Guest Book

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We invite you use this Guest Book to add your tribute or a note of congratulations to Mike.

To post your tribute or note, scroll to the comment box at the end of this page. To read the tributes posted by others, use the links below to go to a specific post, or use the “newer comments>>” and “older comments>>” links at the beginning and end of the comments section to to navigate to the various pages of this guest book.

Tributes featured on this page:
Rob Ickes – Andy Hall – Phil Leadbetter – Stacy Phillips – Cindy Cashdollar
Laurie Lewis – Jimmy Heffernan – Peter Cooper – Sally Van Meter
Lloyd Green – Archie Warnock – Bill Foster – Michael Hall
Terry & Cindy Baucum – Tim Stafford – Colin Henry – Jon Weisberger
Richard Hawkins – Larry Stephenson – Becky Johnson
Gary Mortensen – Howard & Sheryl Parker – Shawn Lane – Wayne Taylor
Bill Emerson – David Bromberg – Russ Hooper – Gary Ferguson
Chuck Hatfield – Thomas Ickes – Dave Williams – T Michael Coleman
Alan Minietta – Pam McLeod (Giegerich) – Gerry Fitzpatrick – Bob Blair
Tut Taylor – Mark Eaton – Jim NunallyRob Armstrong – Steve Gambrell
Mike Marceau – Blues Journal – Robert Geers – Keith Samuels
Steve O’Neill – Willie Payne – Daryl DavisRichie Chiasson – Don, El Dobro
Jennie L. Scott – David Van Allen

Tributes featured on the 2nd page:
Lisa Kay Howard – Lee Hiers – Dave Thier – Liam Rogers – Linda Stewart
Eric Schwartz – Frank Poindexter – Chet Hogue – Bob Dickinson
John Bamberger – Mark van Allen – Troy Brenningmeyer – Jason Stone
Darrell Weaver – Don Fraser – Wally Hughes – Bruce Shaw – Mike List
Claire Lynch – Carl Goldstein – Dave Ross – Tom Stratton – Dale Busby
Pablo Conrad – Bob Dorfman – Sharon Jackson – George Wormington
Mary Chapin Carpenter – Bill Bluestone – Nancy Curry – Aubrey Nelson
Calvin Baber – Tom Gray – Andy Ellis – Tony Dingus – Jon Lohman
Annie Shields – Donald Doggett – Brian Christiano – Hank & Betty Richards
Bob Green – Rhonda Olney – Darrell Roth – Billy Gilbert – Joe Cullison
Greg Greenstein – Ben Surratt – Jayne Alenier – Janet Newsom – Tom Thorpe

Tributes featured on the 3rd page:
Harry Robinson – Dave Devlin – Bill Payne – David Tanner – Mike Nemick
Fred Travers – Curt Baker – Patti Henderson – Larry Shell – Mike Stein
Bill VornDick – David Keith Schoppa – Daniel & Patricia Goins – Pete Wernick
Joe Breeden – Mark Schatz – Dave Dillman – Steve Johnson – Wayne Rice
Alison Brown – Jeani Warish – George Evans Sr – Max George – Roger Erickson
Tim Wint – Paul Beard – Mary Lou Barian – Frank Maxfield – Danny Shaw
Corry Garamszegi – Robert Camacho – Mark Newton – Hugh Mason
Joanie Madden – Kim Ulinger – Tory Viso – Anton Groeneveld
Matthew McCarthy – Charlie Campbell – Niall Toner – Frank Watt
Trapper Wyatt – Marty Muse – RKDeering – Andy Katz
Lee Jones – John Jennings – Loyer ThierryCory Welch – Dale Desmuke

