• Remembering Willie Kerr

    Willie Kerr died last week and a part of bluegrass died with him. Unless you played or attended the two annual festivals at Gettysburg or shows in and around York, PA, you probably didn’t know Willie. But artists and fans alike

  • Pati Crooker passes

    Pati Crooker Mulligan, who ran the Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival in Brunswick, ME for nearly 30 years, passed away over the weekend. She was 68 years of age when she died on June 12. Pati and her family were hosts to

  • Tyler Smith passes

    Surely there is no greater shock in life than the sudden, tragic loss of a young person. The bluegrass world lost one this past Memorial Day weekend when Tyler Smith, a young banjo picker from Knoxville, TN, died while on

  • Ray Hesson passes

    Ray Hesson, renowned banjoist from southern Maryland, died on Tuesday (May 24) after a long illness. He was 74 years of age. Born Raymond David Hesson on December 14, 1941, Ray was a fixture in the DC-area bluegrass scene since the

  • James King passes

    The bluegrass life of recording, playing dates, and traveling has come to a close for one of the most unique personalities and beloved artists in bluegrass music. Known for his matchless heartfelt ability to convey a story through song, the

  • Wade Cox passes

    Wade Cox, bluegrass musician and friend to absolutely everyone in our business, passed away this past Saturday evening, April 23, near his home in Amherst, VA. He was 43 years of age. I suspect we all have that one friend who

  • Farewell to Bobby Martin, The Bluegrass Drummer

    Last week saw the loss of one of the more recognizable personalities at bluegrass festivals in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. Bobby Martin, known to jammers across the south as "The Bluegrass Drummer," passed away shortly after receiving a diagnosis

  • Andy Carswell passes

    We received a note from Australian grassers The Stetson Family with news that their mandolinist, Andy Carswell, had passed away in mid-March after a three year bout with cancer. Both Andy and the band had made an effort to keep his

  • Mike Scap passes

    Mike Scap, a noted guitarist, mandolinist, and fiddler in the 1980s, passed away in Springfield, New Jersey on March 29. He was 60 years of age, and had been suffering from lung cancer. Close followers of the Colorado bluegrass scene knew

  • Fred Weisz passes

    Fred Weisz, noted fiddler and graduate of the 1960s bluegrass scene in New York city, died last week in Everett, WA. He was 71 years of age and had been suffering from both mental and physical illness for some time. He