Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Steve Gulley Memorial Scholarship, founded and maintained by West Virginia bluegrass band Crandall Creek.
Technically, the scholarship is run by the Bluegrass Music Endeavors Foundation, itself endowed by Crandall Creek, who formed the group, in part, with philanthropic aims. From the start, a portion of band earnings have been set aside for their various charitable enterprises.
In 2023, the band established the Gulley Scholarship with a twin purpose: to honor the memory of Steve Gulley, a bright light in bluegrass during four decades as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist; and to help secure the future of the music by providing a $5,000 award to a promising young artist studying in college.
Applications must be submitted by May 15, with the winner announced and the grant presented on August 13 during a Crandall Creek performance at Nashville’s Station Inn.
The successful candidate will be enrolled in a college program, and be able to demonstrate in a brief essay how much bluegrass music means to them, and what they intend to do post college that involves bluegrass.
A link to the application, which can be downloaded and completed before returning it to the Bluegrass Music Endeavors Foundation by email, is available online.
