ANNIE MOSES BAND RECEIVES STANDING OVATION AT GRAND OLE OPRY DEBUT

Los Angeles, Calif. (November 28, 2012)- The critically acclaimed Annie Moses Band made its Grand Ole Opry debut this past Fri., Nov. 23 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The performance was in support of its latest fall release, Pilgrims & Prodigals, and the compilation project, Annie Moses Band Ultimate Christmas Collection, which is currently available in stores.

Friday’s performance aired on 650 AM WSM Radio and Sirius XM Channel 56. During the show, the band performed its show-stopping rendition of the holiday classic “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” one of the many timeless carols featured on Annie Moses Bands’ Christmas project. The band’s first radio single, “Blush,” was also performed to coincide with Pilgrims & Prodigals, which features an eclectic fusion of music including classical, jazz, folk, and Celtic. After receiving a standing ovation, the group returned to the stage for an encore performance of its high energy version of “Jingle Bells.”

Famous for its holiday renditions, the group’s Ultimate Christmas Collection is a five-disc package comprised of an instrumental project, the band’s chart topping studio album and the record breaking PBS CD/DVD special. The album highlights three classic projects from the Annie Moses band that include Christmas Bright & Beautiful, This Glorious Christmas, and Christmas with the Annie Moses Band live CD/DVD. New to fans is a digital release, Christmas Comes Softly, which features instrumental arrangements of holiday favorites.

To coincide with Ultimate Christmas Collection, the band will embark on a seasonal tour beginning in Bellville, Ill. on November 29. Sponsored by Holt International, the tour will feature 17 performances from the compilation. Holt International is a non-profit organization that supports special needs children in countries overseas who are awaiting adoption.

For more information on Annie Moses Band and the holiday tour, please visit www.anniemosesband.com.

About Annie Moses Band
The Annie Moses Band is made up of six siblings with their parents Bill and Robin spearheading the lyrics and arrangements. As a whole, the family has earned numerous awards and achievements that testify to the depth of each member’s artistic ability, while collectively creating a blend of captivating styles of classical, jazz, folk and even frisson of Celtic. The group consists of highly trained experts with most of them having graduated from the prestigious Juilliard. In addition to its PBS specials and tour dates, the band hosts a Fine Arts Summer Academy, which is an intensive program in the summer for young musical artists that allow them to put their technique to work with on-stage performing experience.

Laurie Lewis & Del McCoury to Host 23rd International Bluegrass Music Awards Sept. 27

Laurie Lewis & Del McCoury to Host 23rd International Bluegrass Music Awards

Nominations for the IBMA Awards, the centerpiece of World of Bluegrass week,
to be announced at a special press conference Wednesday evening, August 15, at The Loveless Barn in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 12, 2012 -- A powerful and delightfully unusual pairing of bluegrass superstars -- Laurie Lewis and Del McCoury -- will host the 23rd Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards this year, on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.

Nominations for the International Bluegrass Music Awards will be announced at a special press conference scheduled for Wednesday evening, August 15, at The Loveless Barn in Nashville.

The IBMA Awards are the centerpiece of World of Bluegrass week, scheduled for September 24-30 in Nashville. Produced by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), the trade organization for global bluegrass music, World of Bluegrass also includes the industry’s Business Conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest.

“I’m thrilled to be invited to co-host the Awards Show with the great Del McCoury!” said singer/songwriter/fiddler Laurie Lewis from her home in northern California. “I predict this will be a very significant and poignant event, as the bluegrass community comes together to recognize and honor its own, and to pay tribute to some of the pioneers we’ve lost this year, including the great Earl Scruggs.”

A two-time winner of the California State Women's Fiddle Championship, Lewis began her career in the mid-1970s as a co-founder of all-female bluegrass band The Good Ol' Persons. She’s worked as fiddle player on the Masters of the Five String Banjo tour with Ralph Stanley; was twice voted IBMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year; and The Oak and the Laurel, her collection of duets with musical co-conspirator Tom Rozum, was nominated for a Grammy® in 1996.

Lewis also contributed songs to the Grammy-winning True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe, and to Grammy-nominated Clinch Mountain Country. Her original tunes have been recorded by Kathy Mattea and Patsy Montana, whose cover of Laurie’s “Cowgirl Song” is the unofficial theme song of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame. She’s toured and worked in various configurations over the years, and in 2006 began working regularly with a band she calls “The Right Hands.” Lewis’ latest recording, Skippin’ and Flyin’, an acclaimed tribute to Father of Bluegrass Bill Monroe, features her pals Linda Ronstadt and Kathy Kallick (her old friend and fellow Good Ol’ Person).

