Sometimes what seems like a big career risk can really pay off. Alan Jackson's 'The Bluegrass Album' has swept past some of the year's most commercially successful albums to capture Album of the Year in the inaugural Golden Boot Awards.

Jackson took a very organic approach to the project, assembling some of the top bluegrass musicians in Nashville to record the tracks live in five sessions over just two days. The band sat in a circle for the recording, and Jackson and his backing singers tracked the vocals live with the players.

“I’m just a fan of the music,” Jackson tells The Boot. “I didn’t want to do something that disappointed the bluegrass world. I didn’t want ‘em to think I’m just another country act wanting to make a bluegrass album. I really wanted to try to write some songs that were a decent approach from a bluegrass perspective, and same way with the production and everything.”

Despite the album's decidedly non-commercial slant, it debuted at No. 3 in the mainstream country charts, and also spent an astounding four months at the top of Billboard's Bluegrass Album Sales chart.

Jackson earned more than 40% of the overall vote, besting albums by Kenny Rogers, Kacey Musgraves, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Brandy Clark and Eric Paslay for the win.

Congratulations to Alan Jackson!

See all of the nominations for the 2014 Golden Boot Awards here.

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