IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards - 2017 Nominees

[Ojai Sam]

The International Bluegrass Music Association just announced the nominees for its 2017 awards. Lots of fine contemporary artists and albums were named in 11 categories along with this year's Bluegrass Hall of Fame inductees. I'll be highlighting the nominees between now and the awards ceremony on September 28 at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina. Even if you don't follow bluegrass, this is a painless way to catch up on the latest in this thriving genre.

Our Spotify playlist is here:

 

[Ojai Sam]

HALL OF FAME
Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard

Let's start at the top with the first of three additions to the Hall of Fame.

Hazel Dickens was born in West Virginia on June 1, 1925, the eighth of eleven siblings born to a mining family. In the early 1950s she moved to Baltimore. She met Mike Seeger, younger half-brother of Pete Seeger and founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers and became active in the Baltimore-Washington area bluegrass and folk music scene during the 1960s. Hazel died in 2011.

Alice Gerrard was born in Seattle in 1934. She was exposed to folk music in college. After college, she also moved to Washington, D.C. where she met Hazel while married to Mike Seeger.

Hazel and Alice are not your typical HOF bluegrass artists for several reasons. Apart from their gender, both came from the left side of the political spectrum in this generally conservative genre. The also recorded only four regular albums, two each for Folkways and Rounder. Nevertheless, the power of their recordings and relentless advocacy for the rural poor supply more than enough reason for Hazel and Alice to be included.

Since I will post their Rounder albums in the Great Labels thread, here are the two on Folkways:

They were recorded in 1964 and 1965. Both feature Lamar Grier on banjo and the pre-dawg guitar of David Grisman.

 

[Ojai Sam]

HALL OF FAME
Bobby Hicks

Our second inductee is a veritable Forrest Gump of bluegrass, popping up all over with darn near everyone.

Wikipedia sez:

Hicks was born in Newton, North Carolina and learned to play the fiddle before he was 9 years old. He attended several fiddlers conventions and at the age of eleven, he won the "North Carolina State Championship" playing the tune "Black Mountain Rag". He joined Jim Eanes band in the early fifties.

In 1953, he was, through the bluegrass festivals arranger Carlton Haney, hired as a bass player in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. He did not record with the Bluegrass Boys until December 31, 1954, by then he had switched to fiddle. During this period, he learned to play "Nashville swing" by the session fiddler Dale Potter, a style Hicks often used when playing with Bill Monroe on the road. Monroe dubbed Hicks "the truest fiddler he had ever heard". He recorded seven tunes with Monroe but had to quit in 1956 to join the army. In 1958, after his discharge, he rejoined the Bluegrass Boys, recording ten more songs. He left in 1959 to join Porter Wagoner. Later in 1963, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and became a fixture on the Judy Lynn Show for the next seven years. In 1981, he joined Ricky Skaggs, a stint that would last for 23 years.

In the mid and late 1980s, he frequently performed with Bill Monroe on stage and on records. He was inducted into the "Fiddlers Hall of Fame" in 2002. He appeared as a member of "Jesse McReynolds and the Virginia Boys" in 2003. The next year, he performed with "Hazel Creek".

In 2004, he celebrated 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry. Bobby Hicks is a 10 time Grammy winner. His discography includes over 50 CDs.

In 1998, Bobby recorded Fiddle Patch, a superb all star album with the likes of Marty Stuart, Del McCoury and Ricky Skaggs:

 

[Ojai Sam]

HALL OF FAME
Clarence White

Like Hazel and Alice, the belated induction of Clarence White reflects a desire by the IMBA to mend some old fences.

Wikipedia sez:

Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 14, 1973), was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, as well as for being a pioneer of the musical genre of country rock during the late 1960s. White also worked extensively as a session musician, appearing on recordings by the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Gene Clark, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, and Jackson Browne amongst others. Together with frequent collaborator Gene Parsons, he invented the B-Bender, a guitar accessory that enables a player to mechanically bend the B-string up a whole tone and emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar.

