Missy Raines (born 1962) is the most decorated bass player in IBMA history. She has won Bass Player of the Year ten times, and in 1998 she became the first woman to win it. She has played with Eddie Adcock, Claire Lynch, and Jim Hurst, led her own bands, and teaches bass online. Her 2018 album Royal Traveller was nominated for a Grammy.
Why Raines matters
Raines broke the bass category open. Before 1998, no woman had won the IBMA bass award. She went on to win ten, spread over 24 years, from 1998 to 2021. Along the way she showed that a bass player can lead a band, write songs, and front records. Vickie Vaughn, the bass winner from 2023 to 2025, names Raines as a key influence.
Life and career
Raines was born on April 6, 1962, and grew up in Short Gap, West Virginia. She began playing bass and touring as a teenager. Early on she worked with Mac Wiseman, Kenny Baker, Josh Graves, and Eddie and Martha Adcock. She played in the progressive band Cloud Valley, which recorded in 1983 and 1985.
From 1998 to 2005 she toured as a duo with guitarist Jim Hurst. They made two albums for Pinecastle, Two (1999) and Synergy (2003), and Hurst won IBMA Guitar Player of the Year twice in those years. In 1998 her first solo album, My Place in the Sun, won IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year. She and Hurst also played in the Claire Lynch Band.
In 2008 she formed Missy Raines and the New Hip, a band with a jazz and Americana lean that recorded Inside Out (2009) and New Frontier (2013) for Compass. She also plays in the Helen Highwater String Band with Mike Compton, David Grier, and Shad Cobb. In 2011 she began teaching bass online through ArtistWorks.
Her 2018 album Royal Traveller, produced by Alison Brown, brought two more IBMA awards. Swept Away, with the women who first won IBMA awards on their instruments, was Recorded Event of the Year. Darlin’ Pal of Mine, a bass feature with Mike Bub and Todd Phillips, was Instrumental Recording of the Year in 2019. In 2021 she started a new bluegrass band, Missy Raines and Allegheny.
Playing style
Raines plays both straight-ahead bluegrass and progressive music. Her ArtistWorks lessons on YouTube cover walking bass lines, embellishing the melody, supporting a soloist, and using the number system. Her New Hip band added drums and leaned toward jazz and Americana, while her Allegheny band plays traditional bluegrass.
Influences and legacy
Raines learned on the road with Kenny Baker, Josh Graves, and Eddie Adcock. She has played beside Jim Hurst, Mike Compton, David Grier, Laurie Lewis, and Alison Brown. On Swept Away she recorded with Sierra Hull, Becky Buller, Molly Tuttle, and Brown, each the first woman to win the IBMA award on her instrument.
Signature tunes and songs
Darlin’ Pal of Mine Swept Away Chicago Barn Dance, which she co-wrote with Becky Buller and Alison Brown.
Essential recordings
My Place in the Sun (1998) Two, with Jim Hurst (Pinecastle, 1999) Inside Out, with the New Hip (Compass, 2009) Royal Traveller (Compass, 2018)
Awards and honors
IBMA Bass Player of the Year (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2019, 2020, 2021) IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year, My Place in the Sun (1998) IBMA Recorded Event of the Year, Swept Away (2018) IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year, Darlin’ Pal of Mine (2019) IBMA Song of the Year, Chicago Barn Dance, as co-writer (2020) Grammy nomination, Royal Traveller
Watch and listen
Raines teaches walking bass lines in an ArtistWorks lesson.
What to learn from Raines
Take a slow song in G and work through her lesson order. First play steady roots and fifths. Then add a walk into each chord change. Then try a short break built on the melody. Last, play the song again in a new key using numbers instead of chord names. Raines’s lesson is that good bass playing is a ladder, and every rung starts with time.
Sources
Missy Raines, Wikipedia Raines, Missy, BluegrassBios.com Vickie Vaughn, Bluegrass Unlimited Awards by Category, IBMA
Related players
See the bass players hub and the bass guide. Mike Bub and Todd Phillips recorded Darlin’ Pal of Mine with her. Vickie Vaughn followed her as a multi-time IBMA winner, and Jim Hurst was her duo partner.