Tributes featured on the 4th page:
Orville Johnson – Mike King – Carl Jackson – Jos van der Lelie – Pieter Groenveld
Kristian Äng – Angelika R. Torrie – Lilly Pavlak – Gary Rue – Dave Alexander
Jeroen Schmohl – Boris Weintraub – Theo Hurter – Joan Bullard – Ben Wooten
Jerry Pitt – Martin Froud – Sandy O’Seay – Jason Burleson – George Bogosian
Mike Saar – Kevin Nell – Rob Harris – Claire Armbruster – Caroline Wright
Hilary West – Tim Finch – Damon Wack – Sharon Driscoll – John French
Rob Anderlik – Gary Pierce – Phil Randall – George E. Clark – Alan Rausch
Debbie Durant – Penny Parsons – Lee Gillespie – Ira Gitlin
Mike Rayburn – Judy Adams – Dudley Connell – Charlie McCoy
Adam Frehm – Jim Brown – Mark Clifton – Jim McClain –Chuck Lettes
Dan Burke – Mark Lackey

Tributes featured on the 5th page:
Lennie Harvey – Bruce Kaplan – Emory Gordy Jr. & Patty Loveless
Kathy Keenan – John C. Cole – Danny Stevenson – David Bias
Patricia Farrar – Lou Wamp – Tom Licari – Katy Daley – Hal Bloom
Tom Thorpe – Janet Peters – J.P. Johnson – Luca Fortugno
Michael Barton – Tut Taylor – Leah Ross – Steve Toth – Missy Raines
Ben Winship – Ted Engle – Billy Cardine – David “Dawg” Grisman
Rory Feek (JOEY+RORY) – Alan W. Tompkins – Paul T. Stanley
George “Keoki” Lake – Bill Nork – Dana ThorinGeoff Stelling
Joe Tho – Chuck Hall – Dan Simpson – Dennis Reamy
Bogue Sandberg – Brad Hansen – Fred Schiffner – Erik Thomas
Tom Schmidt – Y. Hawkins – Alana L. (Habercom) Miller
Jeffrey Anzevino – Brad Bechtel – Artemis BonaDea
Mark Delaney – Eric Fisher – Jim Hurst – Jimmy Ross

Tributes featured on the 6th page:
Dennis Wilson  Bill Richardson – Deloy Oberlin – Kitsy Kuykendall
Dave Ziebarth – Mickey Stinnett – Emily Hogeback – JD Myers
Tim Saylor – Michael Kelley – Tom Adams – Dan Mazer
Roy Thomson – Tom Foote – Carroll & Anita Benoit
Mark Potler – Jeff Agnew – Bud & Anita Graham – Paul Lyttle
Jeff Retherford – B.G. & Mike Munford – Jeanie Ramos – Bob McEvoy
Bill Cobos – Earla Harding – Bob Lay – Mike Patton – Dick DeNeve
Elvis Keene – Bill Holden – Paul Koptak – Fred Bartenstein
Randy Cole – Wayne Weikel – Dave Fox – Jan & Bob Hansen
Valerie Smith – Kim Gardner – Pete Remenyi – Mike Witcher
Peter Radvanyi – Chris Hart – Ivan Rosenberg – Vic White
Joan Bullard – Travis Perry – Celia Millington-Wyckoff – Tim O’Brien
Jana & James Lockaby – Matt Levine

Tributes featured on the 7th page:
Kathy Pantaleo – Dan Tyack – Ben Eldridge – Chuck Crawford
Jimmy Gaudreau – Steven Darnell – Kevin Prater – Roger Ryan
John Pyles – Mike Saunders – Ronna Dansky – Larry Klein
Henrich Novak – Chris Miles – Jim Norman – Greg Cahill
Owen Huckabay – David ColemanJohn Starling
Karen Robinson – Lane Gray – Dan Napolitano
Tom Middleton – Sherwin Kidd – Christy Reid – Dean Eaton
Lou Reid – Yvon Jackson – Buddy Wright – Perrie Allen
Ray Gross – David Moultrup – Art Rogers – Freddie Skeens
Ruth Iseli – The Rounder Folks-Marian, Bill & Ken
Dan Brooks – Eddie Adcock – Dick Beckley – John Senior
Danley Rold – Leigh Hill – Richard Atherton – Robert Crowder
Edward Meisse – Wayne Ashmore – Jerry Douglas
Tim Edes – Eric – Tim Harkleroad