Here's a scorching live compilation album from the Kentucky Colonels' 1973 reunion tour. It was released years later and captures the guitar genius of Clarence White at its peak shortly before his untimely death in a car crash.

 

[Ojai Sam]

EMERGING ARTIST
Front Country

Moving from one extreme to the other, now that's we've finished this year 's Hall of Fame crop let's take a look at the top new artists. First up is Front Country, a band from San Francisco of all places. Their website says:

An acoustic band born in the land of tech innovation, Front Country was never going to be accepted as an authentic American roots band out of the gate. Cutting their teeth in progressive bluegrass jams in San Francisco’s Mission District and rehearsing in the East Bay, they learned to play roots music their own way, with the tools they had on hand. A mandolinist with a degree in composition and classical guitar. A guitarist trained in rock and world music. A bassist equally versed in jazz and bluegrass. A violinist with technique that could seamlessly hop between honky tonk and electropop. A female lead singer with grit and soul that was also a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. In a wood-paneled country dive bar in the shadow of the San Francisco skyline, Front Country forged a sound hell bent on merging the musical past with the future.

Their second album, Other Love Songs, was released earlier this year to high critical acclaim. It's a showcase for Melody Walker's singing and songwriting, but the whole band sounds great here. No one would ever think they came from Kentucky, but if you like The Steep Canyon Rangers and are open to the new grass sound ala Telluride, you'll enjoy this record as much as I did.

 

[Ojai Sam]

EMERGING ARTIST
Lonely Heartstring Band

This is not your daddy's bluegrass. The contemporary scene benefits from a wide variety of styles which stretch the genre's boundaries. Lonely Heartstring Band exemplifies this phenomenon: four classically trained musicians from Boston without a hint of twang. Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival sez:

The Lonely Heartstring Band is now the hottest bluegrass group going in New England. Born as a throw-together wedding band hired to play only Beatles music on traditional bluegrass instruments, they decided to stick together and quickly began exploring new sounds. But that initial inspiration by the Beatles was indicative of the group’s love of great songs, brilliant arrangements and music that just plain feels good. And so, the Berklee College of Music has inspired yet another highly original ensemble.

Here's last year's highly acclaimed debut album on Rounder Records:

 

[Ojai Sam]

EMERGING ARTIST
Molly Tuttle

Molly comes from a musical family; her grandfather was a serious banjo picker and her dad teaches stringed instruments in Palo Alto, California. Molly grew up there and played bluegrass locally with her family. After graduating recently from the Berklee School of Music, she has moved on to a solo career. Stylistically, she falls on the indie folk side of the bluegrass spectrum. Here is her self-released EP from earlier this year:

 

[Ojai Sam]

EMERGING ARTIST
Sister Sadie

All-female bands have a tough row to hoe but this quintet delivers the goods. Led by veteran Dale Ann Bradley, Sister Sadie have a traditional instrumental sound but their angelic double and triple harmonies lend a more contemporary feel. Here's their debut album from last year:

 

[Ojai Sam]

EMERGING ARTIST
Volume Five

I'm not so sure about the IBMA's time frame for "emerging", since this band has been around since 2008.

No matter. Glen Harrell and the boys have released six superb traditional bluegrass albums, of which Drifter from last year is the latest:

That's it for the emerging artists, so let's move on to "Album Of The Year".

 

[Ojai Sam]

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper - Fiddler's Dream

This mostly instrumental album showcases the prodigious talent of Michael Cleveland. There is simply no one like him on the bluegrass scene today. Think Alvin Lee of Ten Years After and you will be close. His website offers his star-studded resume:

Considered one of the premier bluegrass fiddlers of his generation, Mike picked up a fiddle at age four, and his talent was recognized early. In 1993 he was chosen to be part of the Bluegrass Youth All Stars at the IBMA's award show. Later that year Mike made his Grand Ole Opry debut as a guest of Alison Krauss. His list of guest apperances over the years is a who's who of bluegrass legends including Bill Monroe, Jim and Jesse, Ralph Stanley, Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, Larry Sparks, Doyle Lawson, and J.D. Crowe.

