Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album

Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album
Awarded forQuality works in the bluegrass music genre
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded1989
Currently held byMolly Tuttle & Golden Highway – City of Gold (2024)
Websitegrammy.com

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]

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. Since 1992, the award has been presented under the category Best Bluegrass Album. Beginning in 1993, award recipients often included the producers, engineers, and/or mixers associated with the nominated work in addition to the recording artists.[4] 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 Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, who won at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.

  1. ^ "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  2. ^ "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  3. ^ "Complete list of Grammy nominees". Times-News. 114 (13). Hendersonville, North Carolina: The New York Times Company: 14. January 13, 1989. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
  4. ^ "Grammy Award Winners". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2010. Note: User must select the "American Roots" category as the genre under the search feature.