The International Bluegrass Music Awards announces new performers as well as recaps some of the award shows greatest past memories. This year's IBMA Award show will mark the 20th annual show, and will be held at Nashville's own Ryman Auditiorum on October 1 at 7:30pm.
Grammy-winner Kathy Mattea and bluegrass band Hot Rize will co-host this year's awards together. And performers will include: Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Del McCoury, The Grascals, Dailey & Vincent, Dan Tyminski, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out.
In addition to the 17 industry awards that will be given out and the performances, the award show will also celebrate some of the past memories of the show, which you can see below.
- Ronnie McCoury received the Mandolin Player award in 1995 and instead of simply dedicating the award to his idol, he walked out into the crowd and presented the trophy to the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe, seated in one of the first few rows. Monroe smiled broadly and waved the crystal award in the air above his head, to the delight of the entire audience.
- Opening awards envelopes can be a catastrophe on any awards show. To resolve a problem with an uncooperative one at the very first IBMA Awards Show, Mitch Jayne of The Dillards reached into his boot for a large bowie knife to open the envelope that announced the 1990 Entertainer of the Year. Mitch then flipped the knife into the wooden podium, anchoring the tip of his blade in place while he announced Hot Rize as the award recipients.
- Capturing the heartfelt emotions of the world just a few weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001, the show opened in complete darkness and a moment of silent tribute. The darkness was replaced and every heart filled with the sounds of "America the Beautiful" being played on banjo in a solo spotlight by Hall of Fame member Sonny Osborne.
- Hall of Fame member Jimmy Martin yodeled from the balcony for show host Marty Stuart during the 2000 awards show, demonstrating the sound Marty often heard on the telephone when Jimmy would call him in the middle of the night to report on a particularly good jam session or invite him to go coon hunting the following morning.
- Awards shows are always under time constraints, which usually prevent encores. But the crowd simply wouldn't let The Bluegrass Album Band offstage in 1990, which resulted in the only encore--ever--in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Awards.
- Pete "Dr. Banjo" Wernick introduced an unknown group of pre-teen Bluegrass Youth All Stars onstage at the 1993 awards show and launched a youth movement in bluegrass. The same youngsters returned ten years later--most of them stars by then--to welcome a new group of gifted, young musicians. The band of 12-year-olds in '93 included Chris Thile, Michael Cleveland, Josh Williams, Cody Kilby and Brady Stogdill. The band in '03 featured Sierra Hull, Cory Walker, Sarah Jarosz, Will Jones, Mary Beth Estes and Ryan Holladay.
- With flags representing IBMA's members from over 25 countries proudly unfurled across the top of the stage in 1994, a group of talented musicians from around the world paid a tribute to the widespread influence of The Osborne Brothers with a soul-stirring version of "Rocky Top."
- Stuart Duncan accepted the award for Fiddle Player of the Year in 1992 and thanked--literally--everyone from A to Z, listing his influences alphabetically...on live radio!
- Del McCoury took the stage to accept the Entertainer of the Year award with his grandchildren in tow--for several of the nine times he won. He passed the microphone to each band member and to then-toddler grandson Jacob McCoury to help him say thanks.
- Sonny Osborne and Ricky Skaggs surprised Del McCoury, who was accepting an award at the 2003 show in Louisville, with a coveted invitation for Del to become the newest member of The Grand Ole Opry. He, naturally, accepted!
- Almost everyone who received an award in 1995 kept their acceptance remarks brief in order to "give more time to Jimmy Martin," who was to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Jimmy used all the time, giving a record-setting, 23-minute acceptance speech, every second of which kept the audience riveted.
- Cherryholmes was the first act nominated in the same year, 2005, for both Emerging Artist and Entertainer of the Year. While they did not receive the Emerging Artist of the Year award, they instead leaped straight to the top of the bluegrass world when they were announced at the end of the show as Entertainers of the Year.
- Dailey & Vincent repeated the Cherryholmes' feat of being nominated for both Emerging Artist and Entertainer awards in 2008. They would be honored with both in the same year (a first) during an evening that saw them receive an unprecedented seven awards. The band played their first gig less than one year earlier.
- Showing the versatility of bluegrass, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder collaborated with The Nashville String Machine on "Crossing the Briney" in 2006. It was the first time a 23- piece orchestra appeared on the show.
- Hall of Fame member Eddie Adcock and well-known Japanese artist Takeharu Kunimoto broke into "Earl's Breakdown" on the five-string banjo and the shamisen, before announcing the recipient of an award in 2003.
- Awards have a way of drawing emotions to the surface; for example, Jamie Dailey cried half a dozen times at the awards show podium in 2008. He was so shook up, he even brought his duo partner Darrin Vincent onstage with him to accept Male Vocalist of the Year, because he wasn't sure he could get any words out.
For more information on the awards go to www.imba.org or for tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com.
