We’ve been in touch recently with Fred Robbins, a photographer and bluegrass enthusiast who has posted a brilliant set of photos from the 1972 Country Gentlemen Festival at Indian Ranch online. This was the first such festival hosted by the Gents, held in Webster, MA.

Fred tells us that he just stumbled across the slides after decades sitting in a box, and says that he is delighted to be able to share them with the bluegrass community.

If you enjoyed the Bluegrass Country Soul DVD released in 2006, you are sure to appreciate Fred’s photos, which were taken a year after the festival documented in that DVD. New bluegrass fans will get a kick out of seeing some of today’s premier artists when they were younger, and folks who were following bluegrass in the 1970s will have some powerful memories rekindled.

There are shots of The Country Gentlemen, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys, James Monroe, Bluegrass 45, The McLain Family, Mac Wiseman, IInd Generation and the original Newgrass Revival.

Here are a few images Fred agreed to let us post, but you really need to see them all, put together in a very nice slide show online.

               

Fred also has a great many audio and video recordings from bluegrass events posted where they can be seen and heard online.

Uncle Billy Dunbar, a host at WorldWideBluegrass.com will be “spinning” a tribute to the late Larry Rice on Thursday May 10, 2007.

Larry Rice was the mandolin playing brother of guitar hero Tony Rice. Larry passed away last year during the month of May so this tribute will mark the one year anniversary of his passing. The tribute will air from 4-6 PM EST, and can be streamed online from WorldWideBluegrass.com.

I will be featuring music from his Albums “Time Machine” released on LP in 1987 and “Hurricane & Dreams” released in 1987 also on LP, this album has been re-released recently. I will be doing commentary on his life and music.

This is the regular time slot for Dunbar’s show Country Unplugged Bluegrass Radio, but the entire show on thursday is being dedicated to this remembrance of Larry Rice. The chat room, on WorldWideBluegrass.com, will be dedicated to a discussion of Larry at that time and all are invited to join in.

Thanks to reader Larry Jackson, who tipped us to this lovely Larry Rice tribute which appears in this morning’s Citrus County Chronicle. The article by Nancy Kennedy contains quotes from Larry’s widow, Linda, brothers Ronnie and Wyatt, and mom Louise Rice. Though brief, it is both a career overview and a personal glimpse into Larry’s life away from music.

Here’s just a taste:

Born in Danville, Va., Larry met Linda in a phone booth in Donalsonville, Ga. She was making a long-distance call and saw him and thought he was the handsomest man she had ever seen. All the girls in town wanted to date him, but he picked her.

On their first date they went to the fair. Linda recalled how they went on a ride and Larry lost all the change out of his pockets.

So many memories, so many stories, Linda said.

You can read the whole article here, though a quick, free registration is required.

Fans of the recently departed bluegrass musician will surely appreciate reading about his family life, and friends can relish the shared memories of the man they knew off stage.

Thanks to Reed Franklin who sent us the following.

St. Petersburg Times / Citrus County Edition.

RICE, LARRY PRENTIS, 57, of Crystal River, died Saturday (May 13, 2006) at Citrus Memorial Health System, Inverness. Born in Danville, Va., he came here 28 years ago from Kentucky. He was a professional musician/songwriter and a former employee of Progress Energy. He enjoyed listening to and playing music, and gardening. Survivors include his wife of 39 years, Linda; a daughter, Pamela, Hernando; a son, Travis, Crystal River; his mother, Louise Rice, Reidsville, N.C.; three brothers, Tony, Reidsville, Ronnie, Falls Church, Va., and Wyatt, Damascus, Va.; and three granddaughters. Strickland Funeral Home, Crystal River.