Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album
Honor presented to recording artists for quality bluegrass albums
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| 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 award | 1989 |
| Currently held by | Billy Strings – Highway Prayers (2026) |
| Website | grammy.com |
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. In 1992 the category was renamed Best Bluegrass Album.
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 Billy Strings, who won at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
Recipients
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1980s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 [3] |
Southern Flavor | Bill Monroe |
| Drive | Béla Fleck | |
| 15th Anniversary Celebration | The Seldom Scene | |
| Home Is Where the Heart Is | David Grisman | |
| New Moon Rising | Peter Rowan and the Nashville Bluegrass Band | |
1990s
2000s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 [13] |
Ancient Tones | Ancient Tones |
| Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza | David Grisman, Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, Jesse McReynolds, and Frank Wakefield | |
| The Bluegrass Sessions | Béla Fleck | |
| I Feel Like Singing Today | Jim Lauderdale, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys | |
| The Mountain | Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band | |
| 2001 [14] |
The Grass Is Blue | Dolly Parton |
| Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe | Ricky Skaggs and Friends | |
| Fair Weather | Alison Brown | |
| Murder on Music Row | Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time | |
| Nickel Creek | Nickel Creek | |
| 2002 [15] |
New Favorite | Alison Krauss & Union Station |
| Clinch Mountain Sweethearts | Ralph Stanley and Friends | |
| History of the Future | Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder | |
| Little Sparrow | Dolly Parton | |
| Mountain Soul | Patty Loveless | |
| 2003 [16] |
Lost in the Lonesome Pines | Clinch Mountain Boys, Jim Lauderdale, and Ralph Stanley |
| The Hard Game of Love | Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver | |
| Jelly on My Tofu | Roland White Band | |
| Ralph Stanley | Ralph Stanley | |
| Stanley Blues | Ralph Stanley II | |
| 2004 [17] |
Live | Alison Krauss & Union Station |
| Christmas on the Mountain: A Bluegrass Christmas | Various Artists | |
| It's Just the Night | Del McCoury Band | |
| Live at the Charleston Music Hall | Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder | |
| One Step Ahead | Rhonda Vincent | |
| 2005 [18] |
Brand New Strings | Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder |
| The Bluegrass Sessions | Lynn Anderson | |
| Carrying On | Ralph Stanley II | |
| A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: "The King of Bluegrass" | Various Artists | |
| Twenty Year Blues | Nashville Bluegrass Band | |
| 2006 [19] |
The Company We Keep | Del McCoury Band |
| Cherryholmes | Cherryholmes | |
| The Grascals | The Grascals | |
| Marbletown | Blue Highway | |
| Ragin' Live | Rhonda Vincent and The Rage | |
2010s
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 [20] |
The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo | Steve Martin |
| Almost Live | Bryan Sutton and Friends | |
| Buckaroo Blue Grass | Michael Martin Murphey | |
| Could We Get Any Closer? | Jim Lauderdale | |
| Destination Life | Rhonda Vincent | |
| 2011 [21] |
Mountain Soul II | Patty Loveless |
| Circles Around Me | Sam Bush | |
| Family Circle | Del McCoury Band | |
| Legacy | Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band | |
| Reckless | The SteelDrivers | |
| 2012 | Paper Airplane | Alison Krauss & Union Station |
| A Mother's Prayer | Ralph Stanley | |
| Old Memories: The Songs of Bill Monroe | Del McCoury Band | |
| Rare Bird Alert | Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers | |
| Reason and Rhyme: Bluegrass Songs by Robert Hunter and Jim Lauderdale | Jim Lauderdale | |
| Sleep with One Eye Open | Chris Thile and Michael Daves | |
| 2013 [22] |
Nobody Knows You | Steep Canyon Rangers |
| Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail | Noam Pikelny | |
| The Gospel Side of... | Dailey & Vincent | |
| Life Finds a Way | The Grascals | |
| Scratch Gravel Road | The Special Consensus | |
| 2014 | The Streets of Baltimore | Del McCoury Band |
| Brothers of the Highway | Dailey & Vincent | |
| It's Just a Road | The Boxcars | |
| This World Oft Can Be | Della Mae | |
| Three Chords and the Truth | James King | |
| 2015 [23] |
The Earls of Leicester | The Earls of Leicester |
| Cold Spell | Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen | |
| Into My Own | Bryan Sutton | |
| Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe | Noam Pikelny | |
| Only Me | Rhonda Vincent | |
| 2016 | The Muscle Shoals Recordings | The SteelDrivers |
| Before the Sun Goes Down | Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley | |
| In Session | Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver | |
| Man of Constant Sorrow | Ralph Stanley and Friends | |
| Pocket Full of Keys | Dale Ann Bradley | |
| 2017 [24] |
Coming Home | O'Connor Band with Mark O'Connor |
| Burden Bearer | Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver | |
| The Hazel and Alice Sessions | Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands | |
| North by South | Claire Lynch | |
| Original Traditional | Blue Highway | |
| 2018 [25] |
All the Rage | Rhonda Vincent and the Rage |
| Fiddler's Dream | Michael Cleveland | |
| Laws of Gravity | The Infamous Stringdusters | |
| Original | Bobby Osborne | |
| Universal Favorite | Noam Pikelny | |
| 2019 [26] |
The Travelin' McCourys | The Travelin' McCourys |
| II | Sister Sadie | |
| North of Despair | Wood & Wire | |
| Portraits in Fiddles | Mike Barnett | |
| Rivers and Roads | The Special Consensus | |
2020s
^[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.
Artists with multiple wins
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Artists with multiple nominations
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Notes
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