IBMA Announces 2026 Bluegrass Music Awards Nominees And Honorees

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announced the nominees for the 2026 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, the 2026 class of inductees into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and the recipients of this year’s IBMA Distinguished Achievement Awards.

The nominees and honorees were revealed during a special live broadcast from SiriusXM studios in Nashville. The winners will be announced at the 37th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, presented by Get It Played, on Oct. 22 at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Following the announcement of the nominees, the IBMA announced the four 2026 inductees for the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, considered the highest honor in the format.

The incoming class includes Byron Berline (July 6, 1944-July 10, 2021) a multi-instrumentalist with a career that spanned seven decades. He is primarily known for his fiddle work but also played mandolin and guitar. Born in Caldwell, Kansas, he grew up in Oklahoma and started out on fiddle at age five. In his mid-teens, Berline began attending – and winning – regional fiddle contests. By 1966 he was working for Bill Monroe and recorded “Gold Rush,” “Virginia Darling” and “Sally Goodin’” followed by an impressive string of creative collaborations and solo studio as an in-demand session player appearing on recordings by The Byrds, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, John Denver, Elton John, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Earl Scruggs.

The Nashville Bluegrass Band (NBB) formed in 1984 by Alan O’Bryant and Pat Enright and quickly became known for its soulful harmonies, inventive arrangements and deep respect for traditional bluegrass. Their early albums, such as My Native Home and Idle Time (produced by Béla Fleck), showcased a unique blend of bluegrass, blues and gospel. Internationally, NBB broke new ground by becoming the first bluegrass band to perform in the People’s Republic of China in 1986 and touring across Japan, Europe and Brazil. At home they’ve performed at the Ryman Auditorium and Carnegie Hall in addition to contributing to the massive film soundtracks for O Brother, Where Art Thou?. NBB has earned two Grammy awards and multiple IBMA Vocal Group of the Year honors.

Honoree Barry Lyle Poss (Sept. 7, 1945-May 13, 2025) and David Freeman launched the Sugar Hill label in 1978 with Poss acquiring full control in 1980. With an emphasis on bluegrass and folk music, Sugar Hill released some of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1980s and ‘90s. They brought Chris Thile and Nickel Creek to worldwide attention and released albums for the Lonesome River Band, Dolly Parton, the Seldom Scene, Hot Rize, Sam Bush, the Infamous Stringdusters, New Grass Revival, Steve Martin, Doc Watson and many others. Non-bluegrass luminaries include Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Robert Earl Keen. Under Poss, the label (which he sold in 1998), is credited with 12 Grammy winning projects.

The Lost & Found was formed in 1973 by four jam session friends – Allen Mills, Gene Parker, Dempsey Young and Roger Handy. By 1975, they had released their first album, First Time Around, on Outlet Records. The lineup of the Lost & Found changed over the years, but the core members – Mills, Parker and Young – have remained pivotal in shaping their sound – a blend of traditional and contemporary influences. In 1980, the band signed with Rebel Records, which provided them with national distribution and further solidified their place in the bluegrass world. Over the years, they released several albums on Rebel, including Sun’s Gonna Shine, The Deal, Hymn Time and It’s About Time. Mills received an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award in 2019.

In addition to the Hall of Fame, the IBMA recognized individuals and organizations whose significant contributions to the advancement of bluegrass music are celebrated through the Distinguished Achievement Awards.

Recipients include Gallagher Guitars, which was founded in 1965 by master cabinetmaker J.W. Gallagher in Wartrace, Tennessee and revolutionized bluegrass instrument design; influential educator, historian and fiddler Matt Glaser, who spent decades redefining bluegrass music by dissolving the boundaries between traditional string styles, jazz and classical music and pioneering the urban “jazzgrass” scene; journalist, editor and writer Derek Halsey whose writing has been published in Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (where he has more than 100 articles) among other publications; the Marshall Family, who impressed Ralph Stanely so much, he booked the group on his Memorial Day bluegrass festival and actively pitched them to other promoters and coordinated their record deal; and Gary Reid, whose contribution include publishing The Music of The Stanley Brothers, founding Copper Creek Records in 1978 and spending two decades as publisher of the Bluegrass Calendar.

