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

Early life

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 St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...

. 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 Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

in Johnson City, graduating in 2001 with a communications degree.

Career

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). Beckybuller-mf2016-fls

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 Alison Brown (born August 7, 1962) is an American banjo player, guitarist, composer, and producer. She has won and has been nominated for several Grammy awards and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck, for her unique style of ...

(banjo),

Missy Raines Missy Raines (born April 6, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, teacher, and songwriter. She has won 10 International Bluegrass Music Awards for Bass Player of the Year. Missy Raines was the first woman to win IBMA Bass Player of the Year aw ...

(bass),

Sierra Hull Sierra Dawn Hull (born September 27, 1991) is an American Bluegrass music, bluegrass singer-songwriter, mandolinist, and guitarist. Hull was signed to Rounder Records at the age of 13 and released her debut vocal album, ''Secrets'', in 2008 at ...

(mandolin), Becky (fiddle), and

Molly Tuttle Molly Rose Tuttle (born January 14, 1993) is an American vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, banjo player, recording artist, and teacher in the bluegrass tradition. She is noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer, and crosspicking guitar prowess. S ...

(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.

Band

The Becky Buller Band *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. Buller won the Fiddle Player of the Year award in 2016. *

- banjo, vocals *Becky Buller - fiddle, vocals *

- mandolin, vocals *

- bass, vocals *

- guitar, vocals

Personal life

Buller lives in

Manchester, Tennessee Manchester is a city and the county seat of Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 12,213 at the 2020 census. Manchester is part of the Tullahoma micropolitan area. Since 2002, Manchester has been the host city for the a ...

, with her husband and daughter.

Discography

Songwriting credits

Credits taken from Buller's official website.

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buller, Becky Living people 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American women singers American bluegrass fiddlers American women fiddlers American fiddlers American women singer-songwriters American women music educators Musicians from Minnesota Musicians from Tennessee People from Manchester, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Minnesota Singer-songwriters from Tennessee 1979 births