Tributes featured on the 8th page:
Ruthie Young – Jonathan Borah – Jim Palenscar
Sharon Wiggins – Dave Currie – Ed Cirimele – Jack Lawrence
Moondi Klein – Barry Sparks – Andrea Bradstreet – Zan McLeod
Kinney Rorrer – Gene Johnson – Kathy Chiavola – Mike Marshall
Dennis McBride – Richard Hurst – Roland White – Paul Barron


We are sad to note that Mike Auldridge passed away on December 29, 2012, one day before his 74th birthday. To read the tributes posted on December 29 and later, go here (and click the “newer comments” arrrow at the bottom of each page to see additional comments).

468 thoughts on “Guest Book

  1. Harry Robinson says:

    I’ll never forget the first time I heard a recording of you. I was playing guitar with Roger Sprung at the time (my first gig), and he played some of your music for me at his apartment in New York. It was many years ago. Though I didn’t get to pursue the resonator guitar until my fifties, I always carried that moment with me as a hallmark of taste and chops. I’ve been around you and heard you play several times since then, but I’ve always been too shy to approach you, so I guess this will have to do. You are a great player, and from what I’ve seen from a distance a great guy as well. Congratulations, well deserved.

  2. Dave Devlin says:

    Just like to say congrats. Mike has always been one of my Heroes and I still often think in playing situations ” what would Mike do” . Always so tasteful. The first time I saw him play was at the at the beacon theatre in NY. I was already a fan. Opening for the seldom scene was group of youngsters that I believe included Pete Rowan, Mark O’ Connor and Jerry Douglas. I remember being totally blown away by JD and thought dobro playing could not get any better. Then Mike came out and the perfection, taste, and tone of his playing just surpassed everything I just heard. It’s was like that’s great kid but here’s how its really done. (Not dissing Jerry here but this was a long time ago.) I’m still learning from his playing. Thanks!

  3. Bill Payne says:

    Mike–
    Congratulations!!
    You are a mainstay in the music we all love, and one of the reasons that we play Dobro. Thank you!

    Bill Payne
    Summerfield, NC

  4. David Tanner says:

    Dear Mike, I was 17 in 1973 when I found your album, Dobro, in a pile of records in my buddy’s brother’s room. Your playing changed my life then and continues to inspire me to this day. Congratulations and thank you from a back porch dobro picker in Minnesota. You’re the best! – David Tanner

  5. Congratulations Mike. What can I say that hasn’t already been said. You have influenced several generations of players and you music continues to, and will continue to influence many, many more for generations to come. I am an old fart that started late in life (62) but you have influenced me tremendously. Like has already been said, I can’t think of a person more deserving. A person who has not only given of himself professionally but personally as well. Take care, be well and God bless you.

    Mike Nemick (aka Griz)

  6. Fred Travers says:

    Mike, Congratulations. I can’t think of anyone who is more deserving of this award. Back in 1981, I heard you and the Seldom Scene play at the Warner Theater in Washington DC. I was new to acoustic music, and from the first note the you struck that evening with the Scene, I knew that was the sound and instrument that I was searching for, it changed me for a lifetime. The next day I went home, and raised the strings on an old Sears “Silvertone” guitar and began my quest to play slide. I wore out a couple of needles on my record player trying to figure out your licks on Scene recordings the next year. My wedding present, in 1982, from my wife Kyle, was a lesson with you she had set up. I was absolutely overwhelmed, I asked her, how did you get his phone number? She said, I looked in the phone book! I guess you can see my star struck admiration of you. I have a tape of that session we did a long time ago, it is truly one of my most prized possessions.

