This past Saturday, June 20, The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame honored its 2015 class of inductees at the Stone Center for the Performing Arts in North Wilkesboro, NC. They are housed in the Wilkes County Heritage Museum, an historic building there in town.
Since 2008 they have honored a Hall of Fame class of musicians and industry people from the greater Blue Ridge area, encompassing the mountainous regions from northern Georgia to northern Virginia. The class is chosen each year by a 15 person committee of scholars
Chosen for 2015 were:
- Ronnie Milsap – Nationally Known Artist
- Lulu Belle and Scotty Wiseman– Pioneer Artist
- Terry Baucom– Sideman and Regional Musician
- The Lewis Family – Gospel
- Si Kahn – Songwriter
- Bobby Patterson – Recording Industry
All but Milsap have strong connections to bluegrass music. Lulu Belle & Scotty player on the National Barn Dance radio show from Chicago in the 1930s and ’40s, he on banjo and she on guitar. Terry Baucom remains an active performer and has been featured on banjo in some of our music’s most iconic groups, including Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Boone Creek, and many others.
Bobby Patterson was inducted as an engineer, but has performed in bluegrass and old time bands for years. He runs Heritage Records in Woodlawn, VA. You can’t have attended more than a few bluegrass events from the ’50s through the early 21st century without seeing The Lewis Family, one of the most visible and hard-charging bluegrass Gospel shows ever presented. And Si Kahn has written many songs recorded and performed in bluegrass
Cindy Baucom, Terry’s wife, was in attendance and performed with Terry and his band, The Dukes of Drive, and she sent along some photos from the event.
Bauc share a few words about the Hall of Fame as well…
“I was, of course, honored and humbled with the recognition and was happy for my fellow inductees. It was a wonderful night celebrating the accomplishments of each one. This, along with the number 1 song on the Bluegrass Today Chart for the past three weeks and six weeks in the top 3 is gratifying to say the least. I really do appreciate it.”
Congratulations to all the 2015 inductees!
