We are sorry to share news that bluegrass pioneer Carlton Haney is in poor health. He suffered a stroke last week, and is currently in the ICU at the Moses H Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, NC.
Haney was a seminal figure in the business of bluegrass music, serving as booking agent and manager for such stellar acts as Bill Monroe and Reno & Smiley. He is also credited with envisioning the bluegrass festival format so prevalent in today’s music market.
In the late 1950s and early ’60s, bluegrass was in the midst of a major decline. Rock and roll and rockabilly music had taken the world by storm, and many previously successful bluegrass artists were having trouble finding gigs. Carlton help start and run outdoor weekend events in Fincastle and Berryville, VA and in Camp Springs, NC that laid out a template bluegrass entrepreneurs have used ever since.
He was also a songwriter, and had been publisher of Muleskinner News during the 1970s.
We hope to hear better news soon from Haney’s family about his medical condition. He is 82 years old.
