When Music Shed closed its doors in December, they found themselves with a substantial amount of inventory remaining – even after a month-long going-out-of-business sale.
Rather than offer these bluegrass recordings as a lot at auction, the company made the decision to donate it all to WNCW, a public radio station with a long history of supporting traditional music, located not far from where Music Shed operated in western, NC.
We spoke this morning with Dennis Jones, the station’s technical director and co-host of Goin’ Across The Mountain, which airs bluegrass every Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. He told us that they received more than 7,000 CDs, including a number of box sets and some rare, out-of-print titles, which they will put together as grab bag premiums for donors to the WNCW pledge drive in March.
“This is the largest single gift from an individual to WNCW. It is truly a humbling to accept a gift like this. The Riggs family has been very kind to the station, and great friends as well, since they moved up here from Florida.
People will be really tickled to receive these grab bags, and we are so extremely grateful to Music Shed for their generosity.”
Dennis said that when he first got the call, it was suggested that the boxes of CDs might be worth about $14,000. The station was overjoyed at the prospect, but a follow-up call turned it into a bonanza.
“They called and told me that after their accountant looked over the statements, the fair market value was closer to $40,000!
We’re going through and cataloging everything now, putting aside anything that we don’t already have in our library, and setting the rest aside for pledge week. We found tons of bluegrass, a lot of old time and even some western swing. It’s really expanded our catalog at WNCW.”
Bluegrass music is full of great people.