“I was excited to be asked to host the IBMA Awards again,” said IBMA Hall of Fame member Del McCoury from his home near Nashville. “With World of Bluegrass moving to Raleigh next year, this might be the last Awards Show IBMA will hold at the Ryman Auditorium, at least for a few years. It's a tremendous honor for me to be co-hosting with my old friend, Laurie Lewis. We haven't had the opportunity to perform or record together much over the years, but she's a great lady and I know we are going to have a lot of fun hosting the show."

Born in York, Penn., McCoury was a briefly a member of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, working as the band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in 1963. He performed as a regional artist for some years, and in the 1980s welcomed his sons, Ronnie (mandolin) and Rob (banjo), to his ensemble. Today he is leader and patriarch of The Del McCoury Band, a quintet that includes his sons, plus fiddler Jason Carter and bassist Alan Bartram. The band has seen spectacular success in the 21st century, bringing huge new audiences to bluegrass at venues and events like Madison Square Garden, Bonnaroo, and High Sierra, and introducing bluegrass audiences to new music through appearances and recordings with artists as diverse as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Steve Earle, and Phish. Five years ago, McCoury began hosting his own annual DelFest in Cumberland, Md.

At the 2003 IBMA Awards Show, Ricky Skaggs had the pleasure of inviting the Del McCoury Band to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. For those who attended, it was an unforgettable moment. A 2010 recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts, McCoury was inducted into IBMA’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2011.

The IBMA Awards Show will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14) and syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks, thanks to the sponsorship of Compass Records, Deering Banjos, BMI, the International Bluegrass Music Museum, BluegrassToday.com and 650 WSM AM. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates online at www.ibma.org.

The International Bluegrass Music Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the IBMA.

For more information on World of Bluegrass, including tickets to the International Bluegrass Music Awards, visit www.ibma.org, join IBMA’s Facebook group, or call 615-256-3222 (888-GET-IBMA). Tickets are on sale now at the website and at the phone number listed above.

# # #

Contacts:
Judy McDonough, JEMMedia:
(615) 243-5994, mcdonoughmedia1@yahoo.com,

Caroline Wright, Interim Publication Editor/Special Projects Director, IBMA
(615) 256-3222, caroline@ibma.org




Judy McDonough
615-243-5994
Twitter: @jemmcd
mcdonoughmedia1@yahoo.com

NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS

The Boxcars, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Gibson Brothers,
Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Lonesome River Band,
Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers Lead List


Nashville, Tenn….IBMA is proud to announce the nominees for the 22nd annual International Bluegrass Music Awards, scheduled for Thursday, September 29, 2011 at Nashville, Tennessee’s historic Ryman Auditorium. Also announced at the press conference were this year’s inductees to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame - bluegrass ambassador and leader of one of the most awarded bands in the history of IBMA, Del McCoury and pioneering bass player and guitar stylist George Shuffler – and the five recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Award: Greg Cahill, Bill Knowlton, Lilly Pavlak, Geoff Stelling and Roland White.

The Entertainer of the Year category includes the two bands who have received the title the past five years: Dailey and Vincent (2008-2010) and The Grascals (2006-2007). The Boxcars, The Gibson Brothers and Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers are all first-time nominees for the prestigious award which recognizes excellence in all aspects of the entertainment field—including recorded and in-person performance, public acceptance, attitude, leadership and overall contributions to the image of bluegrass music.

The Boxcars, a band that features the talents of Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, John R. Bowman, Keith Garrett and Harold Nixon, lead in all categories with IBMA Award nominations for Entertainer of the Year; Instrumental Group of the Year; Album of the Year (The Boxcars, self-produced for the Mountain Home label); Gospel Recorded Performance (“In God’s Hands,” written by John Benjamin Rochester); Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year (“Jumpin’ the Track,” written by Ron Stewart); Emerging Artist of the Year; Banjo Player and Fiddle Player (Ron Stewart) and Mandolin Player (Adam Steffey).

