<\/p>\n
The 36th annual International Bluegrass Music Association Awards show felt a little different this go-round. Sure, the annual gathering of the genre overtook Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the first time this past week. But the bigger story was Billy Strings, who was in attendance to receive Entertainer of the Year honors.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just feels good to be back here and to be welcomed,\u201d Strings tells Rolling Stone <\/em>backstage. \u201cAnd to also let these folks know that I\u2019m still here with them. I haven\u2019t abandoned bluegrass. I very much am still wanting to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n A multifaceted guitar wizard who has singlehandedly brought bluegrass to the arena level, the singer-songwriter took home his fourth Entertainer win. Held at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium, the award show was hosted by the banjo duo of Alison Brown and Steve Martin.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I feel that music of certain frequencies we\u2019re drawn to at different points in time,\u201d Brown says. \u201cI think the authenticity of bluegrass music is something that speaks to people in the age of big-tech and A.I.\u201d<\/p>\n For Strings, who was at IBMAs all this week, being present was more than just a full circle moment. It was also a chance to witness the bridging of generations of artists whose core resides in the storied \u201chigh, lonesome sound.\u201d At one point during the conference, Strings jumped onstage with 90-year-old Paul Williams, best known for his work with bluegrass pillar Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys.<\/p>\n \u201cThe scene has changed, and actually for the better,\u201d says Greg Cahill of bluegrass act the Special Consensus, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. \u201cPeople were worried about traditional bluegrass dying. Thank God for Billy Strings. He\u2019s brought all these young people into [bluegrass].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to try to mix up the camo with the tie-dye a little bit, stir up the Nag Champa with the \u2018Roll Tide,\u2019\u201d Strings said in his keynote address earlier this week. \u201cWe have to continue to welcome new voices, whose unique perspectives and experience will enrich our collective artistic expression. We\u2019ve got to allow these fresh ideas to mingle with tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n Strings\u2019 sentiments rang true throughout the award show, especially when it came to this younger generation of musicians breaking into the mainstream. From Vickie Vaughn getting Bass Player of the Year to East Nash Grass\u2019 Maddie Denton receiving Fiddle Player honors, these are crystal-clear signs of a new, bountiful era for bluegrass.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just something about this music that\u2019s pure at its truest form,\u201d says Sierra Hull, who was honored with her seventh Mandolin Player of the Year trophy. \u201cWhen you can actually come and hear these instruments \u2014 just wire and wood and these three-part harmonies \u2014\u00a0there\u2019s a truth to it that speaks to a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n Those truths go back numerous decades, underscored by those being inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame during the ceremony. This year\u2019s newest members included Hot Rize, the Bluegrass Cardinals, and the late Arnold Shultz, an old-time Black musician who remains a pioneering influence on the formation of bluegrass.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bluegrass pendulum swings left and right, to the progressive side and back to traditional,\u201d said Hot Rize mandolinist Tim O\u2019Brien. \u201cWhen Hot Rize started, it was a good time to run down the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n Formed in 1978, Hot Rize were trailblazers when it came to keeping one foot in the traditions of bluegrass, the other in the natural progression of musical creativity and sonic curiosity \u2014 the result being where we stand today with the names like Strings, Hull, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Ferrell.<\/p>\n \u201cOur hair was long and our tongues were in our cheeks,\u201d O\u2019Brien says. \u201cBut we fed on the tried and true ingredients [of bluegrass]. We were just jamming, but we hit enough of the right notes.\u201d<\/p>\n Fiddle virtuosos Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland garnered a handful of honors for their astounding record Carter & Cleveland<\/em>, including Song, Album and Collaborative Recording of the Year. Each time their names were called, Carter would help Cleveland, who is blind, up to the podium to receive the awards, grins of gratitude appearing ear-to-ear.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael has been one of my best friends for many years. He was the best man at my wedding,\u201d Carter says. \u201cWe have played a lot of music together and have been talking about doing this record for 15 years. Kind of a dream come true to get to play with one of the greatest fiddle players that\u2019s ever drawn a bow.\u201d<\/p>\n The culmination of the awards show came with a poignant rendition of the late Ralph Stanley\u2019s \u201cLittle Birdy.\u201d With a murderers\u2019 row of talent overtaking the stage, Strings was front and center alongside Del McCoury, Hull, Brown, Martin, Justin Moses, Jim Lauderdale, Deanie Richardson, and more.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle birdie, little birdie\/Won\u2019t you sing to me your song,\u201d Strings howled into the heavens. \u201cGot a short time to stay here\/And a long time to be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n 2025 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards winners list:<\/p>\n ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR<\/strong> SONG OF THE YEAR\u00a0<\/strong> ALBUM OF THE YEAR<\/strong> VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR<\/strong> INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR<\/strong> GOSPEL RECORDING OF THE YEAR\u00a0<\/strong> INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR<\/strong> NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR\u00a0<\/strong> COLLABORATIVE RECORDING OF THE YEAR<\/strong> MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR<\/strong> FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR<\/strong> BANJO PLAYER OF THE YEAR<\/strong> BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR<\/strong> FIDDLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR<\/strong> RESOPHONIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR<\/strong> GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR<\/strong> MANDOLIN PLAYER OF THE YEAR<\/strong> MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR<\/strong> Best of Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 36th annual International Bluegrass Music Association Awards show felt a little different this go-round. Sure, the annual gathering of the genre overtook Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the first time this past week. But the bigger story was Billy Strings, who was in attendance to receive Entertainer of the Year honors. \u201cIt just feels good to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2035777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[352257,344632,339098,375834,339097,375833,339096,314737,372333,305346,375832],"class_list":["post-2035776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-alison-brown","tag-billy-strings","tag-bluegrass-music","tag-hot-rize","tag-jason-carter","tag-jimmy-martin","tag-michael-cleveland","tag-rolling-stone","tag-sierra-hull","tag-steve-martin","tag-traditional-bluegrass"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Billy-Strings-Wins-IBMA-Entertainer-of-the-Year-\u2018I-Havent.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2035776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2035776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2035777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2035776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2035776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2035776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Billy Strings<\/p>\n
\u201cOutrun the Rain\u201d (Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland)<\/p>\n
Carter & Cleveland <\/em>(Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland)<\/p>\n
Authentic Unlimited<\/p>\n
The Travelin\u2019 McCourys<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s Gone\u201d (Jaelee Roberts)<\/p>\n
\u201cRalph\u2019s Banjo Special\u201d (Kristin Scott Benson, Gena Britt, Alison Brown)<\/p>\n
Red Camel Collective<\/p>\n
\u201cOutrun the Rain\u201d (Jason Carter, Michael Cleveland, Jaelee Roberts, Vince Gill)<\/p>\n
Greg Blake<\/p>\n
Alison Krauss<\/p>\n
Kristin Scott Benson<\/p>\n
Vickie Vaughn<\/p>\n
Maddie Denton<\/p>\n
Justin Moses<\/p>\n
Trey Hensley<\/p>\n
Sierra Hull<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Auctioneer\u201d (The Kody Norris Show)<\/p>\n