    Thank you for your talent and music.Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me and share your knowledge.

    I can say, I never ever imagined, that someday I would step into your shoes with the Seldom Scene. The greatest award I have ever achieved was the day that John Duffey and Ben Eldridge asked me to join the Seldom Scene 16 years ago. I never really thought of replacing you, I knew that was impossible. You just can’t replace a legend. I just hoped to humbly, ever so slightly, continue that sound that you defined on the Dobro with the band.

    You’re the best man!

  7. Curt Baker says:

    Like so many others, I first met Mike at his home studio when I booked a private lesson. Two and a half years and multiple trips to Silver Spring later, Mike proclaimed that I had become a “Steel Guitar Guy”! That is the greatest compliment a player could ever recieve from the absolute master of the craft! Mike has since recorded with me on two of my albums and has always treated this “fan” as a musical peer. Thank you, Mike! Your time and patience has made me into a real live “sideman”, and being one of your students has been one of the greatest experiences of my life! Your buddy, Curt Baker. Salem, VA

  8. Patti J. Henderson says:

    Your music speaks volumes to the soul, and our lives are enriched because of it. Thank you for sharing your gift with the rest of us. Congratulations on an honor well deserved.

  9. Larry "The Rev" Shell says:

    Mike brought a certain class to the instrument and lead a generation of players on a wonderful journey because of his forward thinking and his command of the resophonic guitar.

  10. Mike Stein says:

    Mike is an icon–as a musician and a human being. When he was just taking up the steel guitar he played in a band with me and Pete Kennedy called the Front Porch Swing Band–Tom played bass, and at one point Danny Gatton played bass. We had twin fiddles — Jim Queen and myself–and it was a blast. Always the perfect gentleman, friend and extraordinary musician. Congratulations Mike.

  11. Bil VornDick says:

    Mike, congrats on this very well deserved award. You have changed musically so many lives that have heard you play.
    I guess it was back at Calloway Festival in Maryland when we first met, and then ,of course the years at The Washington Star and your artwork for your albums and the Seldom Scene’s that went through the engraving department. I will always remember when you said” What do you think of the name Seldom Scene” over in the art department.
    It was so much fun to work with you in the studio in Nashville on the Great Dobro Sessions, and Chesapeake’s first album.
    It is so cool that you are being recognized for your talent, and the music you have created for all of your fans through out the world, but especially the person that you have always been.
    I have the picture of you, Fred Gieger and I playing in the art department for the Star’s Christmas Party up on my studio wall. I see it every day. We were a bit younger then,
    Best always, your Nashville buddy,
    Bil VornDick

  12. David Keith Schoppa says:

    You are just an Incredible inspiration to me in that wonderfull ‘Dobro’ field!!!!!!!!

  13. Daniel and Patricia Goins says:

    Mike, congratulations! The first time we heard you play was with Seldom Scene at Paul Masson Winery in Saratoga, CA. From that moment I was hooked on your instrument and the way you play it! Shortly after that, I met a wonderful couple who had a son who was commited to the dobro. These special people, Elida and Tom Ickes, became friends and we were able to hear Rob at the age of about 20 play his dobro. Well, it’s been quite a journey, and Rob has come a long way, that’s for sure. We will never tire of the wonderful sounds you produce with your instruments, and of course the talented musicians who have been influenced by you.

    Best to you at this special moment!

  14. Pete Wernick says:

    Mike,
    You have shown me and many others the way into new sounds and new approaches… and you have never let us down for great sound!

