Byron Berline – Luegra

2026 IBMA Award Nominees/Byron Berline/Nashville Bluegrass Band

The 2026 International Bluegrass Music Association announced its Bluegrass Music Award nominees this week, along with inductees into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. As for the nominees, they are pretty much repeats from previous years with the exceptions of a few names (https://ibma.org/press-releases/ibma-announces-2026-bluegrass-music-awards-nominees-hall-of-fame-inductees-and-distinguished-achievement-honorees/). However, as for the BGHOF inductees, I was glad to see two names that are finally receiving recognition,

Fiddler Byron Berline was to me one of the most talented of fiddlers in the bluegrass field. His father was a champion fiddler, and it seemed to rub off on him. By the time he was 20, after winning numerous contests, he appeared on the Dillards album Pickin’ and Fiddlin’. He soon worked with Bill Monroe, then after serving in the US Army for two years, he moved to California to work with Doug Dillard and Country Gazette. Other notable projects included Berline, Crary & Hickman (1978-90) and California (1990-96). His fiddle work went through the entire scopy of the music world, working with Bob Dylan, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Emmylou Harris, and the Rolling Stones (that is his fiddle on the recording of “Country Honk”).

In 1995 he moved back to his home state of Oklahoma and started the Byron Berline Band, as well as opening the Double Stop Music Shop in Guthrie. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the shop in 2019, and Byron passed away from stroke complications in 2021. Fans of his not only value his contributions to fiddle and bluegrass music, but also know that he was a big Star Trek fan, appearing in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before” playing with a 18th century string quartet.

The Nashville Bluegrass Band are definitely the workhorses in the bluegrass music industry. Formed by Alan O’Bryant and Pat Enright in 1984, they held to traditional bluegrass ethics while also incorporating blues and gospel. Their a capella performances were heavily inspired by black gospel music, and they were known to revive songs that were long lost in the years. They were the first bluegrass band to perform in the People’s Republic of China, and helped to make the O Brother, Where art Thou? soundtrack the success that it was. They are two-time Grammy winners, and have continually supported other bluegrass artists in the studio and at live performances.

NBB’s induction in the BGHOF is long, long overdue. While they have never received acclaim like Del McCoury or Billy Strings, they have always been the biggest ambassadors of the genre. While I have a number of the band’s CDs, one of the items that I value the most from them is and instructional video that they released on Homespun Music Instruction entitled Harmony Vocal Workshop – Gospel/Bluegrass. It shows how really powerful and talented the band is when it comes to vocalizing traditional music. For anyone wanting to learn how to best harmonize when singing country, bluegrass, or gospel music, this is a must-have video.

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Byron Berline RIP

Last week right after I posted my blog, I learned about the death of Byron Berline, one of my favorite fiddlers. Having the status of being a Blue Grass Boy is enough reward for any bluegrass musician, but Byron went so much further with and without the fiddle in his life, that he would become a hero to many.

Byron was from Kansas, but spent most of his life in Oklahoma, where he picked up a Texsas Swing style to his fiddle playing. He went to the University of Oklahoma to receive a teaching degree in Physical Education, but soon joined Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. He co-wrote the jam standard “Gold Rush” with Monroe, but was then drafted into the Army in 1967. After his two-year stint in the military, he went all-out with his fiddle playing.

Besides being a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and Stephen Stills’ Manassas for a short time, he also recorded the famous fiddle solo on the Rolling Stones’ “Country Honk” from the Let It Bleed album. Along with a number of fiddle contest wins, he also helped form the bands Sundance, Country Gazette, and California, working with such luminary musicians as Dan Crary, Alan Munde, and Vince Gill. He also worked with Emmylou Harris, The Eagles, Elton John and The Doobie Brothers among many others.

He appeared on a number of documentaries, as well as some commercial ventures. He was a musician in the film The Rose with Bette Midler, and had a minor role in one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which he plays a member of the Enterprise that performs with an 18th century string quartet.

In 1995, Byron opened up a musical instrument store in Guthrie, Oklahoma called The Fiddle Stop, where popular jam sessions would happen constantly. While on vacation in Mexico in 2019, the shop was destroyed by fire, taking with it many of his prized violins. He would open a second shop across the street. However, on July 10 of this year, Byron passed away from complications of a stroke.

If one was to talk about the penultimate musician, Byron would be in that small group. He did everything that he wanted to do as a musician, all the time with that big grin on his face. He played traditional and progressive bluegrass music, but was not afraid to touch other genres such as country, rock, ragtime and Cajun. He performed with so many of the biggest names in the music industry. Add to that his getting to appear on a Star Trek episode, something every Trekkie dreams of.

Mostly, he was a legend with bluegrass fans. Not just for his amazing fiddle work, but Byron will be remembered for his continual pushing of the envelope with the format of bluegrass songs, while still holding the traditional structure close to his heart. Listening to his work, one can hear his one foot in the old-time style, while the other foot is splashing away in some psychedelic pond. A great example of this is his performance with California as they perform the newgrass composition “California Traveler.”

With Byron’s passing, I do hope that he realized how much of an impact he had on musicians, especially bluegrass fiddlers. Rest easy, sir.

Chew on it and comment.