The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...

to promote

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

. Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

. In 1988 they announced plans to create the

International Bluegrass Music Museum The Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum is a bluegrass music museum in Owensboro, Kentucky, United States. The museum has interactive exhibits, posters, costumes, live instrument demonstrations, and International Bluegrass Music Association's ...

as a joint venture with RiverPark Center in Owensboro. In 1987 IBMA established the World of Bluegrass, a combination trade show, concert, and awards presentation. This was originally set in Owensboro, before moving to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

in 1997.

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

hosted this event from 2005 through 2012. Since 2013, the event has been hosted in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. In 1991 IBMA established the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...

at the International Bluegrass Music Museum to recognize lifetime contributions to bluegrass, both by performers and non-performers. In 2003 IBMA relocated its offices to

. Winners are chosen by the 2,500 members of the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame Inductees * Norman Blake - 2022
Paul "Moon" Mullins
- 2022 *

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. Biography Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interes ...

- 2022 *

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

- 2021 *

Lynn Morris Lynn Morris (1954–2017) was a Christian fiction author. She was the daughter of Gilbert Morris and co-wrote with him on most of her books. Books by Lynn Morris Cheney Duvall, M.D. Series This series was co-written with her father, Gil ...

- 2021 * The Stoneman Family - 2021 * J.T. Gray - 2020 *

The Johnson Mountain Boys The Johnson Mountain Boys were a popular bluegrass band throughout the 1980s from the Washington, D.C. area. Their style favored a more traditional approach to bluegrass than some of their contemporaries. They released two 45 RPM single record ...

- 2020 *

New Grass Revival New Grass Revival was an American progressive bluegrass band founded in 1971, and composed of Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Curtis Burch, Butch Robins, John Cowan, Béla Fleck and Pat Flynn. They were active between 1971 and 1989, r ...

- 2020 * The Kentucky Colonels - 2019 *

Bill Emerson Norvell William Emerson (January 1, 1938 – June 22, 1996) was an American politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri from 1981 until his death from lung cancer in Bethesda, Maryland in ...

- 2019 *

Mike Auldridge Mike Auldridge (December 30, 1938 – December 29, 2012) was an American Dobro player and a founding member of the bluegrass group The Seldom Scene. The ''New York Times'' described Auldridge as "one of the most distinctive dobro players in the ...

- 2019 *

Vassar Clements Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and ...

- 2018 * Tom T. and Dixie Hall - 2018 *

Mike Seeger Mike Seeger (August 15, 1933August 7, 2009) was an American folk musician and folklorist. He was a distinctive singer and an accomplished musician who played autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, dobro, jaw harp, a ...

- 2018 *

Allen Shelton Allen Shelton was an American five-string banjo player mostly known for being a member of the bluegrass band Jim & Jesse and the Virginia Boys since the 1960s. Shelton was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina on July 2, 1936. Shelton started ...

- 2018 *

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ma ...

- 2018
Jake Tullock
- 2018 *

Joe Val Joseph 'Val' Valiante (June 26, 1926 - June 11, 1985) was a bluegrass musician and singer from New England, known for his mandolin playing and his high tenor voice. Life and career Joe Val was born Joseph Valiante in Everett, Massachusetts. Al ...

- 2018
Paul Williams
- 2018
Terry Woodward
- 2018 *

Bobby Hicks Bobby Hicks (born July 21, 1933) is a Grammy Awardbr>winningAmerican bluegrass fiddler and a professional musician with more than fifty years of experience. Career Hicks was born in Newton, North Carolina and learned to play the fiddle befor ...

- 2017 *

Alice Gerrard Alice Gerrard (born July 8, 1934) is an American bluegrass singer, banjoist, fiddler, and guitar player. She performed in a duo with Hazel Dickens, and as part of The Strange Creek Singers (with Dickens, Mike Seeger, Tracy Schwarz, and Lamar ...

and

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist and guitarist. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provocative pro- unio ...

- 2017 *

Roland White Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin. Biography White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and ...

- 2017 *

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 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 Byrd ...

- 2016 * The Rounder founders - 2016 *

Larry Sparks Larry Sparks (born September 25, 1947) is an American Bluegrass singer and guitarist. He was the winner of the 2004 and 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Award. 2005, won IBMA for Album of the Year and Re ...

- 2015 * Bill Keith - 2015 *The Original

Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom Gr ...

- 2014
Neil Rosenberg
- 2014 *

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

- 2013
Paul Warren
- 2013 *

Doyle Lawson Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted in ...