With nominations for both Entertainer of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year, The Boxcars join the rarified company of acts like Dailey & Vincent and Cherryholmes, who emerged and rose straight to the top in the eyes of their peers the same year. They’re not an overnight success, of course. Adam Steffey is the reigning and seven-time IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year. Ron Stewart, the only musician in the history of the IBMA Awards who has been a frequent finalist in two instrumental categories, was the Fiddle Player of the Year in 2000.

Rural Rhythm recording artists Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out have been nominated in eight categories including Vocal Group of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year (Moore) and Mandolin Player (Benson). Their other nods are testimony that the group plays well with others, including: Album of the Year—for their role in the multi-artist recording The All-Star Jam: Live at Graves Mountain (Rural Rhythm); Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year (“Sailing On,” recorded by Russell Moore and Dale Ann Bradley); Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year (“Ground Speed,” featuring IIIrd Tyme Out mandolinist Wayne Benson in The Rural Rhythm All-Stars); Recorded Event of the Year (“Graves Mountain Memories,” recorded by the Rural Rhythm All-Stars featuring Russell Moore with several other artists); and another Recorded Event of the Year (“Lonesome River,” recorded by Lou Reid & Carolina featuring Russell Moore). IIIrd Tyme Out is a perennial fan favorite, with seven crystal trophies on the mantle for Vocal Group of the Year. Moore is the current Male Vocalist of the Year, an award he also received in 1994 and 1997.

IBMA Emerging Artists of the Year in 1998, The Gibson Brothers (Eric and Leigh) took home trophies for Song of the Year and Gospel Recorded Performance at the 2010 Awards. After a year of radio chart-topping success and a strong touring schedule, the Compass Records recording artists are back with seven nominations for 2011: Entertainer of the Year; Vocal Group of the Year; Album of the Year for Help My Brother, produced by Eric & Leigh Gibson and Mike Barber for Compass; two Song of the Year nods for “Help My Brother” (written by Leigh Gibson) and “Walkin’ West to Memphis” (written by Chris Henry); Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year for “He Can Be Found,” written by Ella Barrett & Faye Cunningham; and Male Vocalist of the Year (Leigh Gibson).

Much to the delight of bluegrass fans everywhere, Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas are back on the tour bus in 2011. Their new album, Paper Airplane (Rounder Records) is currently at the top of Billboard’s Bluegrass Album sales chart. Alison and the guys are nominated in seven categories including: Female Vocalist (Krauss); Male Vocalist (Dan Tyminski); Banjo Player (Ron Block); Bass Player (Barry Bales) and Dobro Player (Jerry Douglas). Alison is also a finalist for Song of the Year (“I’ll Take Love,” collaboration with Dale Ann Bradley and Steve Gulley written by Louisa Branscomb) and Recorded Event of the Year for the same song from the Compass Records album I’ll Take Love, from the pen of Louisa Branscomb.

Members of the Lonesome River Band have five IBMA nominations, including Album of the Year for their participation on The All-Star Jam: Live At Graves Mountain on the Rural Rhythm label. They received two nods for Instrumental Recorded performance of the Year for “Pretty Little Girl,” on the album, Still Learning (Rural Rhythm), and also for band members Sammy Shelor, Brandon Rickman and Mike Hartgrove’s work on “Ground Speed,” by The Rural Rhythm All-Stars (Rural Rhythm). LRB has a Recorded Event of the Year nomination for the song, “Graves Mountain Memories,” recorded by the Rural Rhythm All-Stars (including Sammy Shelor and Mike Hartgrove) on The All-Star Jam: Live at Graves Mountain album; and band leader Sammy Shelor is nominated for Banjo Player of the Year, an award he received four consecutive years from 1995-1998.

Movie star, comedian, author and proud banjo geek at heart Steve Martin has released his second album on the Rounder Label, Rare Bird Alert , with touring band mates The Steep Canyon Rangers. Martin and the Steeps also have nominations in five IBMA categories: Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Rare Bird Alert), Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year (“Rare Bird Alert,” written by Martin), Best Liner Notes for a Recorded Project for Rare Bird Alert (Martin – writer, Rounder), and also Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project for the same album (G. Carr and Salli Ratts – designers, Rounder).

The following have received four award nominations each: Blue Highway, Dale Ann Bradley, The Grascals, Carl Jackson, Mark Newton and Lou Reid & Carolina.

A complete list of nominees follows. For additional information on the Hall of Fame inductees and the recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Award, go to http://ibmaawards.org/node/222.

The International Bluegrass Music Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), which serves as the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. The IBMA Awards Show is the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass Week September 26 – October 2 in Nashville, Tenn., which also includes the IBMA Business Conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest.

