Ralph Stanley Bluegrass Festival

The  47th Annual Dr. Ralph Stanley Bluegrass Festival, also known as the Annual Hills of Home Festival, sadly will have a new meaning, purpose, and significance.

The famed Bluegrass master and innovator passed away Thursday, June 23rd 2016, at his home in Sandy Ridge, Virginia. He was 89 years old.

The next Annual Dr. Ralph Stanley Bluegrass will take place over Memorial Day weekend May 25-26-27, 2017 in Coeburn, Virginia. (4235 Carter Stanley Highway, Coeburn, VA 24230)

Many new fans were introduced to Stanley and his “High Lonesome” voice and sound late into his career in the soundtrack of the bluegrass-filled 2000 movie O Brother Where Art Thou.

Stanley was born in Stratton, Virginia in 1927. Performing with his older brother Carter as the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys, for decades Ralph Stanley has been one of the most popular festival acts as one of the most respected and influential names in bluegrass.

“A Bluegrass Hall of Fame member along with Carter, Ralph Stanley was an inspiration to Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Keith Whitley, and even Monroe acolyte Ricky Skaggs. With his raw emotions and three-fingered banjo technique, he helped bring a mountain style of bluegrass music to mainstream audiences. A full survey of the Stanley Brothers‘ career, including sides they recorded for several different labels, finally appeared in 2007 with Time Life’s three-disc Definitive Collection box set. Stanley‘s brand of bluegrass was always only a half step away from the Appalachian string band and church music of his youth, and in his autumn years he continued to do what he’d always done — sing and play in a style that could really be called “Mountain Gospel Soul.” He marked his 40th year of recording for Rebel Records with the release of A Mother’s Prayer in 2011.” —Allmusic.com