Becky Buller with her 2025 Distinguished Alumna in the Arts Award, and with the ETSU Pride Band
When the East Tennessee State University National Alumni Association held their annual Evening of Distinction and ETSU PRIDE on November 14, Becky Buller received their 2025 Distinguished Alumna in the Arts Award.
Also a member of the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, Becky was born in St James, MN, where her love for bluegrass and fiddle music was nurtured. After high school, she attended ETSU’s Bluegrass, Old-Time, And Roots Music Studies program, and has served as an unofficial ambassador for them ever since. Her enthusiasm for ETSU is shared wherever she performs or teaches, and the school has repaid that favor with this award.
We all know Buller for her songwriting, with cuts on three Grammy-winning albums by The Infamous Stringdusters, Molly Tuttle, and The Travelin’ McCourys, plus songs on records by Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. As a performer, she has won 10 IBMA Awards, including Female Vocalist of the Year, and being the first female fiddler to be named Fiddler of the Year.
She has appeared many times on the Grand Ole Opry, and tours extensively with her own Becky Buller Band, in support of her seven albums.
In addition, Buller serves on the board of the IBMA Foundation, and has taught fiddle, singing, and songwriting for the past two decades, sharing her skills and expertise both privately and at camps and workshops all over the world.
Clearly she has done ETSU proud, and shared with us of this award thusly…
“Y’all know how much I cherish my time at ETSU, and how passionate I am about spreading the good word for our legendary Bluegrass, Old-Time, And Roots Music Studies program, past, present, and future. If you (or someone who loves bluegrass music as much as you do) are considering higher education, definitely check out ETSU Blue.
I’m honored to be the first ETSU Blue alum to serve on the school’s National Alumni Association board. And I’m very grateful for this award. To quote Mac Wiseman: ‘Tis sweet to be remembered!'”
As her award was announced, the following video was shown:
Many congratulations to Becky Buller for this distinction, surely not the last that will come her way.
