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Bradley Wins “Female Vocalist of the Year” and “Gospel Recording of the Year”; Paisley Named “Male Vocalist of the Year”; Scott Vestal Takes Home “Banjo Player of the Year”

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) held their annual Bluegrass Music Awards last night in Raleigh, NC, and it was a big night for Pinecastle Records recording artists. In total, four awards were given out to Dale Ann Bradley, Danny Paisley and Scott Vestal. It was part of the World of Bluegrass event which will ramp up this weekend as the city is invited out to the world-renowned street festival.

“My heart is filled with so much appreciation for these awards. I’m so honored to be on the list with these great female vocalists, and very humbled to receive the award. Winning the ‘Gospel Recording of the Year’ award for ‘After While,’ a song about a better day coming, was amazing. Tying in that category with ‘In the Resurrection Morning,’ a song recorded in memory of our dear friend Steve Gulley brought tears to my eyes. God bless all of our IBMA members, social media folks and radio personalities that send our music throughout the world. You’ve all helped guide Bluegrass music to the world. Lonnie Lassiter, Ethan Burkhardt, Kyle Watson and the entire Pinecastle crew: I thank you so much for this incredible opportunity to make music for your label, you’re all great people. Thank God for the gift of music.” (Dale Ann Bradley)

Dale Ann Bradley took home her sixth award for “Female Vocalist of the Year” (first since 2012) along with “Gospel Recording of the Year” with her version of the hymn “After While.” The Kentucky native has had a massive year in 2021, receiving praise in multiple outlets like NPR, American Songwriter, Medium, Thrive Global, The Boot, Digital Journal and more. Overall, that brings the singer’s IBMA trophy count up to thirteen.

“What an honor to receive the IBMA Male Vocalist Award. An share the award with my music hero Del McCoury. He lived the next county over from me when I was a young kid and we had a bunch of mutual friends. You can’t imagine the influence Del McCoury’s had on my life. I want to thank my family, Ryan, Amanda, my sister Kay, and my 90-year-old Mom that’s stood with me every way.” (Danny Paisley)

Danny Paisley won the award for “Male Vocalist of the Year,” now for a second consecutive year. After recently signing with Pinecastle Records in 2020, the traditional singer has been riding high from the release of his latest project Bluegrass Troubadour. In total, Paisley has received four total IBMA awards and three Male Vocalist wins (2016, 2020, 2021).

“Thank you to the IBMA and all the IBMA voters for this award. It is such an honor to be recognized for all the years of hard work and practice that was, and still is being put into learning the 5 string banjo. I promise I will continue to be an ambassador for Bluegrass music and continue to take the 5 string banjo to as many styles of music as possible.” (Scott Vestal)

Scott Vestal took home one of the most prestigious awards for the night, “Banjo Player of the Year,” for a second consecutive year. It’s a category where the Nashville-based picker is no stranger, first winning the title in 1996 in recognition for the album Bluegrass ‘95. The popular series was revived with the release of Bluegrass 2020, which gained widespread popularity, charting multiple singles and even being a finalist in multiple categories like “Album of the Year” and “Instrumental Recording of the Year.” This brings Vestal’s total number of IBMA wins up to eight.