  15. Joe Breeden says:

    Mike, I’m not a big time player, but you’re the reason I started. I’m happy for you and wish you all the best. You are truly deserving of this award. Joe Breeden

  16. Mark Schatz says:

    I’ve known Mike’s playing since getting involved in Bluegrass music over 30 years ago. I most identify him with the Seldom Scene – his dobro was a colorful and unique voice in one of the most influential, progressive, and entertaining bluegrass bands in the history of the music. He also provided a perfectly blending baritone vocal, most notably in the trio that included John Duffey and John Starling. I got a chance to record a few times with Mike (most notably on Tony Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass), and it was a thrill to play along with that familiar, slippery, silky sound. To me he’s always been warm, generous, and accepting, with a dry sense of humor and an easy laugh. In short, Mike’s a wonderful human being and a legend in our multi-currented Bluegrass pond.
    Mike – Hearty congrats on the NEA Award – you join quite a league of great artists of which you are a worthy addition!

  17. Dave Dillman says:

    Our instrument has been lucky to have a series of people who have made great contributions and shown new directions. Mike has been key to widening the scope of what fits on a dobro. Showing us how to play with taste and imagination. And always has looked dapper doing it!

  18. Dr. Steve Johnson says:

    It has been my great pleasure to experience and enjoy your work, meet you, and have the honor of taking a lesson from you. God bless you and your wonderful family.

  19. Wayne says:

    Mike, your recording of Pickaway some 40 years or so ago turned me into a lifelong fan of the Dobro and also of you. Thank you Mike for all the great music you have provided for me to play on my radio program for the past 37 years. Congratulations!
    Wayne Rice / KSON-FM, San Diego

  20. Alison Brown says:

    Hi Mike,

    I’m so happy to see you get this recognition. When I was a teenager and an aspiring Dobro player I was so taken by the elegance of your playing on all those Seldom Scene records. Inspite many hours of trying I never did figure out how you do what you do so magically. I did conclude the Dobro is impossible and the banjo is, at least, somewhat easier to tackle. You have an incredibly unique and beautiful musical voice – thank you for sharing it and for inspiring the rest of us. And big kudos on your NEA National Heritage Fellowship!

    Banjoistically yours,
    Alison Brown

  21. Jeani Warish says:

    Mike,
    Three years ago I didn’t know what a dobro was. Two years ago, I found out that it was the instrument responsible for making that beautiful sound on so many songs I heard. One year ago I bought my first dobro and then purchase a second one 6 months ago. My inspiration? Listening to you play and finally figuring out what instrument it was.

    You truly deserve this award! Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for sharing your music and helping me to develop my love for the instrument and music even though I’ve never met you. However, it is on my bucket list, though. I hope to have that privilege someday, even though it’s highly unlikely.

    Congratulations and well deserved!

  22. George Evans Sr says:

    I LOVE TO HEAR MIKE PLAY. HE AND THE LATE JOSH GRAVES ARE MASTERS ON THE RESONATOR GUITAR AND THEY BOTH ARE MY HEROES.

  23. Max George says:

    Mike,

    Congratulations on a well deserved award!!! Thanks for the things I have learned from you.

    Max George

  24. Congratulations to a wonderful player of a wonderful instrument !

  25. Tim Wint says:

    Mike,
    Everyone has been so impressed and complementary of your beautiful tone and technique and I certainly am, but for an old guy that started this thing late in life, you have truly been an inspiration to me in your willingness to sit with us and tell the stories of the early days. Whether there were three people in the room or hundreds, you always took the time to present the Dobro as not just instrument and technique but to bring the entire experience alive. I know that sometimes you were exhausted but you never let that interfere with making the time that we had with you absolutely memorable. For this, I am forever grateful. It was after such a wonderful session at ResoSummit 2, I got to spend a few minutes with you after our group picture. I suddenly realized that we have a bit of a physical resemblance. Two hours later, I was paid one of the highest complements in my life. I was sitting on a stool at the Station Inn with my instrument on my lap and someone mistook me for you! (Obviously, I was not playing). After almost falling off my stool, I quickly set the record straight. Thanks, Mike, for all the good memories.