- 2012 *

Ralph Rinzler Ralph Rinzler (July 20, 1934 – July 2, 1994) was an American mandolin player, folksinger, and the co-founder of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall every summer in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a curator for American a ...

- 2012 *

Del McCoury Delano Floyd McCoury (born February 1, 1939) is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo respec ...

- 2011 *

George Shuffler George Shuffler (April 11, 1925 – April 7, 2014) was an American bluegrass music, bluegrass guitar player and an early practitioner of the crosspicking style. During his career Shuffler played with The Bailey Brothers and the Happy Valley Boys, ...

- 2011 *

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kno ...

- 2010 * Louise Scruggs - 2010 *

The Dillards The Dillards are an American bluegrass and country rock band from Salem, Missouri. The band is best known for introducing bluegrass music into the popular mainstream with their appearance as "The Darlings" on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Band ...

- 2009 *

Lonesome Pine Fiddlers The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers (1938- 1966) were an early bluegrass band. Throughout their formations, they included notable "first generation" bluegrass musicians such as Ezra Cline, Bobby Osborne, Paul Williams, Melvin Goins, Charlie Cline, Curl ...

- 2009 *

Bill Clifton Bill Clifton (born William August Marburg; April 5, 1931) is an American bluegrass musician and singer who is credited with having organized one of the first bluegrass festivals in the United States in 1961.Wolff, Duane 2000, p. 209. Earl ...

- 2008
Charles K. Wolfe
- 2008 *

Carl Story Carl Story (May 29, 1916 – March 31, 1995) was an American bluegrass musician, and leader of his band the Rambling Mountaineers. He was dubbed "The Father of Bluegrass Gospel Music" by the governor of Oklahoma. Biography Story was born in Len ...

- 2007 * Howard Staton “Cedric Rainwater” Watts - 2007 *

The Lewis Family The Lewis Family is a family of gospel and bluegrass musicians from Lincolnton, Georgia. They are known as the "First Family of Bluegrass Gospel". Background The family was founded by Pop and Mom Lewis (Roy Lewis Sr. and Pauline Lewis, née H ...

- 2006 *

Syd Nathan Sydney Nathan (April 27, 1904 – March 5, 1968) was an American music business executive who founded King Records, a leading independent record label, in 1943. He contributed to the development of country & western music, rhythm and blues a ...

- 2006 *

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armst ...

- 2005 * Benny Martin - 2005 *

Curly Seckler John Ray Sechler, known as Curly Seckler, (December 25, 1919 – December 27, 2017) was an American bluegrass musician. He played with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs in their band the Foggy Mountain Boys from 1949 to 1962, among other bluegrass ac ...

- 2004 *

Bill Vernon Bill Vernon (July 4, 1937 – November 20, 1996) was an American radio DJ He was born in Brooklyn, New York City. In his early teens he became enamoured with Bluegrass music and publicized and promoted that genre in many ways. He was a ...

- 2004 *

J. D. Crowe James Dee Crowe (August 27, 1937December 24, 2021) was an American banjo player and bluegrass band leader. He first became known during his four-year stint with Jimmy Martin in the 1950s. Crowe led the bluegrass group New South from 1971 until ...

- 2003 * David Freeman - 2002 * The Lilly Brothers & Don Stover - 2002 *

The Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

- 2001 * Arthel "Doc" Watson - 2000
Lance LeRoy
- 2000 * Kenny Baker - 1999 *

Chubby Wise Robert Russell "Chubby" Wise (October 2, 1915 – January 6, 1996) was an American bluegrass fiddler. Originally starting out playing the banjo and guitar, Wise began playing fiddle at age 12, working locally in the Jacksonville area. He joined ...

- 1998 *

Carlton Haney Lawrence Carlton Haney (September 19, 1928 – March 16, 2011) was an American booking agent, festival promoter, and songwriter primarily active in bluegrass music. Once dubbed “The P.T. Barnum of Country Music” for his large personality, Ha ...

- 1998 *

Josh Graves Josh Graves (September 27, 1927 Tellico Plains, Monroe County, Tennessee – September 30, 2006), born Burkett Howard Graves, was an American bluegrass musician. Also known by the nicknames "Buck," and "Uncle Josh," he is credited with introduci ...

- 1997 *

The Country Gentlemen The Country Gentlemen was a progressive bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, D.C., United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller (American musician), C ...

- 1996 *

Pete Kuykendall Peter Van Kuykendall (January 15, 1938 – August 24, 2017) also known as Pete Roberts, was an American bluegrass musician, songwriter, discographer and a magazine and music publisher. He was a co-founder of ''Bluegrass Unlimited'' magazine a ...

