| Becky Buller | |
| Birth Date: | January 31, 1979 |
| Birth Place: | St. James, Minnesota, US |
| Genre: | Bluegrass, roots, Americana, folk |
| Occupation: | Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter |
| Instrument: | Fiddle, clawhammer banjo, guitar, vocals |
| Years Active: | 2000–present |
| Label: | Dark Shadow Recording |
| Associated Acts: | Valerie Smith, Alison Brown, Molly Tuttle, Missy Raines, Sierra Hull |
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.
Becky Buller was born January 31, 1979, in St. James, Minnesota. 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 studied bluegrass music and public relations at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, graduating in 2001 with a communications degree.
Buller 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).
Buller is the recipient of 10 IBMA awards, including the 2016 Fiddler and Female Vocalist. She is the first woman to receive the Fiddler nod; she is also the first person 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 guest appearances on WSM’s Grand Ole Opry and tours 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.
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).
Buller 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.
The Becky Buller Band[2]
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]
Buller lives in Manchester, Tennessee, with her husband and daughter.
| Title[5] | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Grass | |||
| Rest My Weary Feet |
| ||
| Little Bird |
| ||
| Here's a Little Song (with Valerie Smith) |
| ||
| Tween Earth and Sky |
| ||
| Crêpe Paper Heart |
| ||
| Distance and Time |
| ||
| The Perfect Gift |
| ||
| Jubilee |
|
Credits taken from Buller's official website.[6]
| Artist | Year | Song | Co-writers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Bibey and Grasstowne | 2018 | "New Life" | ||
| The Bankesters | 2012 | "Our Song (I'm in Love with You)" | ||
| "The Captain" | ||||
| 2013 | "Rise Up" | Rick Lang | ||
| Blue Moon Rising | 2010 | "Ain't No Way" | Jeff Hyde | |
| The Churchmen | 2013 | "In the Twinklin' of an Eye" | ||
| "Mercy Road" | Jerry Salley | |||
| 2015 | "Harbor in the Sky" | Steven Mougin | ||
| "For Thine" | Kevin Elias | |||
| Dan Boner | 2020 | "Raven Tresses" | ||
| Darin and Brooke Alrdidge | 2013 | "Love, Speak to Me" | Jeff Hyde, Jimmy Fortune | |
| "Laurie Stevens" | Bethany Dick-Olds | |||
| "Higher Than My Heart" | Sarah Majors | |||
| Dave Adkins | 2014 | "Tennessee Twister" | Nancy Cardwell | |
| Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver | 2001 | "Be Living" | ||
| Infamous Stringdusters | 2017 | "Freedom" | Jeremy Garrett | |
| Joe Mullins | 2012 | "Moses" | ||
| Kenny Smith & Amanda Smith | 2004 | "Without a Trace" | Alan Bartram | |
| "Why Don't You Just Say Good-Bye" | ||||
| 2005 | "Why Do You Do What You Do" | |||
| Kristi Stanley | 2018 | "Raven Tresses" | ||
| Lisa Aschmann | 2012 | "(There Is No Such Thing As An) Ordinary Day" | Lisa Aschmann | |
| "(Handy Dandy) Pocket Solar Calculator" | ||||
| Mark Newton | 2001 | "Charlie Lawson's Still" | Tommy Austin | |
| 2003 | "Cabin in the Trees" | |||
| Nu-Blu | 2012 | "Martha & Mary" | Nancy Cardwell | |
| Rhonda Vincent | 2003 | "Fishers of Men" | ||
| Ricky Skaggs | 2013 | "Music to My Ears" | Lisa Aschmann, Mark Simos | |
| Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out | 2004 | "Rest My Weary Feet" | ||
| 2009 | "My Angeline" | |||
| 2019 | "Barefoot Girl" | Louisa Branscomb | ||
| The Special Consensus | 2009 | "Gone to Carolina" | Justin Carbone | |
| 2012 | "Scratch Gravel Road" | |||
| 2018 | "She Took The Tennessee River" | Jon Weisberger | ||
| 2020 | "Chicago Barn Dance" | Alison Brown, Missy Raines | ||
| Stephen Mougin | 2020 | "Railroad Man" | Stephen Mougin | |
| Valerie Smith | 2005 | "In Those Mines" | ||
| "Heaven Is Waiting" | ||||
| 2007 | "The Rain" | |||
| 2011 | "Blame It on the Bluegrass" | Elizabeth Shrum | ||
| "A Good Day, Lord" | Jeff Hyde | |||
| Volume Five | 2018 | "North Dakota" | Craig Market | |
| The Whites | 2018 | "Dont Tune Him Out, Tune Him In" | Rick Lang | |
| Molly Tuttle | 2022 | "Goodbye Girl" | Molly Tuttle | |
| The Travelin' McCourys | 2018 | "The Shaker" | Alan Bartram |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Minnesota State Old Time Fiddle Championships | Junior Division | Won | ||
| 2001 | MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest | Bluegrass Song | "How I Love You" | Won | |
| 2006 | International Bluegrass Music Awards | Recorded Event of the Year | "Back to the Well" | [7] | |
| 2015 | Recorded Event of the Year | "Southern Flavor" | |||
| Songwriter of the Year | Becky Buller | ||||
| Emerging Artist of the Year | |||||
| 2016 | Fiddle Player of the Year | ||||
| Female Vocalist of the Year | |||||
| 2018 | Recorded Event of the Year | "Swept Away" | |||
| Gospel Recorded Performance Of The Year | "Speakin' To That Mountain" | Won | |||
| 2020 | Song of the Year | "Chicago Barn Dance" | |||
| Collaborative Recording of the Year | The Barber's Fiddle |