I’m truly honored. This record was a labor of love for me, and at best I was hoping to not get struck by lightning as retribution for putting my name in the same album title as Kenny Baker’s and Bill Monroe’s. While I’ve spent most of my career on the far fringes of this music, bluegrass music and its community mean the world to me, so the warm embrace from the IBMA this year is very special. To me, Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe is truly a band record, so the album of the year award is shared equally between Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Ronnie McCoury, Mike Bub, and our producer Gabe Witcher. It goes without saying that many a glass was raised after the show Thursday night to Kenny Baker.