Dailey & Vincent, a duo formed just last year, topped the nominations for the 2008 International Bluegrass Music Association awards. The announcements were made Thursday (Aug. 14) at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theater by multiple IBMA award-winner Del McCoury, two-time Country Music Association female vocalist of the year Kathy Mattea, disc jockey and historian Eddie Stubbs and IBMA executive director Dan Hays.

Together and separately, veteran performers Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent were picked to vie in 10 categories, including the all-important entertainer and album of the year slots. Cornering six nominations each were Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Blue Highway and the Dan Tyminski Band, another new musical configuration.

Dailey & Vincent were on hand to open and close the program with their music. One of the songs they performed, "By the Mark," turned out to be one of their two song of the year nominations (the other being "More Than a Name on the Wall). "By The Mark" was also cited in the best gospel performance category.

Stubbs announced that Bill Clifton and the late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe will be inducted into International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Clifton is a longtime performer, recording artist, folk music scholar and organizer of folk clubs and bluegrass events in the U.S. and Europe.

Wolfe, who would have been 65 on the day his nomination was announced, wrote voluminously and expertly on country and bluegrass music and performers in addition to his holding down his day job as professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University. Of his many books and countless articles, his magnum opus was A Good Natured-Riot: The Birth of the Grand Ole Opry, a study that recounted the Opry's first 15 years of operation, from 1925 to 1940.

CMT.com's in-house bluegrass aficionado, Craig Shelburne, was nominated for print media person of the year in a category that also includes freelance writers Stephanie P. Ledgin and Chris Stuart.

Among the bluegrass artists attending the announcements were Tyminski, Eddie Adcock, Ronnie Reno, Carl Jackson, Larry Stephenson, Rob Ickes and David Crow.

Noting that McCoury, a nine-time IBMA entertainer of the year, will host the organization's awards show, Hays joked, "Maybe he'll bring some of his trophies back and we can hand them out again. I think he has more than we do."

When Hays introduced McCoury and Mattea to read the performing and recording nominations, he pointed out that each has a new album that has topped Billboard's bluegrass chart and that each album -- Mattea's Coal and McCoury's Moneyland -- speaks to current social issues.

"They both reshaped how we think of music," Hays asserted.

Mattea and McCoury were in high spirits and good humor, however, as they slogged through category after category of nominees. Mattea quipped that the exquisitely coiffed McCoury had "commandeered all the hairspray in Nashville" and added, "It's pretty bad to be the only woman in the room and have the lowest voice."

McCoury marveled that he was able to read the nominations without donning his glasses. When he read the album title Everett Lilly & Everybody and Their Brother, a candidate in the recorded event division, he struck an incredulous tone, saying, "Everett's got everybody and their brother [on the album] except me and my brother."

Set for Oct. 2 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, The IBMA Awards show is the high point of the World of Bluegrass convention that takes place Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, primarily at the Nashville Convention Center. The Bluegrass Fan Fest, which features the genre's top performers, runs Oct. 3-5.

Here's a complete list of this year's IBMA nominees:

Entertainer of the Year Dailey & Vincent The Grascals Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver The Del McCoury Band Rhonda Vincent & the Rage

Vocal Group of the Year Blue Highway Dailey & Vincent The Grascals The Isaacs Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass

Instrumental Group of the Year Blue Highway Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper The Infamous Stringdusters Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Dan Tyminski Band

Male Vocalist of the Year Jamie Dailey Russell Moore Tim O'Brien Danny Paisley Dan Tyminski

Female Vocalist of the Year Dale Ann Bradley Sonya Isaacs Alison Krauss Claire Lynch Rhonda Vincent

Album of the Year Dailey & Vincent Dailey & Vincent

Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass -- Tribute to 1946 and 1947 Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Lovin' Pretty Women Steep Canyon Rangers

The SteelDrivers The SteelDrivers

Through the Window of a Train Blue Highway

Song of the Year "Alison's Band" Artist: Charlie Sizemore Band Writers: Charlie Sizemore and Buddy Cannon

"By the Mark" Artist: Dailey & Vincent Writers: David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

