Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Quality works in the bluegrass music genre |
Country | United States |
Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
First awarded | 1989 |
Currently held by | Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – City of Gold (2024) |
Website | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,[1] to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the bluegrass music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".[2]
Originally called the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Recording (Vocal or Instrumental),[3] the award was first presented in 1989. In 1990 and 1991, the category was renamed Best Bluegrass Recording, and in 1990, the award was reserved for singles rather than albums. Since 1992, the award has been presented under the category Best Bluegrass Album. Beginning in 1993, award recipients often included the producers, engineers, and/or mixers associated with the nominated work in addition to the recording artists.[4] In 1995 and 1997, producers of compilation albums were the only award recipients.
The inaugural recipient of the award was Bill Monroe, widely considered to be the founder of the genre. Alison Krauss has the most wins in the category, with six, including five with her band Union Station who are tied with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for second most wins. Jim Lauderdale, Nashville Bluegrass Band, and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway are the only other acts to have won more than once, with two awards each. Del McCoury holds the record for most nominations, with ten, while Doyle Lawson, Noam Pickelny, Peter Rowan, and The Seldom Scene have the most nominations without a win, with four. In 2018, the first tie in the history of the category occurred, with the award being presented to both Rhonda Vincent and The Infamous Stringdusters. The current recipient of the award is Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, who won at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
Year[I] | Performing artist(s) | Work | Nominees | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 | Bill Monroe | Southern Flavor |
|
[3] |
1990 | Bruce Hornsby and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | "The Valley Road" |
|
[5] |
1991 | Alison Krauss | "I've Got That Old Feeling" |
|
[6] |
1992 | Carl Jackson and John Starling | Spring Training |
|
[7] |
1993 | Alison Krauss and Union Station | Every Time You Say Goodbye |
|
[8] |
1994 | Nashville Bluegrass Band | Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go |
|
[9] |
1995 | Various artists[II] | The Great Dobro Sessions |
|
[10] |
1996 | Nashville Bluegrass Band | Unleashed |
|
[11] |
1997 | Various artists[III] | True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe |
|
[12] |
1998 | Alison Krauss and Union Station | So Long So Wrong |
|
[13] |
1999 | Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder | Bluegrass Rules! |
|
[14] |
2000 | Ancient Tones |
|
[15] | |
2001 | Dolly Parton | The Grass Is Blue |
|
[16] |
2002 | Alison Krauss and Union Station | New Favorite |
|
[17] |
2003 | Clinch Mountain Boys, Jim Lauderdale, and Ralph Stanley | Lost in the Lonesome Pines |
|
[18] |
2004 | Alison Krauss and Union Station | Live |
|
[19] |
2005 | Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder | Brand New Strings |
|
[20] |
2006 | Del McCoury Band | The Company We Keep |
|
[21] |
2007 | Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder | Instrumentals |
|
[22] |
2008 | Jim Lauderdale | The Bluegrass Diaries |
|
[23] |
2009 | Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder | Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947 |
|
[24] |
2010 | Steve Martin | The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo |
|
[25] |
2011 | Patty Loveless | Mountain Soul II |
|
[26] |
2012 | Alison Krauss and Union Station | Paper Airplane |
|
|
2013 | Steep Canyon Rangers | Nobody Knows You |
|
[27] |
2014 | Del McCoury Band | The Streets of Baltimore |
|
|
2015 | The Earls of Leicester | The Earls of Leicester |
|
[28] |
2016 | The SteelDrivers | The Muscle Shoals Recordings |
|
|
2017 | O'Connor Band with Mark O'Connor | Coming Home |
|
[29] |
2018 | Rhonda Vincent and the Rage | All the Rage |
|
[30] |
The Infamous Stringdusters | Laws of Gravity | |||
2019 | The Travelin' McCourys | The Travelin' McCourys |
|
[31] |
2020 | Michael Cleveland | Tall Fiddler |
|
|
2021 | Billy Strings | Home |
|
[32] |
2022 | Béla Fleck | My Bluegrass Heart |
|
[33] |
2023 | Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway | Crooked Tree |
|
[34] |
2024 | City of Gold |
|
[35] |
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
^[II] Awards were presented to Jerry Douglas and Tut Taylor as the producers of the album.
^[III] An award was presented to Todd Phillips as the producer of the album.
Notes