Dudley Connell will be honored on October 10 by the DC Bluegrass Union for his lifetime contributions to bluegrass music in the capital region with their Washington Monument Award.
Connell, of course, was a part of two of the area’s most celebrated bluegrass groups, The Johnson Mountain Boys and The Seldom Scene, both members of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. He was a founding member of JMB, with his distinctive voice and powerful rhythm guitar serving as an identifying marker of their retro sound.
A native of Rockville, MD, Dudley grew up in a home full of bluegrass music, at a time when the greater Washington, DC metro market was the nation’s hotbed of bluegrass. The Country Gentlemen were in their peak period, as were The Stoneman Family, Buzz Busby, Cliff Waldron, and Bill Harrell. Connell’s youth also coincided with the formation of the original Seldom Scene, with whom he would eventually join to tour and record.
Along the way we also heard his music with Longview, Seneca Rocks, the Stony Point Quartet, and in a duo with Don Rigsby.
Johnson Mountain Boys were founded in 1975, along with Richard Underwood on banjo, David McLaughlin on mandolin, Eddie Stubbs on fiddle, and Gary B Reid on bass. They were the darlings of the traditional bluegrass world for the next 13 years until the band dissolved in 1988 after a total of 10 critically-acclaimed albums.
In 1995 he accepted the guitar and lead vocal position with Seldom Scene, where he remained for the next three decades.
Now retired, but still kicking, Dudley will be recognized on October 10 at the Lucketts Bluegrass opening concert, with Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass performing following the ceremony. Tickets can be purchased now online.
Many congratulations to Dudley Connell, a most deserving recipient of the DCBU’s highest award!
