Becky Buller ^[1] (born January 31, 1979) is an American bluegrass and roots singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist most known for her songwriting and fiddling.

Buller is the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Award (IBMA) for Fiddle Player of the Year, as well as the first artist to win IBMA awards in both vocal and instrumental categories in the same year.

Biography

Becky Buller is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter from St. James, Minn., who has traversed the globe over performing bluegrass music to underwrite her insatiable songwriting habit.

Buller has written songs for three Grammy award-winning albums:  she co-wrote “Freedom,” the lead-off track of The Infamous Stringdusters Laws of Gravity (2018 Best Bluegrass Grammy), “The Shaker” on The Travelin’ McCoury’s self-titled release (2019 Best Bluegrass Grammy), and “Good-bye Girl” on Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s Crooked Tree album (2023 Best Bluegrass Grammy).  Her compositions can also be heard on records by Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, to name just a few.

Buller is the recipient of 10 IBMA awards, including the 2016 Fiddler and Female Vocalist.  She is the first woman in the history of the awards to receive the Fiddler nod; she is also the first person ever to win in both vocal and instrumental categories.  Her other awards include the 2020 Collaborative Recording for “The Barber’s Fiddle” and the 2020 Song for co-writing and fiddling on Special Consensus’ “Chicago Barn Dance.”

She has made multiple guest appearances on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry and tours extensively with the Becky Buller Band.  Distance And Time, her third album for the Dark Shadow Recording label, was a nominee for the 2021 IBMA Album award.  Her first Christmas collection, The Perfect Gift, released during the 2022 holiday season.  She is set to release her first song cycle / concept album, Jubilee, in May 2024.

In April 2023, Buller was inducted into the Minnesota Music Hall Of Fame.

She moonlights with the First Ladies Of Bluegrass, an all-female super group composed of the first women to win in their respective instrumental categories at the IBMA awards:  Alison Brown (banjo), Missy Raines (bass),  Sierra Hull (mandolin), Becky (fiddle), and Molly Tuttle (guitar).

Equally passionate about bluegrass music education, Buller has over 20 years experience teaching fiddle, singing, and songwriting, both privately and at workshops and camps around the world.  She currently serves on the board of the IBMA Foundation, which awards $50,000 annually in scholarships and grants to spread the word about bluegrass music and support those who create it.

Buller also serves on the board of the East Tennessee State University Alumni Association.

Band

The Becky Buller Band ^[2]

• Becky Buller - vocals, fiddle
• Jacob Groopman - guitar
• Daniel Hardin - bass
• Wesley Lee - mandolin
• Ned Luberecki - banjo

First Ladies of Bluegrass
Buller is also a member of the First Ladies of Bluegrass, a supergroup featuring the first women to win the IBMA Award in each respective instrumental category. ^[3] Buller won the Fiddle Player of the Year award in 2016. ^[4]

• Alison Brown - banjo, vocals
• Becky Buller - fiddle, vocals
• Sierra Hull - mandolin, vocals
• Missy Raines - bass, vocals
• Molly Tuttle - guitar, vocals

Early life

Buller grew up playing bluegrass music with her parents in a Southern Minnesota band called Prairie Grass.

She began writing songs in middle school.

She studied classical violin with Patti Tryhus at the Mankato (Suzuki) School Of Music in Mankato, Minnesota, and Charles Gray at St. Olaf College. She served as concert master of the Mankato Area Youth Symphony in 1997.

Buller was a percussionist throughout grade school, played bass in the jazz band and sang in both concert and jazz choirs. She also participated in school and local theater productions.

She studied bluegrass music and public relations at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, graduating in 2001 with a communications degree.

Buller has performed with the following bands:

Appalachian Trail (1999-2001)

Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike (2001-2011)

Daughters Of Bluegrass (2006-present)

Darin & Brooke Aldridge (2012-2014)

First Ladies Of Bluegrass (2018-present)

Board service

Buller served as a member of the International Bluegrass Music Association board of directors between 2013 and 2017 and was chair of the IBMA Songwriter's Committee from 2013 to 2016.

She now serves on the boards of the IBMA Foundation and the ETSU Alumni Association.

Personal life

Buller lives in Manchester, Tennessee, with her husband, daughter and two cats.

Discography

Songwriting credits

Credits taken from Buller's official website. ^[6]

Awards and nominations

References