At the beginning of this month (June 2018) Ivy Sheppard took over the microphone as the host of the Bluegrass Country Foundation’s flagship program Stained Glass Bluegrass, the Sunday morning bluegrass Gospel show that’s been on the air for more than 40 years.
While there hasn’t been any official statement, her name has been added to the program’s webpage.
Ivy Sheppard had this to say as she was about to takeover …….
“A couple months ago Gary Henderson notified Bluegrass Country that he’d be retiring and they asked me if I’d like to take over Stained Glass Bluegrass and Mighty Mossy Monday. I’ve long been a fan of Gary’s shows, so I was happy to accept the offer. I think we have a similar sensibility about the music. Those are both long standing shows on the station with loyal followings and I hope I can keep a similar feel while making them my own.”
Sheppard’s radio career began by accident when a friend invited her to be on his old-time music show on WPAQ, the legendary AM station in Mount Airy, North Carolina. She went back the following week. Then, in the third week he telephoned to say that he would not be there and he asked, ‘could she do the show by herself?’ He never returned and from there on Sheppard never looked back. Bringing the music that she loves to her radio audience has become an obsession for her, fuelled by a relentless search for rare records and field recordings.
She also hosts Born in the Mountain on Bluegrass Country, sharing a broad and eclectic mix of bluegrass, old time, and Gospel music with her listeners.
Sheppard is a talented musician in her own right, playing two-finger and clawhammer banjo, and fiddle with the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers and, currently, with The South Carolina Broadcasters.
Stained Glass Bluegrass – incidentally named by Craig Oliver, who was a news producer/host at WAMU at the time – was started in June 1974 by previous incumbent Gary Henderson and has been on air at WAMU FM and, starting January 1, 2017, utilising services provided by the Bluegrass Country Foundation, in constant production for nearly 44 years.
Stained Glass Bluegrass can be heard each Sunday morning from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EDT, and it is repeated on Wednesday evenings starting at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
Bluegrass Country is listener-supported radio, playing bluegrass, old-time and Americana music 24/7. Its programs can be heard on 88.5 FM HD Channel 2 in the Washington, D.C. area, while streaming worldwide on their website and through free smartphone apps.
