Alison Krauss & Union Station and Rhonda Vincent & the Rage earned the most nominations for the 16th annual International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, but a family band made history Tuesday (Aug. 30) as the first act to grab simultaneous nominations for emerging artist and entertainer of the year.

"I have to thank God for the talent that he gave my family that we were actually able to do something like this," Cherryholmes band patriarch Jere Cherryholmes said after the announcements. "We've only been out here in the East playing in bluegrass country for about two and a-half years, and we've only been playing period for six years. Nobody here's ever had a lesson on an instrument. So to be able to get up where we are, as fast as we got there, is obviously a miracle."

The six-piece group originally from California achieved the milestone after releasing three albums and impressing crowds at bluegrass festivals across the nation. They'll release a new album Sept. 27 on Skaggs Family Records. Cia Cherryholmes is also nominated for female vocalist in a category that also includes Krauss, Vincent, Dale Ann Bradley and Sonya Isaacs.

The IBMA nominations were revealed by Vincent and Ricky Skaggs during a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

"Bluegrass is so youthful now, so much more so than it was 10 years ago," Skaggs said. "I'm really glad to see it. Back when Keith Whitley and I were working with Ralph Stanley, and Marty Stuart was with Lester Flatt, we were all youthful. But we've all had careers and done these other things. Now that I'm back in bluegrass, kind of taking my place at the table, I look and see so many great things that are happening for the music. It's enjoying another golden age right now."

Krauss and Union Station lead the field this year by nabbing 14 nominations, including entertainer of the year, instrumental group and vocal group. Union Station member Dan Tyminski is nominated for male vocalist, and individual instrumental performers nominations went to three band members -- Dobro player Jerry Douglas, bassist Barry Bales and banjoist Ron Block.

Vincent and her band members received eight nominations, including entertainer of the year and vocal group. The Rage's fiddler, Hunter Berry, is nominated in the instrumental performers division. Vincent's banjo player, Kenny Ingram, is also nominated for his work on Tribute to Jimmy Martin: "The King of Bluegrass," which is up for recorded event of the year.

Vincent said she's not competitive with her fellow nominees. "I'm a fan of the music first," she said. "Announcing them today was so exciting for me, to look at these people who are my friends. ... If you weren't friends, it might be more of a competition, but these are people that we work with and we get to see them at festivals. It's like a bluegrass family."

Seven nominations each, including vocal group and album of the year, went to Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and Blue Highway. Lawson and his band are also mentioned twice in the song of the year category for recording "Heartbreak Number Nine" (written by band members Barry Scott and Jamie Dailey) and "You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper" (written by Carl H. Caldwell).

"Who knows what will happen?" Lawson said. "But to make the final five in seven categories, that's quite an honor and a pretty good feat to accomplish. As soon as I leave here, after the photo shoot we're doing, I'm going to go on the bus to pinch myself, to make sure it's really me all this is happening to."

Blue Highway are also nominated for recorded event for their participation on Larry Sparks' album, 40. Blue Highway Dobro player Rob Ickes and guitarist Tim Stafford are each nominated in their respective instrumental award categories.

The Del McCoury Band, the reigning entertainers of the year, received six nominations, including another entertainer nod and individual nominations for banjoist Rob McCoury, fiddler Jason Carter and mandolinist Ronnie McCoury. Additionally, bassist Mike Bub, who recently left the band, received an individual nomination in the instrumental category.

"Those guys surprise me all the time," McCoury said of his sons. "Back when they were little kids, I never thought about them playing music. I thought, 'They'll never do this crazy thing that I'm doing.' But they did. They picked up these instruments. I found out they really had a desire to play music, so I thought, 'Well, I'll direct them a little bit.' So I did for a little while. Then I heard things coming out that I had never heard before, and I thought, 'Now is the time I need to leave them alone and let them do their thing.' Of course, they incorporated what they were doing into our band."

Five nominations each went to Sparks, Mountain Heart, Paul Williams and Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. In addition to Cherryholmes, the nominees for emerging artist included Audie Blaylock & Redline, the Grascals, Alecia Nugent and the Williams & Clark Expedition.

During Tuesday's press conference, it was also announced that the late Benny Martin and Red Allen will be this year's inductees into the IBMA's Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor.

Martin, who died in 2001, was a master fiddler who worked for years on the Grand Ole Opry and with several notable artists, including Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff and Johnnie & Jack. He also played fiddle in Flatt & Scruggs' Foggy Mountain Boys from mid-1952 until early 1954, recording 16 songs that stand among the finest bluegrass records ever made.

Allen, a singer and guitarist who died in 1993, was first recognized for his work with the Osborne Brothers in the mid-1950s when the trio perfected the "high lead" vocal harmony technique that has influenced bluegrass musicians ever since. Allen, the father of Nashville singer-songwriter Harley Allen, began a solo career in 1958 and recorded more than a dozen albums. In later years, Allen collaborated with a wide variety of musicians, including J.D. Crowe, David Grisman, Bill Emerson, Frank Wakefield and others.

Martin and Allen will be honored during an induction ceremony at the IBMA's Oct. 27 awards show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Krauss and Skaggs will host the program that serves as the highlight of the IBMA's weeklong business conference and Bluegrass Fan Fest, slated for October 24-30. It marks the first year the IBMA event is taking place in Nashville after moving from Louisville, Ky.

