Missy Raines, born April 6, 1962 in Short Gap, West Virginia, is an American bassist, singer, teacher, and songwriter. She began her professional career as a teenager and was part of the progressive bluegrass band Cloud Valley in 1983. Raines' first solo album, My Place in the Sun, was released in 1998 and named IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year. She won her first IBMA Bass Player of the Year award that same year, becoming the first woman to do so. From 1998 to 2005, she toured with Jim Hurst. In 2008, Raines established her Americana/jazz-tinged ensemble Missy Raines & The New Hip. Her album Royal Traveller, released in 2018, was nominated for a Grammy. She has won ten IBMA Bass Player of the Year awards (1998-2001, 2004, 2006-2007, 2019-2021). She also released other solo albums such as Inside Out (2009), 2013: New Frontier (2013), and Royal Traveller (2018).
