{"id":640177,"date":"2026-10-24T17:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T17:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/640177\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T17:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T17:56:09","slug":"2026-bluegrass-music-awards-winners-billy-strings-takes-entertainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/640177\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Bluegrass Music Awards Winners: Billy Strings Takes Entertainer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBy now, it\u2019s becoming expected: Guitar phenom Billy Strings<\/a> was named Entertainer of the Year for the fifth time over the last six years<\/a> at the 37th annual International Bluegrass<\/a> Music Association awards, held earlier this week in Chattanooga, Tennessee<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI want to thank my son and my wife for making it possible for me to go out and chase my dreams, and to bring this music to the people,\u201d Strings <\/a>told a packed house at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium on Thursday, just a few days after performing in honor<\/a> of the Stanley Brothers at their Country Music Hall of Fame induction. \u201cI want to thank all my heroes who have gone on before and the ones that are still here today \u2014\u00a0a lot of y\u2019all are sitting right out here \u2014 and for all the inspiration as a kid hearing this music and having a dream in my head, and now I get to go do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there was one takeaway from this year\u2019s IBMA celebration, it\u2019s that the once vast divide between the neo-traditional and progressive bluegrass camps is all but erased. What remains is a large tent under which all avenues of the ancient tones gather. But beyond the awards itself, the evening bore witness to just how far bluegrass has come in recent years.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think we\u2019re in a good spot,\u201d Joe Mullins, banjoist and radio broadcaster, says. \u201cThe momentum of Billy Strings, and Alison Krauss back on tour, that tide is rising all ships. [Bluegrass] is organic and authentic, and that\u2019s two things that people are looking for in the age of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of women being recognized by the IBMA is a key advancement on the scene. Sierra Hull<\/a> took home her eighth Mandolin Player of the Year trophy and Kristin Scott Benson won her eighth Banjo Player title. \u201cSlowly, but surely, it\u2019s been changing,\u201d says singer-songwriter Lindsay Lou, whose recent album Bluegrass Women is a testament to the evolving landscape. \u201cIt shows a shifting of the tide, it shows a balance changing and where the spotlight is. Because we\u2019ve been here all along, and now there\u2019s visibility and representation.\u201d<\/p>\n

That shift also includes newer and progressive acts being honored with some of the biggest awards of the night. East Nash Grass<\/a> \u2014 a talented ensemble that started as a casual weekly get-together at Dee\u2019s Country Cocktail Lounge on the outskirts of Nashville \u2014 triumphed as Instrumental Group of the Year and won Album of the Year for their LP All God\u2019s Children.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is so unique,\u201d C.J. Lewandowski of the group the Po\u2019 Ramblin\u2019 Boys says. \u201cAll the artists, all the bands, we\u2019re back to 1958 to the middle 1960s [of bluegrass], as far as uniqueness. When a new band right now comes on the radio, you can identify them in the first five seconds. [Those early acts] had their own individual taste, timing, sound, and that\u2019s what\u2019s happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IBMA gala also paid homage to the icons the genre lost this year, namely Dolly Parton<\/a> and Ronnie Bowman<\/a>. The Grascals won Collaborative Recording of the Year for their song \u201cBroken Angels\u201d with Parton, and performed the song in tribute to the country legend with Sister Sadie\u2019s Jaelee Roberts (who was recognized as Female Vocalist of the Year). When Blue Highway were honored with Gospel Recording of the Year, guitarist Tim Stafford dedicated the award to Bowman, a revered bluegrass ace who died in May.<\/p>\n

At the end of the evening, Leftover Salmon\u2019s Vince Herman<\/a> and superstar guitarist Molly Tuttle<\/a> emerged to present the final two awards of the show, Album of the Year to East Nash Grass and Entertainer of the Year to Strings. \u201cThis is American music, of course it\u2019s coming to the forefront,\u201d Herman tells Rolling Stone. \u201cWe need to be as American as we can, holding values like democracy, truth, beauty, justice, community, creativity \u2014\u00a0of course the music is coming forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBeyond the award show itself, the IBMA World of Bluegrass gathering overtakes the city for the better part of a week. Thousands of musicians and music lovers flock to Chattanooga, filling up hotel rooms and hallways with impromptu jam sessions that last until the wee hours. The Chattanooga Convention Center serves as the central hub, a beehive of string music energy that hosts panels and showcases, tying today\u2019s bluegrass movement to its storied past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s different kinds of bluegrass all over the country and sometimes it takes a while for them to all intermingle and merge,\u201d Ty Gilpin, of Unspoken Tradition, says. \u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re seeing happening now. The western bluegrass [players], they\u2019ve heard the music out there that they love, especially the younger generation, and the people back east are hearing more of what they like from the western style. It\u2019s all coming together, and Billy [Strings] is a big conduit of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\n\tHull, meanwhile, represents the epitome of the IBMA Awards\u2019 impact on aspiring artists. When she was just nine years old, the mandolin prodigy was invited by the IBMA to partake in its \u201cKids on Bluegrass\u201d program, which spotlights young players during the World of Bluegrass. At the gathering, she met Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs, and Adam Steffey. A couple years later, she crossed paths with Ron Block, who was so impressed by Hull\u2019s talents, he told his friend Alison Krauss about the young star. It was a life-changing experience, and something not lost on Hull.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe called me up to come play with her, and that led to even more special opportunities in those early days,\u201d Hull says of the boost given to her by Krauss. \u201cThat community and that connection is worth more than all the awards put together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2026 IBMA Awards winners list:<\/p>\n

\n\tENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Billy Strings<\/p>\n

\n\tVOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Authentic Unlimited<\/p>\n

\n\tINSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
East Nash Grass<\/p>\n

\n\tSONG OF THE YEAR
\u201cCan\u2019t Outrun the Blues,\u201d Trey Hensley<\/p>\n

\n\tALBUM OF THE YEAR
All God\u2019s Children, East Nash Grass<\/p>\n

\n\tGOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
\u201cSome Day,\u201d Blue Highway<\/p>\n

\n\tINSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR
\u201cBig Daddy Rabbit,\u201d Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (Feat. Nathan Livers)<\/p>\n

\n\tNEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Mason Via<\/p>\n

\n\tCOLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR
\u201cBroken Angels,\u201d The Grascals and Dolly Parton<\/p>\n

\n\tMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Greg Blake<\/p>\n

\n\tFEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jaelee Roberts<\/p>\n

\n\tBANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kristin Scott Benson<\/p>\n

\n\tBASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Bub<\/p>\n

\n\tFIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Andy Leftwich<\/p>\n

\n\tRESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Justin Moses<\/p>\n

\n\tGUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Cody Kilby<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tMANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sierra Hull<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tMUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
\u201cThe Devil Went Down to Deep Gap,\u201d Bryan Sutton with Billy Strings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By now, it\u2019s becoming expected: Guitar phenom Billy Strings was named Entertainer of the Year for the fifth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":640178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[30053,31039,313791,156,157,111,139,69,313792],"class_list":["post-640177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-billy-strings","tag-bluegrass","tag-east-nash-grass","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sierra-hull"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}