From CMT.com. I italicized the AKUS people so you know who to root for.
Krauss, McCoury, Skaggs, Vincent Earn Multiple IBMA Nods
Lawson, Mountain Heart, Blue Highway Also Nominated By: Craig Shelburne
When Alison Krauss helped announce the nominees for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards, she also found herself among the leading nominees.
Krauss and her band scored nine nominationswhich were announced Thursday morning (Aug. 19) at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The Del McCoury Band and Blue Highway also earned nominations in seven categories.
Alison Krauss & Union Station landed nominations in the categories of entertainer, instrumental group, vocal group, female vocalist (for Krauss), male vocalist (for Dan Tyminski), Dobro player (Jerry Douglas), bass player (Barry Bales) and banjo player (Ron Block). Krauss also sang on the album Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers, which earned a nomination for recorded event.Standing with Krauss after the announcements, Tyminski said, "We've both been doing this our whole lives, and to be acknowledged in that way is a very warm feeling."
Krauss added, "I know I never thought that I'd get to do this for a living, and then when these people that we've admired for our whole lives acknowledge us and say, 'We think you're all right,' it’s really nice."The Del McCoury Band, the IBMA's reigning entertainer of the year, repeated a nomination in that category and also surfaced in vocal group, instrumental group, album (for It's Just the Night), banjo player (Rob McCoury), bass player (Mike Bub), fiddle player (Jason Carter) and mandolin player (Ronnie McCoury). Various members of the band also appeared on three albums nomination for recorded event: David Grisman's Life of Sorrow, the Louvin Brothers tribute and the self-titled album by the supergroup, WhiteHouse. Those 12 nominations make them the ceremony's leading nominee.
Blue Highway, a highly respected band with some of bluegrass' most high-profile pickers, landed seven nominations, including vocal group, instrumental group and song ("Seven Sundays in a Row"). Their album, Wondrous Love, earned nods for album and gospel recorded performance, while member Rob Ickes took a Dobro player nomination as well as a instrumental album nod for his album Big Time, which also featured Blue Highway.
Rhonda Vincent, who has won the female vocalist trophy every year since 2000, returns in that category. She is also nominated in the categories of entertainer, song ("Kentucky Borderline"), album (One Step Ahead) and recorded event for the Louvin tribute.
Asked about her nominations, Vincent said, "We were on the road over 300 days this year. And when you're on the road 300 days, it's a really nice confirmation of, 'Yes, keep doing what you’re doing.' It's wonderful, and I think it's something we all look forward to."
Mountain Heart and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver round out the entertainer category. Each of those bands earned five nominations, while Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder captured four nods. Other multiple nominees include Grisman, Dale Ann Bradley, Sam Bush, Michael Cleveland, Tim O'Brien, Earl Scruggs, Sammy Shelor, Larry Sparks, Bryan Sutton and Doc Watson.
The five nominees for emerging artist are Cherryholmes, King Wilkie, Nothin' Fancy, Alecia Nugent and Pine Mountain Railroad. Nugent was in the front row during the announcement ceremony. "I kind of got a late start this year with the booking agency and all that stuff, so it's really a great honor and a great surprise," she said. "I'm tickled to death. It's like an open door saying 'Welcome into our family.'"
Because of the Louvin tribute, a number of country stars are included among the IBMA nominees this year. Participants included Joe Nichols, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, James Taylor, Vince Gill, Terri Clark, Merle Haggard, Ronnie Dunn, Patty Loveless, Dierks Bentley, Dolly Parton, Marty Stuart and Pam Tillis.
The IBMA award winners will be announced Oct. 7 in Louisville, Ky.
