The Boston Bluegrass Union, responsible for promoting bluegrass music throughout the wide-ranging Boston area, as well as putting on the beloved Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, has announced the renaming of their annual awards.
Long known as the BBU Heritage Awards, their habit had been to present these honors to people who had made extraordinary contributions to bluegrass music in Boston, and in the greater northeast, one each to an artist or band, and another to an industry professional.
In 2025, the 50th anniversary of the organization’s founding, the artist award is being renamed as the Joe Val Artist Award, and the industry accolade renamed as the Stan Zdonik Industry Award, in honor of their founding President for his lifelong involvement.
The official announcement of this change included a statement from the Board:
“Stan recently transitioned off the BBU’s Board of Directors, and as part of this change, the BBU wishes to recognize his extraordinary contributions in helping lead the organization in one way or another for the past 50 years. Stan was the founding President of the BBU and served in that role for most of its history. Beyond Boston, he also led the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) as Board President during one of its most challenging periods – the height of the Great Recession – and was later honored with the IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Award for his decades of service to bluegrass music. The BBU is profoundly grateful for all that outgoing President Stan Zdonik has done for our organization and the broader bluegrass community.”
To further honor his contributions, they are bestowing the inaugural Stan Zdonik Award upon Stan himself.
Current BBU President Tony Watt is effusive in his praise of the 2026 recipient.
“I cannot overstate the impact the BBU has had on my life, and Stan Zdonik has always been a huge part of that. I literally grew up as a child of the BBU. My dad, Steve, was a founding member and later ran sound for the concerts at the church with the rooster on top.
Stan has been in my life for as long as I can remember, and he always loved introducing me to people by saying he’d known me since I was in diapers. It was an honor to be part of his wide circle of friends and to grow up surrounded by so many important people in our industry.
I was overjoyed to join the BBU Board in 2011, where I had the privilege of watching Stan lead the organization with open ears and a steady hand. He has been a wonderful mentor to me – both within and beyond the BBU – and it’s no exaggeration to say that I wouldn’t be who or where I am today without his guidance.
It’s my great honor to join with all the members of the BBU Board in carrying his legacy forward at Joe Val and beyond. We couldn’t be more grateful for all Stan has done for our community, and we hope that renaming this award in his honor will help cement his legacy for generations to come.”
In his non-bluegrass life Zdonik was a recognized computer scientist and database management expert, who retired earlier this year from Brown University after 43 years of teaching. His expertise in this field was extremely helpful to both BBU and IBMA in moving into the world of online promotion and distribution.
Many congratulations to Stan on his retirement, the renaming of this award, and his imminent reception of the trophy.
The winner of the Joe Val Artist Award will be announced at a later date.
BBU is also delighted to bring the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival back to Framingham, MA after a five year hiatus, running February 12-15, 2026 at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel. The festival was initially sidelined by COVID in 2022, and then by renovations at the hotel that left it unable to offer the necessary space.
Full details and ticket information can be found online.
