Bluegrass Ensemble Concert Pays Tribute to Bluegrass Legend Tony Rice

The Department of Music presents a concert by the Bluegrass Ensemble, under the direction of Adam Schlenker.

The concert will also be Livestreamed, available to the public, and can be viewed from anywhere. The Livestream can be seen on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VPuunsd93k. Registration is not necessary to view the Livestream, however if you would like to be sent a reminder notification to watch, please go through the ticketing process and choose “Livestream Registration.”

In the world of Bluegrass music and the acoustic guitar, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more influential figure than Tony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020). Whether we look at his early days expanding the Flatpicking Guitar framework established by Clarence White, his time with J.D. Crowe building on the traditional bluegrass sounds, or his work with David Grisman establishing progressive acoustic by blending bluegrass and old-time with swing and jazz, it’s very clear to see that Tony Rice should be considered one of the key architects of American Roots music.

His guitar style was uniquely his own but has been copied and studied by countless aspiring guitar players all around the world. He was known as an avid listener of music who was inspired by any genre that touched his soul. “We could spend a lifetime studying the contributions of Tony Rice so dedicating the spring semester to his music seemed more than appropriate,” said Adam Schlenker, coordinator of Bluegrass/American Roots Music.