  26. Paul Beard says:

    Mike,
    I can’t begin to express my gratitude for the impact that you have had on my life. I remember driving to college in 1979, listening to WAMU 88.5 on the radio and hearing the dobro for the very first time. I had no idea what the instrument was but I waited patiently to hear the disk jockey say “that was Mike Auldridge on the dobro with the Seldom Scene”. I ran out and bought three Seldom Scene albums and was hooked from that time on. The sound of your playing possessed the perfect balance of tone and phrasing which had a profound effect on me. I could not get enough; I was like a rat on crack! I bought my first dobro and muddled my way through some of your songs by repeatedly lifting the tone arm of the record player to copy every lick, so much so that I ruined my first copy of “Live At The Cellar Door”. Like others who have made the pilgrimage, I arranged “The Lesson” of a lifetime with you in your basement, only to realize that I was never going to be able to sound like you. When I built my first resonator guitar in 1985, I brought it to the Birchmere and you played it for your entire break between sets. Your generosity and kind words that night inspired me to build a second and a third guitar. This story is not that different from hundreds of others whom you have touched through your music career. You have had a huge impact on more people than you know. I can honestly say that you are the reason that I am in business today. But more importantly than that, Mike, I look up to and admire you as one hell of a man.

    Congratulations on the NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award. No one deserves it more than you do. Thank you for your kindness and friendship over the years. God bless.

    Paul Beard
    Beard Guitars

  27. Mary Lou Barian says:

    Mike,

    I have treasured memories of countless Thursday nights at the old Birchmere in Arlington, where you and the Scene regularly lighted up the room with stellar performances! For over a decade I rarely missed a show, and always left with sore cheeks from smiling so much. It was pure joy. I was fortunate to catch several subsequent shows – a favorite being here in Seattle with Doc Watson. You very kindly came to Seattle to help with the Dobro exhibit for the Experience Music Project (Jimi Hendrix Museum) and then offered a most wonderful impromptu performance at the Tractor Tavern. I’ve been playing guitar for over 40 years now, and have to say your music has been a huge influence. Thank you so much for many years of musical joy, and congratulations on this recognition that is very, very much deserved.

    Mary Lou Barian
    Seattle, WA.

  28. Frank Maxfield says:

    Mike, you are truely an inspiration to the reso-community. You started the “Auldridge” sound and everyone has been playing catch up ever since. Well deserved award.

  29. Danny Shaw says:

    Mike, I have only met you a few times, but was so impressed by you, not only as a musician but as a fine person. I have been playing the Dobro for about 12 years, but there has always been a Dobro player inside me just wanting to get out. You give that person inside me a great bar to go toward and the inspiration to help make it happen for me. I never play that I don’t think of you and wonder what you might do here or there in the song. I really wish i knew you better, but I am proud to say I know you a little bit. Congratulations on the well deserved award. Go ahead and let your head swell a little, it won’t hurt a thing. Danny Shaw

  30. Corry Garamszegi says:

    Mike,
    Congratulations on your well deserved 2012 N.E.A., National Heritage Fellowship award. Well deserved. Your contributions to American and International music are unsurpassed.

    Even though I have never met you, Mike, you were a Godsend to a little lady from down in the land of Oz (Australia). I first heard you on vinyl in the early 70’s and like everyone else, was blown away by your sound. I didn’t see a reso until 2000, and I just had to get one. We don’t have many reso players down here, let alone reso teachers. You were my first inspiration and teacher via your Basic Techniques Videos and Song Lesson Series. Thank You! Thanks for helping me to get the correct technique right from the start. I have now worn the videos out. And yes, I agree with Jimmy Heffernan who has ‘hit the nail right on the head’ when he said “I want to be just like you when I grow up”.

  31. Mike,

    Hearty congrats and thanks for the ear candy! Be good and stay safe! Well, stay safe anyway!