Nominees for the 2026 IBMA Momentum Awards, which recognize artists and industry professionals in the early stages of their bluegrass music careers, and the 2026 IBMA Industry Awards will be announced during the week of July 20. Tickets for the IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards and other IBMA World of Bluegrass events, running Oct. 20-24, are currently on sale.

2026 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Nominees:

Entertainer of the Year

Billy Strings 

Alison Krauss & Union Station 

Sister Sadie 

East Nash Grass 

The Del McCoury Band

Vocal Group of the Year

Alison Krauss & Union Station 

Authentic Unlimited 

Sister Sadie 

Blue Highway 

Red Camel Collective

Instrumental Group of the Year

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper 

Billy Strings 

The Travelin’ McCourys 

East Nash Grass 

Appalachian Road Show

Song of the Year

“Broken Angels” 

Artist: The Grascals and Dolly Parton

Songwriters: Dolly Parton/Jamie Johnson

Producer: Kent Wells

Label: Billy Blue Records

“Can’t Outrun the Blues” 

Artist: Trey Hensley

Songwriters: Trey Hensley/Bobby Starnes

Producer: Brent Maher

Label: Pinecastle Records

“New Cluck Old Hen” 

Artist: Steve Martin and Alison Brown (featuring Della Mae)

Arrangement: Steve Martin/Alison Brown

Producers: Alison Brown/Garry West

Label: Compass Records

“Cost of Living”

Artist: Authentic Unlimited

Songwriter: Jerry Cole

Producer: Authentic Unlimited

Label: Edisonic Records

“Finding Your Way Home”

Artist: Red Camel Collective

Songwriters: Heather Berry Mabe/Joseph Scott Patrick

Producer: Red Camel Collective/Stephen Burwell

Label: Pinecastle Records

Album of the Year

Can’t Outrun the Blues

Artist: Trey Hensley 

Producer: Brent Maher

Label: Pinecastle Records

All Will Be Well

Artist: Sister Sadie 

Producer: Deanie Richardson

Label: Mountain Home Music Company

All God’s Children

Artist: East Nash Grass 

Producers: Jake Stargel/East Nash Grass

Label: Mountain Fever Records

Della Jane’s Heart

Artist: Appalachian Road Show 

Producer: Appalachian Road Show

Label: Billy Blue Records

Songs That Sing Me

Artist: Becky Buller 

Producer: Stephen Mougin

Label: Dark Shadow Recording

Gospel Recording of the Year

“I Will Someday” 

Artist: NewFound Road 

Songwriters: Ronnie Bowman/Garnet Bowman/Chris Stapleton/Morgane Stapleton

Producer: Tim Shelton

Label: Billy Blue Records

“Where the Soul Never Dies” 

Artist: Bobby Osborne & C.J. Lewandowski

Songwriter: William M. Golden

Producer: C.J. Lewandowski

Label: Turnberry Records

“Some Day” 

Artist: Blue Highway

Songwriters: Olive Stockton/Tim Stafford

Producer: Blue Highway/Dan Boner

Label: Rounder Records

“You Don’t Knock” 

Artist: Darin & Brooke Aldridge with John Cowan 

Songwriters: Cedar Walton/Wesley Westbrooks

Producer: Mark Fain/Darin Aldridge

Label: Billy Blue Records

“Two Old Church Pews” 

Artist: Danny Paisley

Songwriters: Mark “Brink” Brinkman/Daryl Mosley

Producer: Greg Cole

Label: Pinecastle Records

Instrumental Recording of the Year

“Grandfather’s Clock” 

Artist: Bryan Sutton and Sierra Hull

Songwriter: Henry Clay Work arr. Bryan Sutton/Sierra Hull

Producer: Bryan Sutton

Label: Mountain Home Music Company

“Big Daddy Rabbit” 

Artist: Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (featuring Nathan Livers)

