Additional performers and presenters announced for
International Bluegrass Music Awards September 26
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Kenny & Amanda Smith with special guests (including Alan Bibey), the 2013 Bluegrass Youth All-Stars and special collaborations
are added to the list of confirmed performers and presenters for the celebrated Awards Show.
Nashville, Tenn. (Sept 13, 2013) — Additional performers and presenters have been announced for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)’s 24th International Bluegrass Music Awards, held on Thursday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Awards Show, held at Raleigh, North Carolina’s Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts (Memorial Auditorium), will feature performances and award presentations from some of the genre’s brightest stars, some of the genre’s future stars with the 2013 Bluegrass Youth All-Stars performance, and special live collaborations guaranteed to make this year’s Awards Show a can’t miss event.
Performers announced today include nominees Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, and Kenny & Amanda Smith with special guests, including Alan Bibey.
The posthumous presentation to Hall of Fame inductee Paul Warren, iconic fiddle player for Flatt & Scruggs and, before them, Jonnie and Jack, will be made by The Boxcars’ Ron Stewart, an enthusiastic fan of Warren’s style. Stewart is nominated for both Fiddle Player and Banjo Player of the Year.
Warren’s induction will be celebrated with a special performance by the Earls Of Leicester, a spectacular supergroup whose musical focus is exclusively on the Flatt & Scruggs repertoire, from the period when Warren was with the group. Assembled by Jerry Douglas (Dobro), the Earls Of Leicester include Warren’s son Johnny Warren (fiddle), singer/guitarist Shawn Camp, banjo legend Charlie Cushman, Barry Bales (bass), and Tim O’Brien (mandolin, vocals), all nominated for awards this year.
Additionally, the legendary Peter Rowan —also a nominee that evening—will give the presentation that inducts Tony Rice into the Hall of Fame; a special surprise reunion performance to accompany Rice’s induction is sure to be one of the evening’s highlights.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Bluegrass Youth All-Stars’ 1993 Awards Show performance—with future stars Michael Cleveland, Cody Kilby, Brady Stogdill, Chris Thile and Josh Williams—and the 10th anniversary of the Young American Bluegrass Idols’ 2003 Awards Show performance, where Maggie Estes, Sierra Hull, Sarah Jarosz, Will Jones and Cory Walker first showcased, the Awards Show will have a performance by a new group of top-notch young bluegrass musicians from across the continent.
The 2013 Bluegrass Youth All-Stars are Korey Brodsky (guitar, 14 years old, Connecticut), Jacob Burleson (mandolin, 14 years old, North Carolina), Michael Kilby (Dobro, 15 years old, British Columbia, Canada), Jimmy Meyer (bass, 14 years old, Missouri), Brandy Miller (banjo, 15 years old, North Carolina), Grant Rigney (fiddle, 16 years old, Tennessee) and Samantha Snyder (fiddle, 14 years old, North Carolina). The group will be coached by Stephen Mougin (of the Sam Bush Band, as well as a professional band coach) and Laura Orshaw and Tony Watt, who have coached youth bands at such festivals as Grey Fox and Joe Val for a number of years.
The additional presenters announced today are all nominated for Awards this year, and include Missy Raines, Marty Raybon, Chris Eldridge, Joe Mullins, Junior Sisk and Doyle Lawson.
The Awards Show is the centerpiece of World of Bluegrass Week (#WOB13), to be held September 24–28 in Raleigh, NC. Awards are voted on by the professional membership of the IBMA, the trade association for the bluegrass music industry.
“We’re getting down to the wire with this year’s Awards Show lineup, and while we still have a surprise or two left, I can already say that this is a great start to the move into our Raleigh Awards Show home,” said Jon Weisberger, who is co-producing the Awards Show with Chris Stuart. “Between the performers and presenters—not to mention our hosts, the Steep Canyon Rangers, who are working with my co-producer, Chris Stuart, to put their own distinctive stamp on the script—we’ll be showing off the full range of bluegrass, from traditional to edgy, and from veteran performers to young folks on the fast track to becoming the award winners of tomorrow. For folks already planning to attend the Wide Open Bluegrass festival on Friday and Saturday, there’s no better way to kick off the weekend than with the Awards Show—but you’d better get your tickets now!”
The IBMA Awards Show will be broadcast live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Bluegrass Junction) and syndicated to more than 300 US markets and 14 foreign networks, thanks to the sponsorship of John Pearse Strings, Deering Banjos, Compass Records, the International Bluegrass Music Museum, BluegrassToday.com, Intellitouch Tuners, and Music City Roots. Program directors and station managers may sign up to be affiliates online at www.ibma.org.
A finalized lineup of performers and presenters, as well as a complete list of nominees, this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, and the recipients of the Distinguished Achievement Award can be found at www.ibma.org.
For more details and to purchase tickets/register for the International Bluegrass Music Awards, the ticketed portion of the Wide Open Bluegrass weekend festival, and the Bluegrass Ramble showcase series, lodging and camping options, and more, visit www.ibma.org or call 1-888-GET-IBMA. Tickets to the IBMA Awards Show are available from the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts box office in Raleigh or through Ticket Master (800-745-3000). Tickets will also be sold at the World of Bluegrass registration desk at the Raleigh Convention Center Sept 24–26.