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The 36th annual International Bluegrass Music Association Awards show felt a little different this go-round. Sure, the annual gathering of the genre overtook Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the first time this past week. But the bigger story was Billy Strings, who was in attendance to receive Entertainer of the Year honors.

“It just feels good to be back here and to be welcomed,” Strings tells Rolling Stone backstage. “And to also let these folks know that I’m still here with them. I haven’t abandoned bluegrass. I very much am still wanting to be here.”

A multifaceted guitar wizard who has singlehandedly brought bluegrass to the arena level, the singer-songwriter took home his fourth Entertainer win. Held at the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Auditorium, the award show was hosted by the banjo duo of Alison Brown and Steve Martin.

“Sometimes I feel that music of certain frequencies we’re drawn to at different points in time,” Brown says. “I think the authenticity of bluegrass music is something that speaks to people in the age of big-tech and A.I.”

For Strings, who was at IBMAs all this week, being present was more than just a full circle moment. It was also a chance to witness the bridging of generations of artists whose core resides in the storied “high, lonesome sound.” At one point during the conference, Strings jumped onstage with 90-year-old Paul Williams, best known for his work with bluegrass pillar Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys.

“The scene has changed, and actually for the better,” says Greg Cahill of bluegrass act the Special Consensus, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. “People were worried about traditional bluegrass dying. Thank God for Billy Strings. He’s brought all these young people into [bluegrass].”

“I’m going to try to mix up the camo with the tie-dye a little bit, stir up the Nag Champa with the ‘Roll Tide,’” Strings said in his keynote address earlier this week. “We have to continue to welcome new voices, whose unique perspectives and experience will enrich our collective artistic expression. We’ve got to allow these fresh ideas to mingle with tradition.”

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Strings’ sentiments rang true throughout the award show, especially when it came to this younger generation of musicians breaking into the mainstream. From Vickie Vaughn getting Bass Player of the Year to East Nash Grass’ Maddie Denton receiving Fiddle Player honors, these are crystal-clear signs of a new, bountiful era for bluegrass.

“There’s just something about this music that’s pure at its truest form,” says Sierra Hull, who was honored with her seventh Mandolin Player of the Year trophy. “When you can actually come and hear these instruments — just wire and wood and these three-part harmonies — there’s a truth to it that speaks to a lot of people.”

Those truths go back numerous decades, underscored by those being inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame during the ceremony. This year’s newest members included Hot Rize, the Bluegrass Cardinals, and the late Arnold Shultz, an old-time Black musician who remains a pioneering influence on the formation of bluegrass.

“The bluegrass pendulum swings left and right, to the progressive side and back to traditional,” said Hot Rize mandolinist Tim O’Brien. “When Hot Rize started, it was a good time to run down the middle.”

Formed in 1978, Hot Rize were trailblazers when it came to keeping one foot in the traditions of bluegrass, the other in the natural progression of musical creativity and sonic curiosity — the result being where we stand today with the names like Strings, Hull, Molly Tuttle, and Sierra Ferrell.

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“Ian joined the band,” Benson says, “after I hired him as a fiddle player, but when it was obvious that he was gonna share singing, I said, ‘Bring some stuff.’ I hope that everybody who’s in this band will bring something to the table, so that I don’t have to say, ‘Do this.’ This is a collaborative thing.

“In the contest world, where the fiddlers get together, Texas goes back to some guys from the Twenties and Thirties, after Bob Wills. They were not swing fiddlers, but they had a little swing in them, and that’s what ‘Beaumont Rag’ really shows. So, I said, ‘Ian, you’re a Texas fiddler, and you’re gonna have to play that. Let’s put it on this album,’ and he worked it up real good.”

Before Riding High in Texas was released, Asleep at the Wheel already started touring the record, and they have a full schedule ahead of them, including festival stops at Austin City Limits and the Avett Brothers’ Moon Crush: Avett Moon in Miramar Beach, Florida, in October. The group was also inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in August, which Benson attributes to the band embracing the Lone Star State since relocating there in 1974.

He also says that relentless touring and a constant churn of new music help him maintain a focus, even with a catalog and accolades that could justify slowing down or retiring altogether.

“The legacy of Asleep at the Wheel, I think, is pretty firmly entrenched. But my outlets are still creating music, and bringing people together — always by collaboration,” Benson says. “I don’t see any way out of this mess unless I do something. Otherwise, I’ll feel useless.”

Josh Crutchmer is a journalist and author whose latest books, Never Say Never and Red Dirt Unplugged are available via Back Lounge Publishing.

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