My Trip to IBMA's World of Bluegrass, Plus More, Part 2

I'm still on Thursday the day of the IBMA Awards.  Prior to attending the Awards Show invited guests were treated to a reception in honor of the Awards nominees, sponsored by BMI.  The Grand Ballroom at the Renaissance was converted into a swanky room with the feel of a night club, complete with music that was decidedly not Bluegrass.  But, that was okay, as having a live Bluegrass Band would have distracted us from moving about the room and wishing the nominees good luck.  The back of the room was in a buzz with lots of TV cameras and bright lights.  Why?  Well, Steve Martin had just arrived in Nashville and come to the reception.  We Bluegrass peons were not able to speak to him as the reporters took all of his time.  I did manage to get a few shots of him while he was being interviewed.    Although the reception lasted only one hour hors d'oeuvres were served as well as fresh fruit, wine and beer and desserts, all included as an invitee to the function.  This was a first for IBMA (They used to have similar affairs after the awards when we met in Louisville.), but this was a much better idea and the hotel handled everything with panache.   I want to thank BMI for sponsoring this event and I look forward to this again next year.  The awards were held in the historic Ryman Auditorium right next door the the Nashville Convention Center, only a short walk of a block from the reception.  The show was well produced with only a few problems, which can be expected with any such live affair.  The list of winners, here are directly from the IBMA web site:

THE RECIPIENTS
of the 2009 INTERNATIONAL
BLUEGRASS MUSIC AWARDS

BLUEGRASS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

The Dillards
The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Dailey & Vincent

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Dailey & Vincent

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Dan Tyminski

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dale Ann Bradley

SONG OF THE YEAR

"Don't Throw Mama's Flowers Away"
written by Chris Stuart & Ivan Rosenberg
performed by Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Wheels by Dan Tyminski
produced by Dan Tyminski for Rounder Records

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR

"Proud To Be a Daughter of Bluegrass" by the Daughters of Bluegrass
for Blue Circle Records

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

"Jerusalem Ridge" by Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper
written by Bill Monroe
produced by Jeff White & Michael Cleveland for Rounder Records

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

"On The Other Side" by Dailey & Vincent
written by Jimmy Fortune, Kevin Denney & Tom Botkin
produced by Dailey & Vincent for Rounder Records

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR

The SteelDrivers

INSTRUMENTAL PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR

BANJO

Kristin Scott Benson

BASS

Marshall Wilborn

FIDDLE

Michael Cleveland

DOBRO

Rob Ickes

GUITAR

Josh Williams

MANDOLIN

Jesse Brock

Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients

Hylo Brown
Pati Crooker
Jody Rainwater
Dick Spottswood
Joe Wilson
Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year:

Katy Daley; HD Radio WAMU 88.5 Channel 2, 105.5 FM & www.bluegrasscountry.org; Washington, D.C.
Print Media Person of the Year:

Roger Siminoff; Siminoff’s Luthiers Glossary, Banjo Newsletter and Bluegrass Breakdown

Best Liner Notes for a Recorded Project:

Steve Martin (writer), The Crow, Steve Martin (artist), 40 Share Productions (label)
Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project:

G. Carr & Salli Ratts (designers), The Crow, Steve Martin (artist), 40 Share Productions (label)

Bluegrass Event of the Year Award:

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival; Oak Hill, New York; July 2008

*************************************Below are a few selected photos taken by me at the awards show:

    There were hundreds of photos from which to choose these few.  If I left out one of your favorites, I'm sorry.

On Friday the IBMA World of Bluegrass Fan Fest got under way.  All of the bands who perform at Fan Fest donate their time for the show.  The funds raised are divided in half with half going to IBMA to maintain staff, etc and the other half going to the IBMA Trust Fund.  The Trust Fund was established very early in the creation of the IBMA.  It makes emergency funds available to musicians that are in need; a very worthy endeavor.  As most of you know about me I rarely attend the performances at Bluegrass festivals.  Sometimes I'll attend a four day event and NEVER go to the stage area.  During Fan Fest this year I did attend a few performances.  All of the shows I attended were quite good, but one really stood out, for me.  Dale Ann Bradley, the Female Vocalist of the year for 2007, 2008 & 2009 really demonstrated why she wins the award.  This woman can sing!!!  She can truly sell a song.  Let me explain what I mean.  She had just completed a great set of Bluegrass and the crowd stood and cheered for more.  Dale Ann came back and performed a song that came from the folk/rock era, "Me and Bobby Magee."  Wow!  I cringed (Because I never was a fan of the folk/rock genre.) when I heard her start the song, but by the time she got to the end I never wanted her to stop.  The entire crowd went wild and cheered so loud it was amazing.  After her performance I spoke with her and suggested she do a live CD and include "Me and Bobby Magee" as the ending song.  She said, "You think?"  I said, "Yes, indeed!"  Here's a photo of Dale Ann & Kim Fox rearing back singing "Me and Bobby Magee."   Well that about wraps up my week at IBMA.  I hope you've enjoyed reading thoughts and my photos of my "trip to IBMA."

"NUFF SAID!"