Warren Hellman, a San Francisco-based financier and philanthropist who founded and funded the city’s nationally renowned Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and toured earlier this year with his band, The Wronglers, died Dec. 18 from complications of leukemia. He was 77.
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Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers were named Entertainer of the Year during the 22nd Annual International Bluegrass Music Awards show on Thursday, Sept. 29, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, ending a three-year winning streak by Dailey & Vincent.
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Funeral services are being held today (July 12) in Letcher County, Kentucky for master fiddler Kenny Baker, who played with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys for many years and was subsequently part of a fiddle-dobro duo with Josh Graves for more than 20 years (1984-2006). Baker died July 8 at 85, following a stroke.
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Hazel Dickens, a trailblazer for women in bluegrass music, who captivated audiences with her high, lonesome vocal style and was widely recognized for her contributions to music and for championing the cause of coal miners and working people, died on April 22 . She was 75.
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