Darwin Davidson (seated) with Greg Cahill, Don Rigsby, and Scott Napier at WOB ’26 – photo © Sandy Hatley
Darwin Davidson, 89, of Deer Isle, ME has been hosting the Bronze Wound Showcase at IBMA for more than two decades. He is a lifetime member of IBMA and a photographer of bluegrass musicians.
Darwin related how he came to bluegrass.
“I am a commercial photographer and have been all my life. I specialize in interiors and interior products which took me to High Point, NC, the furniture capitol of the world. I was working there with an assistant, Mike Lane, who suggested I might want to go to a festival up in the mountains, MerleFest. This was 1990. I sat three days in the rain and really fell in love with it.
I had always enjoyed folk music and spent my adult life in Greenwich Village. I saw Peter, Paul & Mary in the first gig they ever played. Fast forward. I came back from MerleFest and started listening to bluegrass music in earnest. Our local radio station is WERU, community radio, all volunteer programmers. They had a bluegrass show called Bronze Wound. For those that don’t know, it’s the strings on the guitar or other stringed instruments.
I took a course to learn how to be a radio disc jockey, and in November 1997, I did my first show. There were two or three DJs who did it, so I got into the loop. I started doing it every other week which took me to more festivals such as Grey Fox and IBMA.
At that point, Stan Zdonik and Greg Cahill were co-chairs. I knew them both. They asked if I was a member of IBMA (which I was), and suggested that I become a lifetime member. I asked, ‘How much is that?’ They said, ‘A thousand dollars.’ I thought that made sense so I became a lifetime member a long time ago and here we are, many, many years later.
We started doing the showcase the second year that I attended IBMA. We would host these little showcases in my hotel room. I’d just invite in a few bands to pick a time and come in and play. It was just off the cuff and very casual. Then we moved to more serious locations and they had rooms set aside for after-hours showcases.
I semi-retired from radio when COVID came along in 2020. We weren’t allowed in the radio show building so we had to record it from home and send it on MP3 files. My problem was my studio was on the second floor of my building and I had had knee replacement. I couldn’t climb the steps. So I stopped doing it on a full time basis and only do it sporadically now.”
Michael Lane, his photography cohort, recalled a few special moments from Darwin’s career.
“He played High Country Snows on his Bronze Wound radio show on WERU. When Darwin went to the next song, the phone rang and it was Dan Fogelberg! Through his radio show, Darwin became a big advocate for bluegrass and would encourage people to come to IBMA from New England, especially those around the broadcast area with the promise of a showcase slot if they did come.
So he was recruiting people to come to IBMA and giving them exposure, which was the basic premise for the Bronze Wound Showcase to feature upcoming bands in bluegrass music. He wanted to actually host a showcase for people starting out so they could get exposure.
Darwin and I would host showcases in Darwin’s hotel suite. He would book a suite with two adjoining rooms and we would put all the furniture in one room, and the other room would become the showcase room. It was during these early years that even Greg Cahill and others were showcasing with Darwin for exposure.
One example is when a guy from the audience came and played a couple of songs with a band in the showcase. A week later, we found out that person was John Adair.”
Darwin also befriended Vivian Pennington Hopkins, former North Carolina Bluegrass Association President, who has helped him in recent years manage his late-night showcases. This past week on Wednesday night, Vivian arranged live music from 10:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. featuring eight bands, including the Tennessee Bluegrass Band, Backline, and Free Rein. The latter was approached and just signed a record deal.
Vivian shared…
“I have so much respect for Darwin and the work that he’s done to help promote upcoming artists in the bluegrass music industry through the Bronze Wound radio show at WERU. I was first introduced to him through his photography and bluegrassphotos.com over 40 years ago. His photography partner, Mike Lane, made that introduction. I’ve come to know him more in the last couple years in working with him with the Bronze Wound Showcase at IBMA.
This year’s event was a special one, and I was happy to come on board along with Mike Lane and Tom Hyatt, to help organize and manage the event. This year’s showcase [according to Darwin] was the best one he’s hosted in his 26 years of the event. I’m looking forward to working with him in future Bronze Wound events.”
Cindy Baucom Eldridge of Knee-Deep in Bluegrass recalled…
“I remember first meeting Darwin over 20 years ago, and his passion for bluegrass music was obvious. He has worked hard to promote bluegrass through many different avenues, but his annual Bronze Wound Showcases during IBMA World of Bluegrass have always been well organized and professionally presented. He makes sure that many deserving bands have a stage to perform on! I commend him for his long running efforts!”
“Things happen with Darwin’s showcases,” Vivian affirmed. “I think we have a good team and hope to keep the Bronze Wound Showcase going for years to come.”