After high school Mike briefly toured with then-named Dale Ann Bradley and Coon Creek before joining Rhonda Vincent and The Rage in 2000. At the 2001 IBMA awards, Mike took his first Fiddle Player of the Year award, and shared the title of Entertainer of the Year with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. In 2002 Mike rejoined The Dale Ann Bradley Band. That year he won the Fiddle Player of the Year award and again in 2004.

Mike's first project as a Rounder recording artist, "Flame Keeper," was released in February 2002 and was chosen the IBMA's Instrumental Album of the Year. In 2004, Mike shared the Instrumental Album of the Year award with Tom Adams for "Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland Live at the Ragged Edge," an album of fiddle and banjo duets. In September 2006 Mike took home his fourth Fiddle Player of the Year Award from the IBMA, and his second solo album on Rounder Records, "Let 'Er Go, Boys!," won Instrumental Album of the Year. A year later, in 2007, Mike won his fifth fiddle player award and has won it every year since for a total of ten, making him the most awarded in that category.

Today Mike is a sought-after guest and has performed with Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, The Mark Newton Band, J.D. Crowe and the New South, Audie Blaylock and Redline, Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain and The Wildwood Valley Boys. He is also an active studio musician, and his credits include the 2005 GRAMMY-nominated "A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: The King of Bluegrass" and a 2003 GRAMMY winner, Jimmy Sturr's "Let's Polka 'Round." Mike lives in Charlestown, Indiana.

 

[Ojai Sam]

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Gibson Brothers - In The Ground

Eric and Leigh Gibson from upstate New York have been making solid traditional bluegrass since the late 1980's. They have picked up every award from Emerging Artist to Entertainer of the Year. With their 11th album they show no signs of slowing down. In the Ground may be their best yet.

Let's test some rating stars:

 

[Ojai Sam]

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Balsam Range - Mountain Voodoo

Of the five Album of the Year nominees, Balsam Range best represents contemporary bluegrass. Founded in 2007 in North Carolina, Balsam Range weaves impeccable musicianship and well-crafted songs with the not-too-nasal vocals of Buddy Melton to create music with wide appeal. Their sixth album, Mountain Voodoo, reflects ongoing growth since their last release two years before:

 

[Ojai Sam]

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Bobby Osborne - Original

Bluegrass has always done a great job of keeping its veteran artists in the spotlight. Perhaps that's because Bill Monroe, the undisputed "Father of Bluegrass" performed to wide acclaim into his 80's. The late Ralph Stanley inherited the elder statesman role when Monroe died and now it falls to Bobby Osborne.

Bobby sure has the credibility. He has been performing since the 1950's and, with brother Sonny, made The Osborne Brothers one of the most innovative bands in bluegrass for decades. After Sonny died, Bobby has continued touring tirelessly. His high tenor may have lost a little power, but he can still put across a song.

Original is a widely acclaimed all star effort. Bobby is joined by luminaries such as Michael Cleveland, Sam Bush, Del McCoury and Sierra Hull but more than holds his own.

 

[Ojai Sam]

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The Earls Of Leicester - Rattle & Roar

This year's crop of best album candidates puts on display the major categories of bluegrass artists today:

• instrumentalist
• traditional band
• contemporary band
• legendary artist
• revival band

The Earls of Leicester (gotta love the name) fall into the last category. Like The Johnson Mountain Boys many years ago, they were formed to recreate the "golden age" look and sound, in this case that of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys. Formed by dobro legend Jerry Douglas, the group's two Rounder albums have been hugely successful both artistically and commercially. Here's the second:

Lester, Earl and the Boys....