The Kody Norris Show at the 2026 SPBGMA National Convention – photo © Roger Black
Thursday, January 22 was a beautiful day as banjos, guitars, fiddles, mandolins, bass fiddles, and dobros all descended on the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. It was that time of year again. The 51st annual Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America’s, National Convention and Bluegrass Music Awards.
The SPBGMA awards are all about honoring those who make those who sing and make these instruments sing. SPBGMA is a special event where pickers and singers from all over the world gather together to pick, sing, tell stories, and renew old acquaintances.
The convention started out pretty much normally with plans for four days of great bands playing great music. But the weatherman had other plans. There was a major winter storm brewing that was promising to dump a large amount of snow and ice over 10 states with Nashville being pretty much right in the middle. Due to the threat of the impending snow storm a few acts had to cancel, and the crowd was noticeably smaller than past years.
Thursday
The evening started out with great performances by Backline, The McLain Family, The Stephens Brothers (actually husband and wife duet), Ashleigh Graham & Appalachian Highway, Nick Dumas & Branchline, and The Edgar Loudermilk Band.
Friday
Friday got started off with a terrific Songwriter Workshop that was hosted by Daryl Mosley, along with other great songwriters. The days entertainment got started off with Dave Adkins & Mountain Soul, with ten more great bands including Deeper Shade of Blue, Nick Chandler & Delivered, Kentucky Just Us, Route 3, Fast Track, Red Camel Collective, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, The Kody Norris Show, and The Tennessee Bluegrass Band. The night’s organized entertainment concluded with Nothin’ Fancy.
Bluegrass radio personalities such as Kyle Cantrel, from BanjoRadio.com, and Jeff LIpchick and Roger Black from The Bluegrass Jamboree were also on hand doing live on-air interviews with the biggest and fastest rising stars of bluegrass music.
Then came Saturday
The weatherman made good on his promise. The first round of the SPBGMA International Band Competition was underway when the snow and ice started to fly. The afternoon entertainment included Carolina Bluegrass Style from Columbia, SC, Nick Dumas & Branchline, and Special Consensus. By the time the second round of the band competition completed and the dinner break came around, the cars in the parking lot were well covered with a blanket of snow and ice.
The Awards Show
The awards show got underway with pyrotechnics lighting up the stage area, and Master of Ceremonies Mark Poe stepping up to the microphone to introduce Carson Peters & Iron Mountain to the stage.
The awards went as follows.
- Bluegrass Promoter of the Year – Aaron McDaris
- Bluegrass Radio Station of the Year – BanjoRadio.com
- Bluegrass DJ of the Year – Kyle Cantrell
- Bluegrass Songwriter of the Year – Rick Faris
- Bluegrass Album of the Year – Carter & Cleveland by Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland on Fiddle Man Records
- Bluegrass Song of the Year – The Auctioneer by The Kody Norris Show on Rebel Records
- Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year – Mickey Harris
- Dobro Performer of the Year – Matt Leadbetter
- Guitar Performer of the Year – Kody Norris
- Mandolin Performer of the Year – Jesse Brock
- Banjo Performer of the Year – Kristin Scott Benson
- Fiddle Performer of the Year – Michael Cleveland
- Female Vocalist of the Year – Heather Berry Mabe
- Male Vocalist of the Year – Kody Norris
- Gospel Group of the Year – Authentic Unlimited
- Vocal Group of the Year – Authentic Unlimited
- Instrumental Group of the Year – The Grascals
- Bluegrass Band (Overall) of the Year – The Kody Norris Show
- Bluegrass Entertainer of the Year – The Kody Norris Show
During the awards ceremony other great bands performed, including The Po’ Ramblin Boys, and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage.
Then came Sunday
Sunday morning about 5:00 a.m. power in a large part of Nashville went dark, due to the weight of ice and trees falling on power lines throughout the city. The power company stated that approximately 145,000 customers were without power, which included The Sheraton Music City hotel.
If you know anything about bluegrassers, you know that heat and lights being out don’t stop the pickin’. The SPBGMA and hotel staff set up a small stage in the glass front lobby of the Ball Room. Daryl Mosely took the stage to a full lobby of die hard bluegrass fans. No heat, no lights and no sound system. Daryl as usual wowed the crowd with the award-winning music that he had written over the years. Just Daryl and his guitar.
The King James Boy from Cowpins, South Carolina delivered a soul stirring gospel set bringing us to the finals of the International Band Competition. Still no lights, no heat and no sound system.
And the winners are
- Strings of Green from Beckley, WV
- Headin’ Home Bluegrass from Bloomingdale, GA
- Rounders Station from Somerset, KY
- Travis Watts and Mountain Blessings from Mount Airy, NC
- The Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters from Fairbanks, Alaska
It all ended with one question on everyone’s mind: “How cold is it going to be in my room tonight?”
And so goes SPBGMA 2026.
Many thanks to the staff of SPBGMA, the staff of the Sheraton Music City, and the fine sound crew for another superb convention in spite of the weatherman.
