Mayne Smith at the Bluegrass Music Symposium - photo © Carl Fleischhauer;and with the Pigeon Hill Boys - photo © Ann Milovsoroff This remembrance of Mayne Smith (March 15, 1939-November 12, 2025) is a contribution from Neil V. Rosenberg, noted bluegrass
Loren Postma with Roosevelt Road Pacific northwest reso-guitarist Laurence Postma, known to friends as Loren, died on October 9 following a brief battle with cancer. He was 81 years of age. Born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Loren moved around a good bit as
Tim Ellis on banjo with Jeff Tuttle on mandolin and Don White on guitar in the mid-1970s Michigan banjo player Tim Ellis died on November 10, following a series of debilitating kidney and heart issues. He was 67 years of age, and
Benny Birchfield, who played with The Osborne Brothers during their hey day in the 1960s, died on August 2, 2025 at 88 years of age. He first joined Sonny and Bobby in 1959, coming on board as a bass player. Switching
Joe Bittle of Owensboro, KY, a long-time and highly-valued member of the International Bluegrass Music Association, died on September 28 at 74 years of age. Anyone who has been an exhibitor at World of Bluegrass, going back to its days in
Central North Carolina multi-instrumentalist, Charlie Peek, 74, of Sanford, passed away on August 26, 2025. He was known for performing in several local bands and weekly open jams. His wife, Martha Quillin, shared some of Charlie's musical background. "He grew up in
This remembrance of Iowa fiddler Alan Murphy is a contribution from Marc Janssen and Aleta Porcella. Alan Murphy (80) died on July 26, 2025. While his family and close friends called him Alan, he will be remembered by most as master fiddler
Beloved Kentucky banjo builder and luthier Arthur Hatfield died yesterday following a battle with lung cancer. He was 76 years of age. For the past 40 years he built high-quality, professional-grade five-string banjos from a small shop behind his home in
Adam Frazier, 31, passed away from Stage 4 stomach cancer on Wednesday, July 16. An upright bass player, he was a member of Flint Hill, a talented group that took first place at numerous central North Carolina fiddlers' conventions, and
Norman Adams, 90, owner of Adams Bluegrass LLC, passed away on Tuesday, July 15, following a period of declining health. He and his wife, Judy, were promoters of 10 family-oriented bluegrass festivals for 45 years, presenting the biggest names in
