Dave Evans

The BIB learns with deep regret from John Lawless on Bluegrass Today of the death of Dave Evans at the age of 65. One of the most intense, powerful, and soulful singers in traditional bluegrass, he was in that sense the hardest of hard-core - with, at the same time, an original and distinctive personal style both as singer and as instrumentalist.

Dave Evans was one of the few singers in bluegrass who could bring screams of enthusiasm from an audience, and had a banjo style that owed little (if anything) to 'progressive' playing but was always inventive and stimulating. Fortunately for us there is a good deal of his work still available on CD and on YouTube, where (for instance) there are several good clips of him singing the classic 'Ninety-nine years is almost for life', but this solo performance is a fine example of his banjo work; and 'Mansions for me' shows his equally personal touch on guitar.

Further bio details are here, and a magnificent article by Lee Johnson is here. More can be expected to appear on Bluegrass Today.