The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association

Trade association

A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...

 to promote bluegrass music

Bluegrass music

Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...

.

Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky

Owensboro, Kentucky

Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...

. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum

International Bluegrass Music Museum

The International Bluegrass Music Museum ) is a bluegrass music museum in RiverPark Center near downtown Owensboro, Kentucky, United States. The museum has inter-active exhibits, posters, costumes, live instrument demonstrations, and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. The museum has...

 as a joint venture with RiverPark Center in Owensboro. In 1990 IBMA established the World of Bluegrass, a combination trade show, concert, and awards presentation. This was originally set in Owensboro, before moving to Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 in 1997. Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 hosted this event in 2005 and 2006, and will continue as the host location in the future. In 1991 IBMA established the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor

Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is maintained at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in...

 at the International Bluegrass Music Museum to recognize lifetime contributions to bluegrass, both by performers and non-performers. In 2003 IBMA relocated its offices to Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

.

The International Bluegrass Music Association awards are the genre's equivalent of the Grammys. Winners are chosen by the 2,500 members of the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Entertainer of the year

• 1990: Hot Rize
  Hot Rize
  Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, the founding members were Mike Scap , Tim O'Brien on mandolin and fiddle, Pete Wernick on banjo and Charles Sawtelle on bass....
  
  
• 1991: Alison Krauss
  Alison Krauss
  Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
  
   & Union Station
• 1992: Nashville Bluegrass Band
  Nashville Bluegrass Band
  The Nashville Bluegrass Band is an American bluegrass music ensemble founded in 1984.The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford and Minnie Pearl; each of the members were established musicians from the Nashville bluegrass community. They signed to Rounder...
  
  
• 1993: Nashville Bluegrass Band
• 1994: Del McCoury Band
  Del McCoury Band
  The Del McCoury Band is a bluegrass band. Originally Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass, the band went through a number of changes until the 1980s when the band solidified its line-up, adding McCoury's sons, Ronnie and Robbie on mandolin and banjo,...
  
  
• 1995: Alison Krauss & Union Station
• 1996: Del McCoury Band
• 1997: Del McCoury Band
• 1998: Del McCoury Band
• 1999: Del McCoury Band
• 2000: Del McCoury Band
• 2001: Rhoda Vincent & the Rage
• 2002: Del McCoury Band
• 2003: Del McCoury Band
• 2004: Del McCoury Band
• 2005: Cherryholmes
• 2006: The Grascals
  The Grascals
  The Grascals is a six-piece bluegrass band hailing from Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2004, the band has since gained a level of notability by playing on the Grand Ole Opry and in bluegrass festivals around the country....
  
  
• 2007: The Grascals
• 2008: Dailey & Vincent
  Dailey & Vincent
  Dailey & Vincent is an American bluegrass music group composed of Jamie Dailey Darrin Vincent , Christian Davis , Joe Dean, Jr. , Jeff Parker and BJ Cherryholmes . Former fiddle player Jesse Stockman left the band in early August 2011 due to a wrist injury...
  
  
• 2009: Dailey & Vincent
• 2010: Dailey & Vincent
• 2011: Steve Martin
  Steve Martin
  Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
  
   and the Steep Canyon Rangers
  Steep Canyon Rangers
  The Steep Canyon Rangers are an American bluegrass band from Brevard, North Carolina.In 2008, the band received a nomination from International Bluegrass Music Association for "Album and Gospel Performance of the Year"....