    Robert Camacho

  32. Mark Newton says:

    GONGRATS!! Mike on your 2012 National Heritage Fellowship Award. There’s not a better deserving person then you on the planet. Someone who’s from Fredericksburg, VA., and influenced with all the music coming out of the Washington, DC metropolitan area and growing up on your music going back to Emerson & Waldron and fast forwarding to your body of work throughout the years with The Country Gentlemen, The Seldom Scene and the list goes on there’s NO doubt that your music has not only left it’s mark on me and shaped my carreer but throughout the bluegrass community nationally and internationally. The one thing I remember is when I first met you as a young teenager you where so gracious with your time to a young boy who wanted to be a professional bluegrass musician and how you took time to talk and support me in which I’ve always been very greatful and taught me the importance of being humble but at the same time carrying yourself as a pro. You are the best. CONGRATS!!!!

  33. Hugh Mason says:

    Congratulations Mike! Never has one person given so much to the success of the Dobro guitar. I heard you live several times with the Seldom Scene and have remained in awe ever since. The first day of the first ResoSummit I had a “speed” lesson with you. I couldn’t sleep all night but you put me at ease quickly during the lesson, This tribute is well deserved because of your contributions, skills, and expertise – and you remain a true gentleman.

    Hugh Mason

  34. Hi Mike…
    I just wanted to say how thrilled I was to hear about you joining the elite of the elite folk masters in America with winning the National Heritage Fellowship. You are an amazing musician who I’ve enjoyed listening to for years. You’re a true master and I congratulate you on an amazing career and one that’s influenced those to come for generations.

  35. Kim Ulinger says:

    I would like to say that I have never met Mike in person or even heard him play at a live show, but have listened to a lot of his music on youtube and such. I’ve also watched an interview of Mike and I think he seams to be a very fine gentleman and a fantastic player that I know is looked up to by many. I would love to meet him someday. I’m sure it would be a very pleasureable experience. Congratulations on your award Mike. You are very deserving.

    Kim Ulinger

  36. Tory Viso says:

    Congratulations Mike!

    I met you at ResoSummit a few years ago and you took the time to work with me. Thank you for all that you do for DoBro players around the world. Enjoy your time receiving your award. We are all very happy for you.

    Tory Viso

  37. thank you very much Rubbie ..

    you are a great player and thank you very much for all the formering e-mails

    it must be great to be able to be in america

  38. Matthew McCarthy says:

    Hello Mike. I am new to the Reso, guitar player for 30 years. I was inspired by hearing Rob, and knowing he was directly inspired by you makes me a legacy beneficiary of your talent and passion. I thank you for enriching my life. Congratulations on the award and honor.

    Sincerely,

    Matthew McCarthy

  39. Charlie Campbell says:

    Many congratulations Mike. All well deserved. You hooked me 40 years ago with Tennessee Stud and I’ve been hooked ever since. You are the best.

    Charlie Campbell

  40. niall toner says:

    Hi Mike, best wishes from your Irish fans. I heard you play live many years ago in the Birchmere in Arlington, VA. with my friend, Stu Horsman, and you were just ‘the business’. I have enjoyed your music ever since, and so too have many of my colleagues in Ireland. Best of luck to you in the future, yours, Niall Toner.

  41. Frank Watt says:

    Congratulations Mike! You’ve been one of my heroes since the days you used to let me carry your dobro from the Red Fox out to your old silver 240z. Thanks for finding me my first real Dobro, teaching me how to play it, and for being a friend and inspiration for so many years. You are The Man!
    Hank

  42. Trapper Wyatt says:

    Mr. A
    This honor could not be going to anyone more deserving!

    Thanks for the any years of inspiration and beautiful music. God bless.

    Trapper

  43. Marty Muse says:

    Mike-

    Congratulations on being honored with this award. You are truly deserving. I can think of nobody who has had as much impact and influence in their chosen profession as you have. I was speaking with Paul Beard a while back and both of us were just going on and on about your influence on us and virtually everybody else of our generation that plays the resonator guitar. That first record you did for Takoma was a watershed moment in the history of the instrument and changed the course of popular music history. All of the great achievements on the resonator guitar that have come along since then can trace their origins to that record in my opinion.