For more information on World of Bluegrass week, including tickets to the International Bluegrass Music Awards, go to www.worldofbluegrass.org, join us on Facebook, or call 615-256-3222 (1-888-GET-IBMA).

The IBMA Awards will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 61) and also will be syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks thanks to the sponsorship of Martha White, Deering Banjos, the International Bluegrass Music Museum, “Bluegrass, Moonshine & The Birth of NASCAR – The Movie,” Compass Records and the Academy of Bluegrass. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates by calling (615) 256-3222 or emailing jill@ibma.org.


2011 INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS

BLUEGRASS MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES:
Del McCoury
George Shuffler
IBMA DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS:
Greg Cahill
Bill Knowlton
Lilly Pavlak
Geoff Stelling
Roland White

NOMINEES

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
The Boxcars
Dailey & Vincent
The Gibson Brothers
The Grascals
Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blue Highway
Dailey & Vincent
The Gibson Brothers
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Blue Highway
The Boxcars
Sam Bush Band
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
The Infamous Stringdusters

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Balsam Range
The Boxcars
Sierra Hull & Highway 111
Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jamie Dailey
Leigh Gibson
Russell Moore
Dan Tyminski
Josh Williams

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dale Ann Bradley
Sonya Isaacs
Alison Krauss
Claire Lynch
Rhonda Vincent

SONG OF THE YEAR

“Help My Brother,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Leigh Gibson (songwriter)

“I Am Strong;” The Grascals featuring Dolly Parton (artists); Jamie Johnson, Susanne Mumpower-Johnson, Janee Fleenor (songwriters)

“I’ll Take Love,” Dale Ann Bradley with Alison Krauss & Steve Gulley (artists), Louisa Branscomb & Dale Ann Bradley (songwriters)

“Trains I Missed;” Balsam Range (artists); Walt Wilkins, Gilles Godard, Nicole Witt (songwriters)

“Walkin’ West to Memphis,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Chris Henry (songwriter)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

The All-Star Jam: Live At Graves Mountain; Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, The Crowe Brothers, Lonesome River Band, Mark Newton, Lou Reid & Carolina, Carl Jackson, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Carrie Hassler with Brand New Strings (artists); Mark Newton & Carl Jackson (producers); Rural Rhythm Records (label)

Almost Home, Larry Sparks (artist), Larry Sparks (producer), Rounder Records (label)

The Boxcars, The Boxcars (artists), The Boxcars (producers), Mountain Home (label)

Help My Brother, The Gibson Brothers (artists), Compass Records (label), Eric & Leigh Gibson and Mike Barber (producers)

Rare Bird Alert, Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers (artists), Tony Trischka (producer), Rounder Records (label)

Trains I Missed, Balsam Range (artists), Balsam Range (producers), Mountain Home (label)

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
“God’s Front Porch,” Lou Reid & Carolina (artists), Dennis Duff (songwriter), Lou Reid (producer), Rural Rhythm Christian (label)

“He Can Be Found,” The Gibson Brothers (artists), Ella Barrett & Faye Cunningham (songwriters), Eric & Leigh Gibson and Mike Barber (producers), Compass Records (label)

“In God’s Hands,” The Boxcars (artists), John Benjamin Rochester (songwriter), The Boxcars (producers), Mountain Home (label)

“Prayer Bells of Heaven;” J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams (artists); J.F. Lowe & H.W. Ward (songwriters); Ben Isaacs (producer); Mountain Home (label)

“Sailing On,” Russell Moore & Dale Ann Bradley (artists), Rick Lang (songwriter), Jesse Brock & John Miller (producers), Rural Rhythm Christian (label)

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

“Goin’ Up Dry Branch,” Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (artists), Buddy Spicher & Jimmy Martin (songwriters), Jeff White & Michael Cleveland (producers), Rounder Records (label)

“Ground Speed;” Rural Rhythm All-Stars: Sammy Shelor, Carl Jackson, Brandon Rickman, Wayne Benson, Mike Hartgrove, Mike Anglin (artists); Earl Scruggs (songwriter); Mark Newton & Carl Jackson (producers); Rural Rhythm Records (label)

“Jumpin’ the Track,” The Boxcars (artists), Ron Stewart (songwriter), The Boxcars (producers), Mountain Home (label)

