The 37th IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards land Thursday at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium, with Sam Bush and Sierra Hull hosting, Billy Strings chasing two of the night's biggest honors, and four new names entering the Hall of Fame.
Chattanooga belongs to bluegrass this week. IBMA World of Bluegrass opens Tuesday, October 20, with the Business Conference and the Bluegrass Ramble showcases, and builds to the week's centerpiece on Thursday night: the 37th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium.
Hosting duties fall to two generations of the music at once. Sam Bush, a founding force of newgrass, shares the stage with Sierra Hull, whose mandolin playing has made her one of the defining instrumentalists of the current era. Both also perform during the evening, alongside The Del McCoury Band, Sister Sadie, Authentic Unlimited, The Grascals, and Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper.
The night's headline question sits at the top of the ballot. Entertainer of the Year pits Billy Strings against Alison Krauss & Union Station, Sister Sadie, East Nash Grass, and The Del McCoury Band. Strings arrives in Chattanooga holding both Americana radio crowns, the No. 1 single "Burn The Other End" and the No. 1 album So Much For Goodbyes, and he is nominated again with his band in Instrumental Group of the Year, where Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, The Travelin' McCourys, East Nash Grass, and Appalachian Road Show complete a field with no soft spots.
Song of the Year tells its own story about where bluegrass writing stands in 2026. The nominees include "Broken Angels," recorded by The Grascals with Dolly Parton; Trey Hensley's "Can't Outrun the Blues"; "New Cluck Old Hen" from Steve Martin and Alison Brown featuring Della Mae; Authentic Unlimited's "Cost of Living"; and Red Camel Collective's "Finding Your Way Home." Vocal Group of the Year brings Alison Krauss & Union Station, Authentic Unlimited, Sister Sadie, Blue Highway, and Red Camel Collective into the same frame.
The evening also tends to the music's memory. This year's Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame class inducts fiddler Byron Berline, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Sugar Hill Records founder Barry Poss, and The Lost & Found, a reminder that IBMA week honors the builders alongside the stars.
What to watch on Thursday: whether Strings converts his radio dominance into the night's top honor, whether Sister Sadie's year continues at full stride, and which of the Song of the Year writers takes home the award that tends to travel furthest. The Ramble showcases on Tuesday and Wednesday will already have set the week's tone, and Bluegrass Live! closes the festival on Friday and Saturday. Results and the night's defining moments will anchor next week's Americana Weekly Dispatch.