"Drinkin' Dark Whiskey" Artist: The SteelDrivers Writers: Mike Henderson and Chris Stapleton

"More Than a Name on the Wall" Artist: Dailey & Vincent Writers: Jimmy Fortune and John Rimel

"Through the Window of a Train" Artist: Blue Highway Writers: Tim Stafford and Steve Gulley

Gospel Recorded Performance "Be Still Moses" Steep Canyon Rangers

"By the Mark" Dailey & Vincent

Help Is on the Way Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Salt of the Earth Ricky Skaggs & the Whites

Where No One Stands Alone Paul Williams & the Victory Trio

Instrumental Album Live at the Linda David Grier

Sound of the Slide Guitar Andy Hall

Stepping Out Jason Davis

The Past Is Present Jason Barie

When at Last Russ Barenberg

Recorded Event Christmas Grass, Vol. 3 3 Fox Drive, Sonya Isaacs, John Cowan, Sarah Jarosz, Larry Sparks, Russell Moore and Charlie Daniels

Everett Lilly & Everybody and Their Brother Everett Lilly, Bea Lilly, Charles Lilly, Daniel Lilly, Mark Lilly, Marty Stuart, Rhonda Vincent, Billy Walker, Ronnie McCoury, Rob McCoury, David Ball, Charlie Cushman, Larry Stephenson, Joe Spivey, Eddie Stubbs, Jason Carter, Dickey Lee, Freddy Weller, Mike Bub, Rad Lewis, Andy May, Darrin Vincent, Marcia Campbell, Clay Rigdon, Eric Blankenship and Bill Wolfenbarger

Salt of the Earth Ricky Skaggs & the Whites

Standard Songs for Average People John Prine and Mac Wiseman

We Are Family Jeff & Sheri Easter, the Lewis Family & the Easter Brothers

Emerging Artist Cadillac Sky Dailey & Vincent Grasstowne Danny Paisley and the Southern Grass The SteelDrivers

Instrumental Performers

Banjo Kristen Scott Benson J.D. Crowe Jim Mills Earl Scruggs Ron Stewart

Bass Barry Bales Mike Bub Missy Raines Darrin Vincent Marshall Wilborn

Fiddle Hunter Berry Jason Carter Michael Cleveland Stuart Duncan Ron Stewart

Dobro Mike Auldridge Jerry Douglas Rob Ickes Randy Kohrs Phil Leadbetter

Guitar Cody Kilby Tony Rice Tim Stafford Bryan Sutton Josh Williams

Mandolin Sam Bush Sierra Hull Doyle Lawson Ronnie McCoury Adam Steffey   Bluegrass Broadcaster Kyle Cantrell, XM Satellite Radio Katy Daley, WAMU's bluegrasscountry.org Terry Herd, Bluegrass Radio Network    

Bluegrass Event Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival (Ancramdale, N.Y.) River City Bluegrass Festival (Portland, Ore.) 29th annual Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival (Thomas Point Beach, Maine)

Bluegrass Print Media Person Stephanie P. Ledgin, freelance writer and author Craig Shelburne, CMT.com Chris Stuart, freelance writer, Bluegrass Unlimited

Best Graphic Design for Recorded Project Designer: G. Carr and S. Holman What The, Pete Wernick & Flexigrass

Designer: Smay Vision Graphic Design The Stanley Brothers: The Definitive Collection (1947-1966) , the Stanley Brothers

Designer: Loren Witcher Punch, the Punch Brothers

Best Liner Notes for Recorded Project Writers: Frank and Marty Godbey Bluegrass Holiday, J.D. Crowe

Writer: Gary Reid The Stanley Brothers: The Definitive Collection (1947-1966) , the Stanley Brothers

Writer: Ron Thomason Good News, the Charlie Sizemore Band

• Stanley Brothers
• Sierra Hull
• Sam Bush
• Bryan Sutton
• Jerry Douglas

Jurassic 5
Photo: Interscope

When the electronica revolution hit Austin, Texas' South By Southwest festival four years ago, it was hard to picture how anonymous DJ culture was going to coexist with four nights of indie rock, Americana and roots music.