Songwriter: Nathan Livers 

Producer: Michael Cleveland

Label: Yeah, Man Records

“Cacklin’ Hen” 

Artist: Deanie Richardson and Kimber Ludiker

Songwriter: Traditional

Producer: Deanie Richardson

Label: Mountain Home Music Company

“Let’s Get Out of Here” 

Artist: Steve Martin and Alison Brown

Songwriters: Alison Brown/Steve Martin 

Producers: Alison Brown/Garry West 

Label: Compass Records 

“Tom & Jerry” 

Artist: Andy Leftwich

Songwriter: Traditional

Producer: Andy Leftwich

Label: Mountain Home Music Company

New Artist of the Year

Jaelee Roberts 

Mason Via 

Carson Peters & Iron Mountain 

Vickie Vaughn 

Daniel Grindstaff & The Uptown Troubadours

Collaborative Recording of the Year

“Broken Angels” 

Artist: The Grascals and Dolly Parton 

Songwriters: Dolly Parton/Jamie Johnson

Producer: Kent Wells

Label: Billy Blue Records

“Gentle on My Mind” 

Artist: Tony Trischka and Billy Strings

Songwriter: John Hartford

Producer: Tony Trischka/Lawson White

Label: Down the Road Records

“New Cluck Old Hen” 

Artist: Steve Martin and Alison Brown (featuring Della Mae)

Songwriters: Arr. Steve Martin/Alison Brown

Producers: Alison Brown/Garry West

Label: Compass Records

“The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap” 

Artist: Bryan Sutton with Billy Strings 

Songwriters: Tom Crain/Charlie Daniels/Taz DiGregorio/Fred Edwards/Charlie Hayward/James W. Marshall adapted by Bryan Sutton/Billy Strings

Producer: Bryan Sutton

Label: Mountain Home Music Company

“Just a Holler Over” 

Artist: Sister Sadie and The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys

Songwriters: Robin Macy/Deanie Richardson

Producer: Sister Sadie/C.J. Lewandowski

Label: Mountain Home Music Company

Male Vocalist of the Year

Dan Tyminski 

Russell Moore 

Greg Blake 

Del McCoury 

Trey Hensley 

Female Vocalist of the Year

Alison Krauss 

Jaelee Roberts 

Heather Berry Mabe 

Sierra Hull 

AJ Lee

Banjo Player of the Year

Kristin Scott Benson 

Gena Britt 

Ron Block 

Alison Brown 

Tony Trischka 

Bass Player of the Year

Mike Bub 

Vickie Vaughn 

Missy Raines 

Barry Bales 

Alan Bartram

Fiddle Player of the Year

Michael Cleveland 

Jason Carter 

Bronwyn Keith-Hynes 

Deanie Richardson 

Andy Leftwich 

Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year

Justin Moses 

Jerry Douglas 

Rob Ickes 

Andy Hall 

Matt Leadbetter

Guitar Player of the Year

Trey Hensley 

Billy Strings 

Bryan Sutton 

Cody Kilby 

Molly Tuttle 

Mandolin Player of the Year

Sierra Hull 

Ronnie McCoury 

Jesse Brock 

Sam Bush 

Alan Bibey

Music Video of the Year

“Broken Angels” 

Artist: The Grascals and Dolly Parton 

Videographer: Natalie Simmons 

Producer: Olly Rowland

“The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap”

Artist: Bryan Sutton with Billy Strings 

Animator: Pat Bradley, SpringShoe Animation 

Producer: Josh Serrato

“Ralph’s Banjo Special” 

Artist: Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt & Alison Brown

Videographer: Joseph Spence

Producer: Alison Brown 

“New Cluck Old Hen” 

Artist: Steve Martin, Alison Brown (featuring Della Mae) 

Videographer: Drew Levin

Producer: Alison Rose Gregory/Scott Roberts

“Let the Circle Be Broken” 

Artist: Sister Sadie

Videographer: David Rossow

Producer: Joshua Britt/Neilson Hubbard