Riley Baugus

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Riley Baugus
Americana, Country
Occupation(s)Old Time Musician
Instrument builder
Instrument(s)Banjo, Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle
Websitewww.rileybaugus.com

Riley Baugus (b. November 28, 1965)[1] is an American old-time guitarist, banjo player, fiddler, singer and instrument builder from North Carolina.

Early life

Baugus was born in

Regular Baptist tradition, which gave him a solid foundation in unaccompanied singing.[2] His father had moved from Alleghany County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to Winston-Salem in the 1950s, looking for work, and his mother's family had a similar trajectory; and both families brought their culture with them.[3] He began playing the fiddle at age 10 and began playing the banjo at age 11, and grew up with the fiddler Kirk Sutphin.[4] As a youth, he also had the opportunity to study with old-time musicians from Surry County, North Carolina and Grayson County, Virginia, including Tommy Jarrell, Robert Sykes, Dix Freeman, Verlin Clifton, and Paul Sutphin. He is influenced particularly by the Round Peak style of Surry County, North Carolina.[5]

Career

Baugus worked as a welder and blacksmith for 18 years before pursuing a career as a professional musician.[5] He has performed throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and England. He has played with several old-time string bands, including The Farmer's Daughters, The Konnarock Critters, The Red Hots, Backstep, and the Old Hollow Stringband. He tours regularly with Dirk Powell and Tim O'Brien, and frequently performs and tours with dancer Ira Bernstein, with the duo show Appalachian Roots.

He often performs as a guest musician with the Dirk Powell Band and the North Carolina folk band Polecat Creek. He sang on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Cold Mountain. He has recorded with Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, Dirk Powell, and Martha Scanlan. He taught banjo at the Augusta Heritage Center's Old Time Week in Elkins, West Virginia and at the Midwest Banjo Camp,[6] in Olivet, Michigan.

Baugus released his first album, Life of Riley, in 2001. A second album, Long Steel Rail, was released in 2006.[7]

On March 22, 2025 he will be inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame.[8][9]

He lives in Walkertown, North Carolina.[5]

Discography

Albums

Year Album
2001 Life Of Riley (Yodel Ay Hee)
2006 Long Steel Rail (
Sugar Hill
)
2019 Little Black Train's a Comin' (Old Garden Records)

Collaborations

Year Album
2002 Appalachian Roots with Ira Bernstein (Yodel Ay Hee)
2004 Going Home Shoes with The Lonesome Sisters (Tin Halo Music)
2010 Long Time Piedmont Pals with Kirk Sutphin (Old Blue Records)
2012 Lonesome Scenes with The Lonesome Sisters (Tin Halo Music)
2015 Tomorrow Morn with Dirk Powell (Wood and Steel Records)

Other appearances

Year Album
1986 Old Time Music From North Carolina by The Old Hollow String Band (Flyin' Cloud)
1992 Ready To Roll by The Red Hots (Fire Ant Music)
1993 Impeached by The Red Hots (Bobville Productions / Hasty Records)
2001 Salt Sea Bound by Polecat Creek (Yodel Ay Hee)
2002 Grandpa's Favorites by Kirk Sutphin (Old 97 Wrecords)
2003 Rare Rags & Stringband Blues by Adam Tanner & The Dirty Rag Mob (Old 97 Wrecords)
2003
Sony Music Entertainment
)
2004 Time Again by Dirk Powell (Rounder Records)
2005 Come to the Mountain: Old Time Music for Modern Times (Rounder Records)
2005 Leaving Eden by Polecat Creek (Yodel Ay Hee)
2005 Elkhorn Riders feat. The Lonesome Sisters by Rench (Gangstagrass) (Rench Audio)
2006 The West Was Burning by Martha Scanlan (Sugar Hill Records)
2005 Ordinary Seasons by Polecat Creek (Yodel Ay Hee)
2007 Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (Rounder Records)
2009 Frolic in Round Peak by Kevin Fore (Round Peak Banjos)
2010 Country Music by Willie Nelson (Rounder Records)
2010 Live & Lively by the New North Carolina Ramblers (Old Blue Records)
2011 That's How We Run by April Verch (Slab Town Records)
2012 The Mountain Music Project by Tara Linhardt, Danny Knicely (Mountain Music Project)
2017 Playing Favorites by Lillian Chase
2019 Just Around The Bend: Survival & Revival in Southern Banjo Sounds by Mike Seeger (Smithsonian Folkways)

References

  1. ^ https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/SFW40207.pdf
  2. ^ "About Riley Baugus". Rileybaugus.com. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  3. ^ https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/SFW40207.pdf
  4. ^ https://midwestbanjocamp.com/riley-baugus/
  5. ^ a b c Adams, Noah (2007-09-01). "Banjo Master Baugus Looks to Old Times". NPR. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  6. ^ "Instructors". Midwest Banjo Camp. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  7. ISSN 0006-2510
    .
  8. ^ https://wilkesheritagemuseum.com/component/content/article?id=48&Itemid=396
  9. ^ https://archive.today/20250321215003/https://journalnow.com/news/local/article_260c370c-0336-11f0-962c-2b905d7b3b38.html

Listening

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