But now, even though the electronica invasion has faded somewhat from public consciousness, you're almost as likely to see a rapper or button-pushing mixer during the fest as you are a standup bass player or string-tie-wearin' Tex-Mex combo.

When the 14th annual music gathering kicks off Wednesday, it will have the usual wide variety of acts — 1,000 total. But as far as creative director Brent Grulke is concerned, at this point beats and boots are just business as usual in this music Mecca.

"The interaction between electronic music and hip-hop now represents a really significant part of the festival in a way that was virtually nonexistent a few years ago," said Grulke, who has been involved with the festival every year of its existence.

Part music-industry confab, part band showcase and all about schmoozing, SXSW is the kind of place where you can see ya'llternative singer/songwriter Sally Timms playing just a few doors down from ghetto tech star DJ Assault.

Its 8,000-plus registered attendees will descend on the college town and state capital to stumble from venue to venue, drink beer, eat barbecue and check out panels on such topics as, "How Do You Publicize a Mike Watt in a Britney Spears World?" "It's not just the numbers [of hip-hop groups] involved," Grulke said. "We now have very established talent that performs, we have two of our largest venues, Stubb's and the Austin Music Hall, with entire nights dedicated to hip-hop this year." Among the big names on tap for this year are twangy singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams, who will debut some of the material from her upcoming album, Broken Butterflies, (due in the spring) and the Black Crowes, in town to preview songs from their upcoming album, Lions (May 8).

Also performing are hip-hoppers Jurassic 5, the Liks and Black Eyed Peas; local rockers Fastball; experimental turntablist DJ Spooky; and a rare show from ex-Tina Turner hubby Ike Turner with his Ike Turner Revue.

Psychedelic popster Robyn Hitchcock will head up a reunited version of his late-'70s psych-pop band the Soft Boys, and Juliana Hatfield will take the stage for a reunion with her mid-'80s Boston pop rock group the Blake Babies.

Other acts performing on more than 40 stages include bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs, Los Angeles rock 'n' soul act the Bellrays, arty poppers the New Pornographers, Japanese pop punkers Ex-Girl, Canadian live house band the New Deal, turntablists X-ecutioners, world beat star Thomas Mapfumo, Latin all-star band Los Super Seven and Los Angeles punk rockers Texas Terri & the Stiff Ones.

Grulke said the festival also will feature one of the biggest slates to date of world music acts. Joining such international rock bands as Aterciopelados (Colombia), Coccoon Pit (Japan), the Gift (Portugal) and Yao (China) will be more than 70 other acts spanning the globe, including Moroccan reggae group Sawt el Atlas, world beat singer Henri Dikongue (Cameroon), Hungary's DJ Pozsi and hip-hoppers Pepe Deluxe (Finland).

SXSW's star-making mythos has been overstated in the past, but it is a good opportunity for bands to get in front of what is arguably one of the biggest concentrations of U.S. music media. No pressure, right? Just imagine if it was among your first-ever U.S. performances. That's the case for English hip-hop/punk group Brassy, who will have played just five shows in this country before unleashing their Digital-Hardcore-meets-Luscious-Jackson sound on the media elite Friday night.

"I don't know anything about it," said lead singer/guitarist Muffin Spencer, 32, an expat American who said she left the U.S. 14 years ago because she thought British bands were more interesting. "We met with our former publishing company and there was a little old man there who said it [SXSW] is a place to go and get smashed on tequila, which sounds fine." Spencer, younger sister of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion leader Jon Spencer, said she thinks the festival will be a good chance for critics who might have missed the recent U.S. release of the band's full-length debut, Got It Made, to check out their energetic live show. The 17-track album features such break-beat pop as "Work It Out" and the band's electro-punk anthem "No Competition." Grulke said one thing that won't be as prominent in the festival's sprawling trade-show area this year is the proliferation of dot-com booths that sprung up like weeds last year. "A lot of those companies that didn't know what their business agendas were are gone," Grulke said.

• Jurassic 5
• DJ Assault
• The Mekons
• Lucinda Williams
• The Black Crowes