    I first heard you play in a little bar in Champaign, Illinois in about 1974 with the Seldom Scene. I was just getting into the steel guitar at that time and was mesmerized by your playing. I heard you on countless recordings since then and saw you with Emmylou Harris at the Hardly Strictly Festival in SF playing beautiful backup as only you can do. But when I finally got to meet you and hang out and do the interview that you so graciously did for us I discovered what a nice, humble, down-to-earth person you are and it was indeed a pleasure to get to visit with you for a short time. Seldom do we get the chance to meet our heroes and what a thrill it is when we find them to be great people.

    Thanks for all you do Mike,

    Marty Muse

  44. RKDeering says:

    A true artist and mentor to so many. Thank you for your contribution to the wonderful world of sound.
    Joe & Rochelle Enge.

  45. Andy Katz says:

    You’ve done so much for the music, and to bring people into music as listeners and players. And you accept each deserved accolade with humility and grace. You are as classy as they come, and a role model for us all. Congratulations and thanks, Mike!

  46. Lee Jones says:

    Dear Mike –
    Sometime in the mid-70’s, my uncle gave me the “The New Seldom Scene” album. I then saved up my grass-cutting money and bought “Old Train”. When “Wait a Minute” came on and you did that opening lick, well, the only thing that I can compare it with is what happened when I first heard “Sgt. Pepper”. As if a door to a new world had opened and I told the old world, “Look – I may not be back for a while.”

    I even picked up a dobro because of you and have been playing it (poorly) since. But it’s given me an incredible amount of happiness, and I have you to thank you for that.

    It has been an honor and privilege to see you perform quite a few times. Once or twice I shook your hand and said thank you.You were unfailingly gracious and humble; I always thought that if I ever got expert and famous at anything, you’d be my role model for how to deal with it.

    Weirdly, I ended up being a little expert and famous in a non-musical field, so whenever anybody wants to meet me and shake my hand, I think of Mike Auldridge at some dobro workshop. I smile and take my time with that person because you taught me how to do it.

    But lord, I’ll never look as sharp in a pair of jeans as you do.

  47. John Jennings says:

    Hi, Mike,
    Congratulations. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: the dobro player you have most in common with is Otis Redding.
    all the best,
    John

  48. Loyer thierry says:

    so happy for you and so happy to work and heard your music every day. Many thanks for all “Maitre” Auldridge and for “l’immense joie et l’incroyable plaisir” you have brought to my life since 40 years.
    Thierry
    Alencon France

  49. cory welch says:

    Your talents inspired this lowly musician in California. I re-listen you albums every two years and pick up something new. Thank you so much for your talent.
    As a young high school student the Cellar Door album woke me up to the dobro and banjo. Thank you!!!

  50. Dale Desmuke says:

    Always a beautiful experience to hear your music, Sir. Power, Passion and Precision. What more could you ask?

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webcast of the fellowships concert

The National Heritage Fellowships Concert, including a performance by Mike Auldridge, was webcast from Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 4. An archive video of the performance is available at www.arts.gov.
Click the Photos link above to see recently added photographs from the NEA National Heritage celebration events.

Mike Auldridge has been named one of nine 2012 recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowships – the nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

The Washington Post called Auldridge "one of maybe a handful of truly innovative Dobro players in the history of country and bluegrass music." Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that Mike Auldridge forever changed the sound of the dobro. There is the dobro before Mike, and there is the dobro after Mike, and the dividing line is unmistakeable. His influence is evident in the playing of every dobro player who has followed him, and his role as the key inspiration for the generation of dobro masters who followed him is an important element of his musical legacy.

This website celebrates Mike's enduring achievements, and the award of this prestigious fellowship to him.

read the NEA bio of Mike Auldridge here

contact

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