Nashville, TN. (Top40 Charts/ IBMA Awards) - This year's International Bluegrass
Music Awards Show (Thursday, October 4, 8:30 PM Central at the Grand Ole Opry House) will feature performances by a wide variety of the nominees, along with some surprise guests.
Among those making the music that brought them multiple nominations will be The Grascals, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs & The Whites, J.D. Crowe & The New South, The Del McCoury Band, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, Cherryholmes, The Infamous Stringdusters, Bradley Walker and Tony Trischka. The show will be hosted for the first time by legendary bluegrass and Americana artist Sam Bush who is also nominated and will perform with his band.
New Awards Show producers Cindy Sinclair and Terry Herd said, "The show is coming together beautifully. We have a top notch team working on a wonderful new set, lighting design and graphics package and we couldn't be happier about the line-up of talent who will make this an unforgettable evening."
A four time recipient of the IBMA Broadcaster of the Year award, Herd brings 15 years of experience in network and satellite radio to the show. Sinclair's resume includes more than two decades of experience on such prestigious programs as The Grammy and CMA Awards shows, network specials for Kenny Chesney and Faith Hill and a host of television specials for ABC, NBC, CBS, VH1 and A&E.
The show will also introduce a new IBMA theme song commissioned by Herd and Sinclair. Created by fiddle player Jim VanCleve (himself a nominee for several awards), it features Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, Clay Hess, Jason Moore, Andy Hall and VanCleve. "The Road From Rosine" was donated to the IBMA by VanCleve and Rural Rhythm Records, and will be included on an upcoming release.
Two of the night's most prestigious recipients are already known and their presentations are sure to be emotional high points, as the IBMA inducts Carl Story and Howard Watts ("Cedric Rainwater") into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. Although both are deceased, family members will be on hand to accept and help celebrate these artists' pioneering accomplishments. Watts' career as a bass player was highlighted with his role in the classic version of Bill Monroe & his Blue Grass Boys, while Story will be applauded for his role as the "Father of Bluegrass Gospel Music."
IBMA will host a special awards luncheon earlier the same day in the Renaissance Hotel Grand Ballroom in Nashville to extend industry honors in several categories, as well as present Distinguished Achievement Awards to: Mike Auldridge, The Bluegrass Breakdown, Marko Cermak, Warren Hellman and Happy & Jane Traum.
Tickets to the IBMA Awards are available to the public through the Grand Ole Opry House box office (1-800-733-6779) and all Ticketmaster outlets.
The show will be broadcast live on 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 Martha White, MerleFest, GAC-TV, GHS Strings, Bluegrass Unlimited and Deering Banjos.
A complete list of nominees and more information can be found at: https://www.ibma.org/ibma.awards/index.asp
