• Hoyt Herbert passes

    Hoyt Herbert, 87 year old NC banjoist and former deejay of Sunday Evening Bluegrass on WFMX radio in Statesville, NC,  passed away on July 5.  A veteran of the Korean War (USAF 1951-55), Herbert began picking banjo at age 14, citing

  • Ronnie Barnes passes

    One of the most talented and creative bluegrass musicians ever to emerge from eastern Virginia has left us. Ron Barnes, known to friends as Ronnie, died on June 30 at his home. He was 64 years of age. Ronnie had suffered

  • Jeff Austin passes

    Jeff Austin, mandolinist, singer, and songwriter - and co-founder of Yonder Mountain String Band and the Jeff Austin Band - died yesterday in Seattle, WA. He was 45 years of age. A "medical emergency" had been announced early Saturday morning, but

  • Gerald Anderson passes

    Noted southwest Virginia luthier Gerald Anderson died suddenly yesterday at his home in Troutdale. He was 65 years of age. His handmade Anderson mandolins were owned by top professional musicians well beyond the southeastern states. He also built fine flat top

  • Vern Young passes

    Vern Young, who enjoyed a long career in country and bluegrass music, passed away on June 14, 2019. He was 95 years old and had resided in Lamar, Missouri, since 1989.  Guy Lewis “Vern” Young was born in Palmyra, near Rochester,

  • Dennis Jones passes

    Bluegrass music lost one of its foremost champions Friday when former DJ Dennis Jones died at a hospital in Shelby, N.C., after fighting sepsis for days. He was 62. Dennis was the longtime host of Goin’ Across the Mountain on WNCW

  • Luke Thompson passes

    Luke Thompson, bluegrass musician, bandleader, instrument builder and MC, passed away on June 12, 2019, in a Zachary Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Zachary, Louisiana, where he had been for the past few months. He was 91 years old.  He was

  • Jerry Foran passes

    Jerry Foran, life-long bluegrass musician and band leader, died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home in Florida on June 7, 2019. He was 73 years of age, just missing his 74th birthday on June 23. Foran had started his bluegrass journey

  • Ray Deaton passes

    Ray Deaton, the original and long time bassist and bass singer with IIIrd Tyme Out, died earlier today. He was 66 years of age. Prior to helping create IIIrd Tyme Out, Ray had been a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver,

  • John Goodson passes

    John Goodson, 54, banjo-picker with the NC-based bluegrass Gospel group, The Gospel Plowboys, recognized by their motto "Pray before you play," tight four-part harmonies, and attire of white shirts, red ties, and bib overalls, passed away on Tuesday, May 21.