Obituary

One of the originators of modern bluegrass banjo, Curtis McPeake, passed away at his home in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, on Friday, February 19, 2021. He was 93 years old and had recently been hospitalized briefly. McPeake was born on October 9,

This remembrance is a contribution from Chris Sexton, longtime fiddler with Nothin' Fancy. He writes to recall the lives and contributions of two people whose lives were important to the band, and who deserved to be memorialized. The members of Nothin' Fancy

Lee 'Boy' Sexton, the legendary drop-thumb (clawhammer) banjo stylist and two-finger picker from Letcher County, Kentucky, passed away on February 11, 2021. He was 93 years of age.  Born in 1927, Lee Sexton worked as a field hand to earn the

The ETSU Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies community is mourning another staff member and graduate with the loss of Aaron "Frosty" Foster, 28, who passed away at his home in Elizabethon, TN, on February 10, 2021. Foster, a native

The bluegrass community in central Virginia is in mourning this week following the death of Mike Sharp, who played resophonic guitar with a number of prominent groups over the past 40 years. He was 63 years of age. Mike had been

Robert W. "Bob" Mitchell died on January 26 in Louisville, KY following a bout with COVID-19 that he developed after undergoing surgery. He was 83 years of age. Bob was a popular bluegrass radio personality in and around Louisville, where he

For many students who have taken classes in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies at East Tennessee State University over the past decade or so, taking a band class or instrumental lesson with Colleen Trenwith was a highlight of

Dr. Thomas P. Foley, known to his friends as Tom, has died following a battle with Alzheimer's Disease. He was 83 years of age. A Virginia native, Tom made his career in medicine in Pennsylvania, where he had most recently served

Red Cravens with The Boys from Martinsville Early bluegrass music pioneer Robert 'Red' Cravens passed away "about a week ago" (around January 11, 2021), reports his former bandmate Harley Bray. He was 88 years old and had spent his last few

Jimmy Cox, renowned banjo builder and banjo parts supplier, has died at an assisted living center near his home in Topsham, Maine. He was 87 years of age. Though he had built and sold banjos for more than 50 years, it