Danny Paisley fund-raising campaign launched

On Friday (May 20, 2022) we posted a report about Danny Paisley and his announcement that he is suffering with throat cancer. 

During the weekend, Darby Brandli and a few other California Bluegrass Association members have launched a fund-raising campaign to support Paisley as he undergoes a course of chemotherapy and gets back on his feet thereafter.

In Brandli’s appeal she observed …. 

The worldwide bluegrass community is defined not only by our love of the music and the tradition, but also our dedication to community. There are some members of our community who are known and revered by everyone. Danny Paisley, the reigning IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year, is one of that special class — and he needs our love and support now.

Diagnosed with throat cancer about a month ago, Danny and his family and medical team have decided on a treatment plan which begins June 1st. See Danny’s letter to his friends for details. Danny’s survival prognosis with this treatment is excellent. Still, there will be some risk to his singing — and, of course, the treatment is not easy and will significantly impact his livelihood.

Musicians have struggled to survive during the pandemic, and a situation like this has additional economic consequences. We needed to talk Danny into allowing us to create this fundraising campaign, but he does acknowledge that financial assistance will be welcome at this time.

We are all huge fans and longtime friends of the Southern Grass family, and hope you will join us in supporting Danny Paisley while he’s off the road receiving medical treatment.

We’re hoping to raise $47,000 — in honor of the California Bluegrass Association’s 47th Annual Father’s Day Festival in 2022 — all of which will be given to Danny and his family. Whether or not you’re able to make a donation, we appreciate you sharing this campaign on social media and offering some words of support to Danny.

Thanks very much for whatever you’re able to do –

Darby Brandli
Angelica Branum
Kathy Kallick
Laurie Lewis
Tristan Scroggins
Annie Staninec
Peter Thompson
Molly Tuttle

for the California Bluegrass Association on behalf of Danny Paisley

Brandli added … 

“Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass play powerful, unadorned, and intense traditional bluegrass. There is no hybrid or genre-bending music here. Their combination of instrumentation and vocals convey the energy and emotion of classic bluegrass and country music. Danny’s lead vocals will captivate your senses, so much so that many prominent musicians, including Alison Krauss, have considered Danny as one of their favorite singers. His voice combines powerful range and soulful blues with a sound like no one else in bluegrass today. Since Danny’s father, Bob Paisley (founder of Southern Grass), passed away in 2004, Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass have received more than a dozen International Bluegrass Music Association Award nominations, winning the Song of the Year in 2009.

In 2021, Danny Paisley joined an elite group of singers when he was awarded the IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year for the third time.

Donations can be made here.

We wish Danny Paisley all the very best as he deals with the challenges that he faces during the coming months, and hope that the medical treatment is successful so that he may soon return to a full working schedule. 

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About the Author

Richard Thompson

Richard F. Thompson is a long-standing free-lance writer specialising in bluegrass music topics. A two-time Editor of British Bluegrass News, he has been seriously interested in bluegrass music since about 1970. As well as contributing to that magazine, he has, in the past 30 plus years, had articles published by Country Music World, International Country Music News, Country Music People, Bluegrass Unlimited, MoonShiner (the Japanese bluegrass music journal) and Bluegrass Europe. He wrote the annotated series I'm On My Way Back To Old Kentucky, a daily memorial to Bill Monroe that culminated with an acknowledgement of what would have been his 100th birthday, on September 13, 2011.