We heard this morning from R. B. Powell,from Lewistown, PA, a banjo picker and promoter of scholarships for young musicians. He shared this video he had shot of Ralph Stanley during MerleFest 2014 at the Creekside Stage as part of the festival’s special Banjorama segment that year.
Pete Wernick had been conducting a banjo workshop with Ralph, who had stopped playing banjo a few years earlier, so a couple of other pickers were on stage as well. Where R.B. captured this footage was when Dr. Stanley was responding to Pete’s mention of his impending retirement, followed by some video of the assembled banjo players running through Clinch Mountain Backstop, a Stanley classic.
We miss you already, Dr. Ralph.