2004 IBMA Nominations
Entertainer of the YearAlison Krauss & Union StationDoyle Lawson & Quicksilver
The Del McCoury Band
Mountain Heart
Rhonda Vincent & the Rage
Instrumental Group of the YearBlue Highway
Alison Krauss & Union StationThe Del McCoury Band
Mountain Heart
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Vocal Group of the YearBlue Highway
Alison Krauss & Union StationDoyle Lawson & Quicksilver
The Del McCoury Band
Mountain Heart
Male Vocalist of the YearDel McCoury
Russell Moore
Tim O'Brien
Larry Sparks
Dan TyminskiFemale Vocalist of the YearDale Ann Bradley
Sonya Isaacs
Alison KraussLynn Morris
Rhonda Vincent
Song of the Year"Kentucky Borderline"
Artist: Rhonda Vincent
Writers: Rhonda Vincent and Terry Herd
"I've Endured"
Artist: Tim O'Brien
Writers: David Arthur and Ola Belle Reed
"Seven Sundays in a Row"
Artist: Blue Highway
Writers: Wayne Taylor, Kim Williams and Larry Shell
"That Bluegrass Music"
Artist: The Gibson Brothers
Writers: Leigh Gibson, Eric Gibson and Mike Barber
"You Ain't Lived"
Artist: Larry Sparks
Writer: Marshal Warwick
Album of the YearA School of Bluegrass
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
It's Just the Night
The Del McCoury Band
One Step Ahead
Rhonda Vincent
The Three Pickers
Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs
Wondrous Love
Blue Highway
Gospel Recorded Performance of the YearLiving on the Hallelujah Side
Paul Williams & the Victory Trio
Send the Angels
Dale Ann Bradley
Songs of the Faith
The Isaacs
Thank God
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Wondrous Love
Blue Highway
Instrumental Album of the YearBig Time
Rob Ickes with Blue Highway
Bluegrass Guitar
Bryan Sutton
Hold On, We're Strummin'
Sam Bush and David Grisman
Live at the Ragged Edge
Tom Adams and Michael Cleveland
Team Flathead: Huber Banjo Sessions
Sammy Shelor, John Lawless, Steve Huber, Ron Stewart & Jim Mills
Recorded Event of the YearHold On, We're Strummin'
Sam Bush and David Grisman
Life of Sorrow
David Grisman: Featuring: Bryan Bowers, John Hartford, The Del McCoury Band, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, John Nagy, Alan O'Bryant, Herb Pedersen, Ralph Rinzler, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, Mac Wiseman & others
Livin' Lovin' Losin: Songs of the Louvin Brothers
Joe Nichols, Rhonda Vincent, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, James Taylor,
Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Terry Clark, Merle Haggard, Carl Jackson, Ronnie Dunn, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Glen Campbell, Leslie Satcher, Kathy Louvin, Pamela Brown Hayes, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, Jon Randall, Harley Allen, Dierks Bentley, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Dolly Parton, Sonya Isaacs, Marty Stuart, Del McCoury, Pam Tillis, Johnny Cash & the Jordanaires
The Three Pickers
Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs
WhiteHouse
WhiteHouse (David Parmley, Larry Stephenson, Charlie Cushman, Jason Carter & Missy Raines)
Emerging Artist of the YearCherryholmes
King Wilkie
Nothin' Fancy
Alecia Nugent
Pine Mountain Railroad
Instrumental Performers of the YearBanjoRon BlockJ.D. Crowe
Rob McCoury
Jim Mills
Sammy Shelor
BassBarry BalesMike Bub
Jason Moore
Missy Raines
Marshall Wilborn
DobroMike Auldridge
Jerry DouglasJosh Graves
Rob Ickes
Phil Leadbetter
FiddleJason Carter
Michael Cleveland
Stuart Duncan
Aubrey Haynie
Ron Stewart
GuitarJim Hurst
Tony Rice
Kenny Smith
Bryan Sutton
Doc Watson
MandolinSam Bush
Mike Compton
Doyle Lawson
Ronnie McCoury
Adam Steffey
Bluegrass Event of the YearCalifornia Bluegrass Association 28th Annual Father's Day Bluegrass Festival (Grass Valley, Calif.)
MerleFest (Wilkesboro, N.C.)
Wintergrass Bluegrass Festival (Tacoma, Wash.)
Print Media Personality of the YearThomas Goldsmith, The Bluegrass Reader (editor), News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., (features editor), Bluegrass Unlimited (freelance writer)
Butch Robins, What I Know 'Bout What I Know (editor)
Caroline Wright; Bluegrass Now, Bluegrass Unlimited, Honolulu Weekly (columnist, freelance writer)
Bluegrass Broadcaster of the YearWayne Bledsoe. KUMR-FM (Rolla, Mo.)
Terry Herd, Sirius Satellite Radio, Bluegrass Radio Network (Nashville)
Chris Jones, Sirius Satellite Radio (Nashville)
Best Graphic Design for a Recorded ProjectSue Meyer (designer), Bluegrass All-Stars: 16 Grand Slams From Sugar Hill Records, various artists Sue Meyer (designer), Traveler, Tim O'Brien
Sarah Lainie Smith (designer), The Bluegrass Guitar Collection, Tony Rice
Best Liners Notes for a Recorded ProjectRon Block (writer), The Bluegrass Guitar Collection, Tony Rice, Rounder Records
Gary B. Reid (writer), The Stanley Brothers: The King Years, Stanley Brothers, King Records
Eddie Stubbs and Charles K. Wolfe (writers), 'Tis Sweet to Be Remembered, Mac Wiseman, Bear Family Records