John Cowan and Missy Raines to host this year’s show on September 26
John Cowan and Missy Raines have been announced as hosts for the 35th Annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards Show, on Thursday, September 26 during the 2024 IBMA World of Bluegrass®. The awards show will be held once more at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.
John Cowan
John Cowan, hailed as the Voice of Newgrass, has been singing his heart out for more than forty years and his soaring vocals have only improved with time. A true innovator, Cowan applies his powerful pipes to genres from country, bluegrass, and gospel to soul, jazz, and rock – often within the space of a single concert. His ability to move fluidly through multiple styles, and carry mesmerized audiences on the journey with him, has set him apart as one of the most loved and admired vocal artists of his generation, not just by fans and critics but among fellow musicians as well.
With his distinctive, rock-tinged tenor vocal and heart-thumping electric bass, Cowan along with fellow New Grass Revival bandmates Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, and Curtis Burch, and later Bela Fleck and Pat Flynn, introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental and ultimately, an eponymous brand of bluegrass. The “newgrass” sound spawned popular jam bands such as Leftover Salmon and Yonder Mountain String Band, opened the door for today’s young bluegrass superstars Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle and shaped the sensibilities of country megastars Garth Brooks, The Chicks, the Zac Brown Band, and Darius Rucker.
Missy Raines
Missy Raines, the most awarded bass player in IBMA history, is a trailblazer in bluegrass music, a path that has taken Raines on a long and adventurous musical journey which has been informed by the Southern Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic bluegrass of her youth. As a child and young teen, Raines soaked up the sounds of The Country Gentlemen, The Seldom Scene, The Johnson Mountain Boys, and the other neo-progressive groups that propelled bluegrass music forward in the 70s. In the early years of her career, she spent hours learning from and playing with many first-generation bluegrass legends and traveled extensively throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
In fact, she says that the Johnson Mountain Boys helped inspire the sound of her touring band Allegheny: Tristan Scroggins (mandolin, vocals), Eli Gilbert (banjo) and Ellie Hakanson (fiddle, vocals), and Ben Garnett (guitar, vocals). Raines grew up around The Johnson Mountain Boys and jammed with them often in the early days of the band.
Raines’ lifetime spent steeped in bluegrass has provided her with extensive knowledge of and a deep passion for the music.
Tickets available at worldofbluegrass.org
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Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts -Set amongst the backdrop of our Capitol, the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts has stood as a historic and cultural focal point in Downtown Raleigh since 1932. It has played host to Broadway classics, rock legends and major political figures while maintaining an emphasis on education of the arts and artists housed within Raleigh’s community. With four separate event spaces available, the breadth and depth of events past, present and future has made this Raleigh’s Premier Arts Venue.
General Info: Kristen Bearfield, IBMA Communications & Public Relations
[email protected]