- 1996 *

Jimmy Martin James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass". Early years Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming life of rural ...

- 1995 *

The Osborne Brothers The Osborne Brothers, Sonny (October 29, 1937 – October 24, 2021) and Bobby (born December 7, 1931), were an influential and popular bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s and until Sonny retired in 2005. They are probably best known for ...

- 1994 *

Mac Wiseman Malcolm Bell Wiseman (May 23, 1925 – February 24, 2019) was an American bluegrass and country singer. Early life He was born on May 23, 1925, in Crimora, Virginia. He attended school in New Hope, Virginia, and graduated from high school the ...

- 1993 * Jim & Jesse McReynolds - 1993 * Don Reno & Arthur Lee "Red" Smiley - 1992 *

The Stanley Brothers The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley (August 27, 1925 – December 1, 1966) and Ralph Stanley (February 25, 1927 – June 23, 2016). Ralph and Carter perform ...

, Carter & Ralph - 1992 *

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

- 1991 *

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...

- 1991 *

Lester Flatt Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was an American bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades, ...

- 1991

Entertainer of the year

* 1990:

Hot Rize Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, Hot Rize has appeared on national radio and TV shows, and has toured most of the United States, as well as Japan, Europe and Australia. History Hot ...

* 1991:

& Union Station * 1992:

Nashville Bluegrass Band The Nashville Bluegrass Band is an American bluegrass music ensemble founded in 1984. The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford and Minnie Pearl; each of the members was an established musician from t ...

* 1993:

* 1994:

Del McCoury Band The Del McCoury Band is a Grammy award-winning American bluegrass band. History Originally the band was called Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass. The band went through a number of changes in personn ...

* 1995:

& Union Station * 1996:

* 1997:

* 1998:

* 1999:

* 2000:

* 2001:

Rhonda Vincent Rhonda Lea Vincent (born July 13, 1962) is an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Vincent's music career began when she was a child in her family's band The Sally Mountain Show, and it has spanned more than four de ...

& the Rage * 2002:

* 2003:

* 2004:

* 2005:

Cherryholmes Cherryholmes was an American bluegrass band from Los Angeles, California, made up of six members of the Cherryholmes family: father Jere (Pop), mother Sandy Lee, daughters Cia Leigh, and Molly Kate, and sons B.J. and Skip. History In April of ...

* 2006:

The Grascals The Grascals are a six-piece American bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in February 2004, the band has gained a level of fame by playing on the Grand Ole Opry and bluegrass festivals around the country, as well as with Dolly Part ...

* 2007:

* 2008:

Dailey & Vincent Dailey & Vincent is an American bluegrass music group composed of Jamie Dailey (guitar, bass, vocals), Darrin Vincent (mandolin, guitar, bass, vocals), Aaron McCune (guitar, bass vocals), Wesley Smith (vocals), Patrick McAvinue (fiddle), Shaun R ...

* 2009:

* 2010:

* 2011:

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

and the

Steep Canyon Rangers Steep Canyon Rangers is an American bluegrass band based in Asheville and Brevard, North Carolina. Though formed in 2000, the band has become widely known since 2009 for collaborating with actor/banjoist Steve Martin. In 2013, the Steep Canyon ...

* 2012:

The Gibson Brothers The Gibson Brothers are a French musical group, originally from Martinique, who had their greatest success during the disco boom of the late 1970s. Their best known hit singles included "Cuba" and " Que Sera Mi Vida". Career The three brothe ...

* 2013:

* 2014:

Balsam Range Balsam Range is a bluegrass and acoustic music group founded in 2007 in Haywood County, North Carolina. They are the 2014 and 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association (IMBA) Entertainer of the Year recipients. Their other accolades include ...

" International Bluegrass Music Association. Retrieved on 2 October 2014. * 2015: The Earls of Leicester (band), The Earls of Leicester * 2016: The Earls of Leicester (band), The Earls of Leicester * 2017: The Earls of Leicester (band), The Earls of Leicester * 2018:

* 2019: Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers *2020
Sister Sadie
* 2021:

Billy Strings Billy Strings (born William Lee Apostol, October 3, 1992) is an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He won a Grammy Award in 2021. Early life Billy Strings was born William Lee Apostol on October 3, 1992, in Lansing, Michigan. His fath ...

References

External links

* IBMA: http://www.ibma.org *IBMA World of Bluegrass: http://www.worldofbluegrass.org {{Authority control Bluegrass music Music organizations based in the United States