Compass Records celebrated a series of wins at the 2020 IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Awards last night as the IBMA hosted their very first all virtual International Bluegrass Music Awards. Fiddle virtuoso Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper took home two awards—INSTRUMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR and INSTRUMENTAL RECORDING OF THE YEAR for his GRAMMY®-winning album, TALL FIDDLER.
Missy Raines scored a win as BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR for the 9th time, and Chicago’s bluegrass stalwarts, Special Consensus, took the SONG OF THE YEAR award with “Chicago Barn Dance,” featuring Michael Cleveland and Becky Buller, the title track from their acclaimed #1 Bluegrass Today charting album. SONG OF THE YEAR writers Becky Buller, Missy Raines and Alison Brown made a virtual appearance to explain that the song was written to celebrate the connection between the Windy City and early bluegrass music.
Compass artists Molly Tuttle and Trey Hensley were featured as this year’s Guitar Player of the Year nominees joined together for a pre-taped tribute to Doc Watson, and Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley were joined by blues legend Taj Mahal for a pre-taped version of “Sitting On Top of the World.”
The In Memoriam segment of the Award Show, which pays tribute to all of the people that the bluegrass community has lost over the past year, featured a pre-taped performance of “Take Me Over Jordan” by Missy Raines, Becky Buller, and Compass Records co-founder Alison Brown.