2005 IBMA Nominations

Entertainer of the Year

Cherryholmes

Alison Krauss & Union Station

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

The Del McCoury Band

Rhonda Vincent & the Rage

Instrumental Group

Blue Highway

Alison Krauss & Union Station

The Del McCoury Band

Mountain Heart

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Vocal Group

Blue Highway

Alison Krauss & Union Station

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Mountain Heart

Rhonda Vincent & the Rage

Male Vocalist

Russell Moore

Tim O'Brien

Marty Raybon

Larry Sparks

Dan Tyminski

Female Vocalist

Dale Ann Bradley

Cia Cherryholmes

Sonya Isaacs

Alison Krauss

Rhonda Vincent

Emerging Artists

Audie Blaylock & Redline

Cherryholmes

The Grascals

Alecia Nugent

Williams & Clark Expedition

Song of the Year

• "Georgia Peaches"

Artist: Larry Sparks with Andy Griggs

Songwriters: Carl Jackson and Alan Laney

• "Heartbreak Number Nine"

Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Songwriters: Barry Scott and Jamie Dailey

• "Me and John and Paul"

Artist: The Grascals

Songwriter: Harley Allen

• "Rain Please Go Away"

Artist: Alison Krauss & Union Station

Songwriter: Del McCoury

• "You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper"

Artist: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Songwriter: Carl H. Caldwell

Album of the Year

• 40

Larry Sparks

• The Grascals

The Grascals

• Lonely Runs Both Ways

Alison Krauss & Union Station

• Tribute to Jimmy Martin: "The King of Bluegrass"

J.D. Crowe, Paul Williams, Audie Blaylock and Kenny Ingram (artists)

• You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Gospel Recorded Performance

• "A Living Prayer"

Alison Krauss & Union Station

• Gospel In Black & White

Marty Raybon (artist)

• I'll Be No Stranger There

Paul Williams & The Victory Trio

• "I Want to Live Beyond the Grave"

Mountain Heart

• "Praise His Name"

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Instrumental Album

• Bending the Rules

Jesse McReynolds with Travis Wetzel

• Endless Line

Tim Stafford

• Half Moon Bay

James Alan Shelton

• Slide Effects

Phil Leadbetter

• Wake Up Darlin' Corey

Art Stamper with Harry Bickel, Doc Hamilton and Tim O'Brien

Recorded Event

• 40

Larry Sparks with Ronnie Bowman, Larry Cordle, Kevin Denney, Vince Gill, Andy Griggs, Tom T. Hall, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Jim Hurst, The Isaacs, Carl Jackson, Chris Jones, Alison Krauss, The Marshall Family, Russell Moore, Don Rigsby, Ricky Skaggs, Kenny Smith, Tim Stafford, Ralph Stanley, Dan Tyminski, Rhonda Vincent, Sharon White-Skaggs, Cheryl White and Paul Williams

• Daughters of American Bluegrass

Kim Fox, Dale Ann Bradley, Cindy Cashdollar, Lorraine Jordan, Missy Raines, Honi Deaton, Gena Britt, Michelle Birkby-Vance, Chrystal Franklin and Anita Fisher

• Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues

Harley Allen, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Fred Carpenter, Lionel Cartwright, Daniel Carwile, Larry Cordle, John Cowan, Barry Crabtree, Charlie Cushman, Stuart Duncan, Andrew Hall, Aubrey Haynie, David Harvey, Emma Harvey, Jan Harvey, Alison Krauss, Keith Little, Tim May, Patty Mitchell, Bob Mummert, Tim O'Brien, Jon Randall, Calvin Settles, Ira Wayne Settles, Odessa Settles, Tom Shinness, Russell Smith, Jill Snider, Todd Suttle and Andy Todd

• Tribute to Jimmy Martin: "The King of Bluegrass"

J.D. Crowe, Paul Williams, Audie Blaylock and Kenny Ingram

• You Were There for Me

Peter Rowan and Tony Rice (artists); Rounder; Peter Rowan and Tony Rice (producers)

Instrumental Performers

Banjo

Ron Block

J.D. Crowe

Rob McCoury

Jim Mills

Sammy Shelor

Dobro

Mike Auldridge

Jerry Douglas

Rob Ickes

Randy Kohrs

Phil Leadbetter

Bass

Barry Bales

Mike Bub

Jason Moore

Missy Raines

Marshall Wilborn

Fiddle

Hunter Berry

Jason Carter

Michael Cleveland

Stuart Duncan

Ron Stewart

Guitar

Jim Hurst

Tony Rice

Larry Sparks

Bryan Sutton

Tim Stafford

Mandolin

Sam Bush

Mike Compton

Doyle Lawson

Ronnie McCoury

Adam Steffey

Bluegrass Broadcaster

• Cindy Baucom, Knee Deep in Bluegrass syndicated program (Elkin, N.C.)

• Terry Herd, Sirius Satellite Radio/Bluegrass Radio Network (Nashville)

• Joan Kornblith, Voice of America (Washington, D.C.)

Bluegrass Event

• Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Festival, St. Cloud, Minn.

• WinterGrass, Tacoma, Wash.; Feb. 2005

• 32nd Annual RockyGrass, Lyons, Colo.

Bluegrass Print Media Person

• Tom Ewing, Bluegrass Unlimited columnist

• Charles Haymes, syndicated columnist

• Stephanie P. Ledgin, author of Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass

Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project

• Wayne Brezinka (designer)

Various Artists, The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage of the Carter Family

• Joanne Lauterjung (designer)

John Reischman & the Jaybirds, The Road West

• Sue Meyer (designer), The Duhks, The Duhks

Best Liner Notes for a Recorded Project

• Jon Hartley Fox (writer)

Red Allen, Lonesome & Blue: The Complete County Recordings

• Eddie Stubbs (writer)

Don Reno & Red Smiley, Sweethearts in Heaven

• Billy Altman (writer)

Various Artists, Can't You Hear Me Callin'-- Bluegrass: 80 Years of American Music