Sam Bush

Mandolin guru Sam Bush will receive the Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist Award in mid-September at the 8th annual Americana Honors & Awards Ceremony in Nashville, Tenn.

The Gibson Foundation will present the award on Sept. 17 at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association, praised Bush’s standing as one of the greatest mandolin players ever.

“Sam has created his own genre and has become such an integral part of the Americana community,” Hilly said. “It’s a privilege to honor him this year.”

The association, in a news release, pays homage to Bush: “As cofounder and leader of the seminal progressive bluegrass band New Grass Revival for 18 years, Sam Bush was among the first purveyors of newgrass – the wild bluegrass stepchild that features rock ’n’ roll grooves and extended virtuosic jams – and he continues to burn as one of the genre’s most brilliant lights, both as a sideman and the leader of the Sam Bush Band.”

Bush’s newest album, Circles Around Me, will be released Oct. 20 on Sugar Hill Records.

The Lifetime Achievement Awards are among several career honors that will be handed out during the awards ceremony. Hosted by Jim Lauderdale with Buddy Miller leading his All-Star band, the event has earned a reputation for the best live music awards show around.

Presented by the Gibson Foundation, the Americana Honors & Awards Ceremonies are attended by 2,000-plus artists, fans and entertainment industry executives in one of America’s musical shrines, the historic Ryman Auditorium.