This remembrance of Japanese bluegrass artist and scholar Toru Mitsui is a contribution from Neil V. Rosenberg, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Folklore at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. It will also appear in Japan's Moon Shiner magazine. Toru Mitsui
Obituary
Ken Fish passes
This obituary is a contribution from C.P. Heaton, longtime Florida bluegrass musician. Ken Fish, "Your Bluegrass Reporter" for the Jacksonville Florida Times Union from 1977 to 1999, died on February 7, 2023. He was 87 years of age. He was a lifetime
Ron Spears passes
Utah born bluegrass musician and ace songwriter Ron Spears passed away on March 22, 2023, from complications following surgery for cancer last year. He was 69 years of age, and suffering with other health issues as well. He was a multi-instrumentalist
Alan Moore Stowell passes
Alan Stowell performing recently in Florida, and as a younger man This obituary is a contribution from C.P. Heaton, Alan's regular pickin' partner on guitar and banjo in the Gainesville clubs for many years. Florida fiddler and guitarist Alan Stowell, 78, died
Jim Sharpley passes
This obituary is a contribution from Myrna Riquier, founder of the Still Pickin' trio, longtime volunteer at the Podunk Music Festival, and perhaps the oldest working bluegrass bassist in New England when she retired at 82 four years ago. Connecticut and
Tom Langdon passes
Tom Langdon, long time reso-guitarist with The Gentlemen of Bluegrass, died on March 11, 2023 following a lengthy illness. He was 78 years of age. Born Walter Thomas Langdon in Fair Oaks, NC, Tom was active in the bluegrass scene around
Steve Skold, aka “Uncle Steve Crockett,” passes
Steve Skold, who performed for three decades as "Uncle Steve Crockett" with his Log Cabin Boys, has died at his home in Athens, NY. He was 74 years of age at the time of his passing on February 23. A popular
Songwriter Bill Castle passes
After a spell of declining health, prolific bluegrass song writer Bill Castle passed away at Maysville Nursing and Rehabilitation, in Maysville, KY on February 27, 2023. He was 89. William Lewis 'Bill' Castle was born on January 6, 1934, in Fleming
Jim Orchard passes
The regional Missouri bluegrass community has lost a giant. The Father of Ozark Bluegrass Music, James Woodrow Orchard Jr., left his earthly home the night of Wednesday, February 1, 2023 in Mountain View, MO near his home of Eminence, MO.
Gary Adams passes
Michigan-area bluegrass musician Gary Adams passed away on Monday, January 23. He had very recently been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour. Gary Lee Adams was born Harts Creek (Logan County), West Virginia, on January 1, 1952. He began playing at