Grascals Named Top Bluegrass Entertainer

Ricky Skaggs, right, and his band, Kentucky Thunder, perform at the International Bluegrass Music Awards show on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP PhotoMark Humphrey) (Mark Humphrey - AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Grascals won entertainer of the year, and Tim O'Brien captured male vocalist and song of the year honors during the International Bluegrass Music Association awards Thursday.

Rhonda Vincent took home female vocalist of the year honors, while Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver won top vocal group and Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder were voted No. 1 instrumental group for the eighth straight year.

The Grascals (the name is a takeoff on the old "Little Rascals" comedy troupe) formed in 2003 as a group of veteran bluegrass sidemen who happened to be between jobs.

Member Jamie Johnson said the award proves that dreams come true.

"We're all a bunch of sidemen, is what we are," he said. "This is our dream right here."

Their self-titled debut album on Rounder Records earned a Grammy nomination for best bluegrass album and raves from rising country star Dierks Bentley and Dolly Parton, who invited the band to open her shows and back her during her tour in 2004 and 2005.

Their second album, "Long List of Heartaches," came out in August, and like their debut it combines traditional bluegrass with strains of hard country. Alongside interpretations of Bill Monroe and Osborne Brothers songs, they perform Merle Haggard's "You Don't Have Very Far to Go" and material by contemporary writers like Harley Allen.

Last year, The Grascals won the IBMA's emerging artist of the year award, and their recording of "Me and John and Paul" won song of the year.

Besides the prestigious entertainer of the year award, the band also shared in album of the year honors for its contribution to "Celebration of Life: Musicians Against Childhood Cancer."

Vincent's award for top female vocalist was her seventh straight in the category, a record.

"We get to live our dream each day," she told the audience at the Grand Ole Opry House. "We love the music and we love to travel."

O'Brien captured the top song honors for "Look Down That Lonesome Road."

"This is an upset, but I'm not," he said.

Lawson, in his acceptance speech, said music has been his life.

"You made it possible for an old boy like me to travel up and down these roads for almost 44 years," he said.

Skaggs thanked his band for "the fire and excitement they play with every night."

With 11 collective nominations, Alison Krauss and Union Station were the evening's top nominees, but they were shut out in most categories. Guitarist/singer Dan Tyminski shared the album of the year award for his contributions to the "Musicians Against Cancer" project.

Bluegrass gospel group the Lewis Family and the late King Records founder Sydney Nathan were inducted into the IBMA's Hall of Honor.

The Lewis Family started in Lincolnton, Ga., in 1951 and combined old string band playing with gospel singing. They hosted a weekly television show in Augusta, Ga., from 1954 to 1992 and recorded more than 700 songs, including "Honey in the Rock," "You Go to Your Church (And I'll Go to Mine)" and "Just One Rose Will Do."

Nathan's King Records label, which he founded in Cincinnati in 1943, was an important repository and distributor of classic bluegrass recordings. Bob Osborne, Jimmy Martin, Don Reno, Red Smiley, the Stanley Brothers, Charlie Moore and Bill Napier all recorded for the label.

The IBMA awards are chosen by the 2,500 professional membership of the association.