Kristin Scott Benson Named Winner of 2018 Steve Martin Prize

Kristin Scott Benson, who’s been named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s banjo player of the year four times and nominated for a Grammy with her band, The Grascals, can now add another item in her list of distinguished achievements: The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.

The prize comes with a cash grant of $50,000 and a bronze sculpture. Its recipients each year are determined by a board that includes Martin as well as J.D Crowe, Pete Wernick, Tony Trischka, Anne Stringfield, Noam Pikelny, Alison Brown, Neil V. Rosenberg, and Béla Fleck.

Benson, from South Carolina, is the ninth winner of the award. Previous recipients are, starting in 2010, Noam Pikelny, Sammy Shelor, Mark Johnson, Jens Kruger, Eddie Adcock, Danny Barnes, Rhiannon Giddens, and Scott Vestal.

Benson is nominated for IBMA’s Banjo Player of the Year award again this year. Those awards will be announced Thursday night during the association’s conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.