“Pretty Little Girl,” Lonesome River Band (artists), Public Domain, Lonesome River Band (producers), Rural Rhythm Records (label)

“Rare Bird Alert,” Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers (artists), Steve Martin (songwriter), Tony Trischka (producer), Rounder Records (label)
RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR

“Graves Mountain Memories;” Rural Rhythm All-Stars featuring Carl Jackson, Mark Newton, Audie Blaylock, Lou Reid, Russell Moore, Carrie Hassler, Sammy Shelor, Mike Hartgrove, Wayne Benson, Mike Anglin (artists); Mark Newton & Carl Jackson (producers); Rural Rhythm Records (label)

“I Am Strong,” The Grascals featuring Dolly Parton (artists), The Grascals (producers), Cracker Barrel/BluGrascal Records (label)

“I’ll Take Love,” Dale Ann Bradley featuring Alison Krauss and Steve Gulley (artists), Louisa Branscomb & Missy Raines (producers), Compass Records (label)

“Lonesome River,” Lou Reid & Carolina featuring Russell Moore (artists), Mark Newton & Carl Jackson (producers), Rural Rhythm Records (label)

“Prayer Bells of Heaven;” J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson & Paul Williams (artists); Ben Isaacs (producer); Mountain Home (label)
INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR

Banjo:
Terry Baucom
Kristin Scott Benson
Ron Block
J.D. Crowe
Sammy Shelor
Ron Stewart

Bass:
Barry Bales
Mike Bub
Missy Raines
Mark Schatz
Marshall Wilborn

Fiddle:
Hunter Berry
Jason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Ron Stewart

Dobro:
Mike Auldridge
Jerry Douglas
Rob Ickes
Randy Kohrs
Phil Leadbetter

Guitar:
Cody Kilby
Tony Rice
Kenny Smith
Bryan Sutton
Josh Williams

Mandolin:
Wayne Benson
Sam Bush
Sierra Hull
Ronnie McCoury
Adam Steffey

BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR
Katy Daley; WAMU’s Bluegrass Country; Washington, D.C.
Chris Jones; Sirius XM Satellite Radio; Nashville, Tenn.
Tim White; Song of the Mountains; Marion, Va.

BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR
The 31st Annual Bluegrass & Chili Festival; September 2010; Claremore, Oklahoma
Silver Dollar City’s Bluegrass & Barbecue Festival; May 2010; Branson, Missouri
Wintergrass Youth Orchestra Gala; February 2011; Bellevue, Washington

BLUEGRASS PRINT MEDIA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Ralph Berrier, Jr; author of If Trouble Don’t Kill Me (Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.)
Tim Stafford & Caroline Wright, authors of Still Inside: The Tony Rice Story (Word of Mouth Press)
Juli Thanki; freelance writer for The 9531 and The Washington Post, Senior Editor of District Noise

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT
Ricardo Alessio (designer), City of Refuge, Abigail Washburn (artist), Rounder Records (label)
G. Carr & Salli Ratts (designers), Rare Bird Alert, Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers (artists), Rounder Records (label)
Albert J. Roman (designer), Daybreak, Sierra Hull (artist), Rounder Records (label)

BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT
Colin Escott (writer), A Mother’s Prayer, Ralph Stanley (artist), Rebel Records (label)
Geoffrey Himes (writer), The Rounder Records Story, Various Artists, Rounder Records (label)
Steve Martin (writer), Rare Bird Alert, Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers (artists), Rounder Records (label)

Sam Bush to Host 22nd International Bluegrass Music Awards

Nashville, Tenn.….Award-winning artist, band leader, songwriter and mandolin monster Sam Bush will host the 22nd annual International Bluegrass Music Awards on Thursday, September 29, at 7:30 p.m. at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.

“It is my pleasure to return as the host for the 2011 IBMA Awards,” Bush says. “As a bluegrass fan and fellow Kentuckian, it’s especially important to me in the 100th year anniversary of Bill Monroe’s birth. I look forward to spending the evening with the nominees and the winners, as this is their special night.”

Grammy Award winning multi-instrumentalist Sam Bush doesn’t seem old enough to be a musical legend. He’s not…but he is. Alternately known as the “King of Telluride” and the “Father of Newgrass,” Bush has been honored with numerous awards from IBMA and the Americana Music Association. It’s especially fitting that Bush, one of bluegrass music’s premier mandolin players, will host the IBMA Awards the year of the Bill Monroe Centennial. Bill Monroe, known as the Father of Bluegrass Music, would have turned 100 on September 13, 2011. The realm of his influence is vast and his accomplishments are many, but like Sam Bush three decades later, one thing Monroe did was ride the small, uniquely shaped, eight-stringed mandolin like a rocket into a new realm of musical expression the world had never heard before.

