part of her work assignment at the CIA! A short time later, she signed on at WAMU, preparing and announcing a weekly “Who’s Playing Where” segment. This was followed by a weeknight disc jockey spot from 10:00 to midnight. In November 1978, Daley collaborated on a 13- part series which traced the development of the music: Bluegrass Anthology. In 1980, Daley joined WMZQ, a 24-hour country station in Washington, where her broadcast work included hosting a bluegrass program for three years. Eventually, Daley returned to WAMU’s offshoot, bluegrasscountry.org, and served as a morning air personality. She received two IBMA awards for Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year and one for Distinguished Achievement. As part of her giving back to the community, she established the Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship which is presented each year by the IBMA Foundation.
Awards were voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). The show was aired on SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction channel and was livestreamed on IBMA’s Facebook Live.
Awards sponsors include: Virginia Tourism Corporation, Yamaha Guitar Group, BMI, Boston Bluegrass Union, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, Compass Records, Deering Banjos, Mountain Fever Records, Sound Biscuit Productions, and Turnberry Records,.