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, 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, 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
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
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.
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
Gary Oelze, founder and operator of The Birchmere in northern Virginia, has died at 80 years of age. Initially a restaurant in the Shirlington neighborhood of Arlington, Gary added music in the evenings when he became the manager in 1966, fresh
Illinois fiddler and bluegrass promoter George Portz passed away on January 9, 2023, from a heart attack, just two days after his last performance – at the Missouri Area Bluegrass Committee’s (MABC) Winter Festival, Eureka. He was 70 years old. Since
Longtime Ohio-based musician/singer/songwriter, Edward "Beanpole" Efaw, 92, passed away on January 17. He had led The Bluegrass Mountaineers for more than four decades before retiring. His son, Larry, shared, "I couldn't ask for a better dad. He loved us all and
Vivian Williams, fiddler, composer, recording artist, and writer, passed away on January 6, 2023 at the age of 84. She had been suffering with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), aka Lou Gehrig's disease, for a few years. Vivian Tomlinson Williams was