Recognitions like the Lifetime Achievement Award from the AMA for Bush in 2009 have been “overwhelming and humbling,” he says, but honors are not what drive him. “I didn’t get into music to win awards,” he says. “I’m just now starting to get somewhere. I love to play and the older I get the more I love it. And I love new things.”

Among those new things are the growing group of mandolin players that identify Bush as their musical role model in much the same way he idolized Bill Monroe and Jethro Burns. “If I’ve been cited as an influence, then I’m really flattered because I still have my influences that I look up to,” Bush says. “I’m glad that I’m in there somewhere.”

He’s being humble, of course. Bush has helped to expand the horizons of bluegrass music, fusing it with jazz, rock, blues, funk, reggae and other styles. He’s the co-founder of the genre-bending New Grass Revival and an in-demand musician who has played with everyone from Emmylou Harris and Bela Fleck to Charlie Haden, Lyle Lovett and Garth Brooks. And though Bush is best known for his jaw-dropping skills on the mandolin, he is also a three-time National Junior Fiddle Champion and Grammy Award-winning vocalist. Last year a song he co-wrote, “The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle,” was one of the five nominees for IBMA Song of the Year.

“In the acoustic world I’ve been pretty lucky to play with almost every one of my heroes. I’ve gotten to play with Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs…. I’ve been to the mountain,” Bush says, smiling. But his greatest contribution may be his impact on the future. “I’m secure with what I can do and I know what I can’t do,” he says. “You just have to stand there and applaud the great young talent. Chris Thile, Wayne Benson, Shawn Lane, Matt Flinner, Ronnie McCoury, Mike Marshall—they play in ways that I can’t play,” he says of the current field of mandolin players. “I’m hoping to be around for the next generation that comes along after that group. That’s going to be something. The music keeps evolving.”

“It’s crazy to think about,” Bush says of his influence. “I’m proud to be part of a natural progression in music. And I hope to still be playing 30 years from now.”

That said, it’s not surprising that Bush still has goals. “I want to grow as a songwriter, as a song collaborator,” he says. “There are still a lot of things I haven’t discovered about playing mandolin. I want to be able to be secure in the styles that I know how to play well, but I also want to explore other styles that I haven’t learned yet. I want to improve as a singer,” he adds. “I have to work harder on singing than I do on playing.”

“As long as I’m alive I hope I have the ability to play,” says Bush, a two-time cancer survivor. When the ability to play is taken away, it’s humbling. It teaches you a lesson: don’t take it for granted.”

Circles Around Me, Bush’s current album on the Sugar Hill label, is an aurally inspiring mix of bluegrass favorites and complementary new songs. “It felt right at this moment in my life to go back and re-visit some things that I’ve loved all my life, which is bluegrass and, unapologetically, newgrass,” says Bush. “After all these years of experimenting —and there’s experimentation on this record too —I’ve come full circle.” Produced by Bush, the 14-song set includes appearances by Del McCoury, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas and New Grass Revival co-founder Courtney Johnson (posthumously). The album also features the phenomenal talent of Bush’s band: Scott Vestal, Stephen Mougin, Byron House and Chris Brown.

Nominations for the International Bluegrass Music Awards will be announced at a special press conference scheduled for Wednesday, August 17, 5-6 p.m. Central at The Loveless Barn in Nashville—so mark your calendars now!

For more information on World of Bluegrass, including tickets to the International Bluegrass Music Awards, go to www.ibma.org, join us on Facebook, or call 615-256-3222 (888-GET-IBMA). Tickets are on sale now at the website.

The IBMA Awards will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction, Channel 14) and will be syndicated to more than 300 U.S. markets and 14 foreign networks thanks to the sponsorship of Martha White, Sugar Hill Records, Deering Banjos, Compass Records and the International Bluegrass Music Museum. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates online at www.ibma.org.

The International Bluegrass Music Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), which serves as the trade association for the bluegrass music industry. The IBMA Awards Show is the centerpiece of the World of Bluegrass week, including the industry’s Business Conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest, which takes place September 26 – October 2 in Nashville.