RALEIGH, NC (CelebrityAccess) — Balsam Range took top honors at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards on Thursday, taking home the award for Entertainer of the Year.<\/p>\n

The Haywood County quintet also picked up wins after Buddy Melton was named as male vocalist of the year and Tim Surrett won the prize for bass player of the year.<\/p>\n

Vocal group of the year went to Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, marking the 8th consecutive win for the band in that category, and the Travelin\u2019 McCourys won instrumental group of the year.<\/p>\n

Special Consensus took home the trophy for album of the year, while Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers won for song of the year.<\/p>\n

Hot Rize hosted the festivities, which were held at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, as part of IBMA\u2019s annual conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to this year\u2019s awards recipients and all of the nominees,\u201d said Paul\u00a0Schiminger, Executive Director of IBMA. \u201cBeing recognized by your professional\u00a0peers with the highest honors in bluegrass music is quite an achievement,\u00a0considering the number of incredible artists and recordings in our music today.\u00a0This is a moment for everyone in the bluegrass community to feel proud and\u00a0celebrate the many accomplishments of the past year.\u00a0 It is no wonder the\u00a0appreciation of bluegrass is growing every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The full list of award recipients of the 2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards are listed below:<\/strong><\/p>\n

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR:
\nBalsam Range<\/strong><\/p>\n

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
\nDoyle Lawson &amp; Quicksilver<\/strong>\u00a0(this is the band\u2019s 8th win in this category, with the last
\nwin in 2007)<\/em><\/p>\n

INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR:
\nThe Travelin\u2019 McCourys<\/strong>\u00a0(the band\u2019s first award, although members of the band have
\nwon many awards individually)<\/em><\/p>\n

SONG OF THE YEAR:
\n\u201cIf I\u2019d Have Wrote That Song\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Joe Mullins &amp; The Radio Ramblers (artist), Larry
\nCordle\/Larry Shell\/James Silvers (writers) (the band\u2019s first award in this category)<\/p>\n

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:<\/p>\n

Rivers &amp; Roads<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Special Consensus (artist), Alison Brown (producer), Compass
\nRecords (label)\u00a0(the band\u2019s first win in this category)<\/em><\/p>\n

GOSPEL RECORDED PERFORMANCE OF A YEAR :
\n\u201cSpeakin\u2019 to That Mountain\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Becky Buller (artist), Becky Buller\/Jeff Hyde
\n(writers),\u00a0Crepe Paper Heart<\/em>\u00a0(album), Stephen Mougin (producer), Dark Shadow
\nRecording (label)<\/p>\n

INSTRUMENTAL RECORDED PERFORMANCE:
\n\u201cSquirrel Hunters\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Special Consensus with John Hartford, Rachel Baiman,
\nChristian Sedelmyer, and Alison Brown (artist), Traditional arranged by Alison
\nBrown\/Special Consensus (writers),\u00a0Rivers &amp; Roads<\/em>\u00a0(album), Alison Brown
\n(producer), Compass Records (label)<\/p>\n

EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
\nThe Po\u2019 Ramblin\u2019 Boys<\/strong><\/p>\n

RECORDED EVENT OF THE YEAR:
\n\u201cSwept Away\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Missy Raines with Alison Brown, Becky Buller, Sierra Hull, and
\nMolly Tuttle (artists), single release, Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records
\n(label)<\/p>\n

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
\nBrooke Aldridge<\/strong>\u00a0(her second win in this category, previously in 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:
\nBuddy Melton<\/strong>\u00a0(his second win in this category, previously in 2014)<\/em><\/p>\n

BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
\nNed Luberecki<\/strong>\u00a0(his first win in this category)<\/em><\/p>\n

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
\nTim Surrett<\/strong>\u00a0(his second win in this category, previously in 2015)<\/em><\/p>\n

DOBRO PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
\nJustin Moses<\/strong>\u00a0(his first win in this category)<\/em><\/p>\n

FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
\nMichael Cleveland<\/strong>\u00a0(his 11 th win in this category, previously in 2015)<\/em><\/p>\n

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
\nMolly Tuttle<\/strong>\u00a0(her second win in this category, previously in 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n

MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
\nSierra Hull<\/strong>\u00a0(her third win in this category, previously 2016 and 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n

Previously announced inductees into the\u00a0International Bluegrass Music Hall of
\nFame \u2013 Ricky Skaggs, Paul Williams, Tom T. and Dixie Hall<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 were honored at
\nthis evening\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

At the Special Awards Luncheon held earlier in the day, the recipients of the
\nfollowing awards were also announced:<\/p>\n

BLUEGRASS BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR:
\n(Northern Kentucky-based host of \u201cSteve Martin\u2019s Unreal Bluegrass\u201d) Steve
\nMartin<\/strong><\/p>\n

BLUEGRASS EVENT OF THE YEAR:
\nBluegrass on the Green<\/strong>\u2013 Frankfort, IL<\/p>\n

BEST LINER NOTES FOR A RECORDED PROJECT (tie):
\nCraig Havighurst<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Story We Tell<\/em>\u00a0by Joe Mullins &amp; The Radio Ramblers
\nPeter Wernick<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Carter Stanley\u2019s Eyes<\/em>\u00a0by Peter Rowan<\/p>\n

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR A RECORDED PROJECT:
\nLou Everhart<\/strong>
\nA Heart Never Knows by The Price Sisters<\/em><\/p>\n

BLUEGRASS PRINT\/MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR:
\nNeil Rosenberg<\/strong><\/p>\n

BLUEGRASS SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR:
\nJerry Salley<\/strong><\/p>\n

SOUND ENGINEER OF THE YEAR\u00a0(first year presented)<\/em>:
\nBen Surratt<\/strong><\/p>\n

The previously announced 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award recipients \u2013
\nGeorge Gruhn, Christopher Howard-Williams, Curtis McPeake, Walter
\nSaunders and Chris Thile<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 were also honored at today\u2019s luncheon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RALEIGH, NC (CelebrityAccess) — Balsam Range took top honors at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards on Thursday, taking home the award for Entertainer of the Year. The Haywood County quintet also picked up wins after Buddy Melton was named as male vocalist of the year and Tim Surrett won the prize for bass player<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":55175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stc_notifier_status":"sent","_stc_notifier_sent_time":"2018-09-28 13:45:29","_stc_notifier_request":false,"_stc_notifier_prevent":false,"_stc_subscriber_keywords":"","_stc_subscriber_search_areas":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69,51,22],"tags":[3020,3021],"class_list":["post-55173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards-benefits","category-breaking-news","category-industry_news","tag-balsam-range","tag-ibma-awards"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n