Canadian Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame
Neil V. Rosenberg
Inducted: 2024
Neil V. Rosenberg – Eastern Region
Dr. Neil V. Rosenberg was born in the USA however relocated to Newfoundland in 1968 when he took a position teaching Folklore at the Memorial University in NL. Neil still lives in NL and has had a significant impact on bluegrass in Canada. From 1972 to 1979 he helped organize and run the Nova Scotia Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival, Canada’s first such an event.
In 1973, he co-founded “Crooked Stovepipe,” a Newfoundland-based band that continues to this day. From 1984 to 1991 he hosted a weekly bluegrass radio show on St. John’s commercial country station CKIX-FM. And in 2003 he was a founding member of the Bluegrass and Old Time Country Music Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.
A prolific author and historian, Neil’s crowning achievement in music is his 1985 monumental and definitive 450 page book on the roots and development of bluegrass music: “Bluegrass: A History.” Neil has authored several other books, culminating in 2018 with “Bluegrass Generation,” the memoir of his involvement with the emerging bluegrass scene of the 1960s.
Among Neil’s many awards is a 1998 Grammy for Best Album Notes and he was also inducted into the IBMA Hall of Fame in 2014. One has only to Google his name to read about Neil’s many accomplishments in the world of bluegrass music- both in Canada and abroad.
Neil even played a few times with Bill Monroe - enough to put his name on Bluegrass Boys belt buckle #120, given to him by The Grand Ole Opry and Bluegrass Unlimited on Bill’s birthday in 1987.
IBMA Award
Comments:
By: Mike Higgins
On: Mar 9, 2024 at 6 10 PM
I will also cast my vote for Neil. Neil is a long time Subscription member of BMAC and has been very proactive in keeping the editor informed of bluegrass news from down east and elsewhere. I have know Neil, admired and read his books for over 30 years.
