One of the All-Time Famous Comics Wins Entertainment of the Year Award

Steve Martin takes home the top award from the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards.  Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers made the night wackier with comedic antics.  The event took place in The Ryman Auditorium.

In behalf of his group of crack bluegrassers, Martin accepted the Entertainer of the Year award and jokingly thanked all the other nominees for losing.  The Entertainer of the Year award is given to the act that best represents their genre.

Steve Martin is well-known for his comedic expertise and won several Grammy and Emmy awards in acting and writing.  The Grammy award was from his collaboration with Scruggs for the song, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” in 2001.  He is also an accomplished musician as a banjo picker.  He and his group expanded their audience base by releasing two albums, both with original songs.  The band has done a series of performances with a high audience turn out.

On the stage, Martin said that winning the award is much like winning the Oscars.  Martin, one of the famous contemporary comics, has played the banjo for over 50 years.  Performing is still new to him even if he joined the group 2 years ago.  It is the second award for the Rangers as a group.  The first group award was Emerging Artist of the Year in 2006.

Martin, now 66 years old, takes his group and bluegrass on shows like The Ellen Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The Late Show with David Letterman.  Their appearances have helped audiences get to know what bluegrass really is.