Barry Waldrep & Friends - Barry Waldrep & Friends Celebrate Tony Rice (2021)

When it comes to bluegrass guitar players there is a rare agreed-upon best among music lovers and musicians–and that person is Tony Rice. The late grate Rice was undoubtedly the most influential, beloved and inventive musician in all of bluegrass and Americana music.

Rice passed away in late 2020, but far before his death is was apparent that his musical stylings would live on in droves long after he died in the artists he inspired.

This year on Dec. 24, the evening before the year anniversary of Rice’s death, bluegrass instrumentalist and producer Barry Waldrep will be releasing a 21-track tribute to Rice laden with special guests titled Barry Waldrep and Friends Celebrate Tony Rice.

“Music knows no boundaries and Tony created so many great examples of that. When you cross the line of other genres, that’s when you expand the audience and turn people on to other styles that they would not normally be interested in,” said Waldrep in a press release. “The intent of this album and the artists involved is to show what a powerhouse master Tony Rice was at bringing musicians and fans together from different genres.”

When one looks at the lineup it becomes abundantly apparent of the reach Rice had–even beyond bluegrass. The tribute album features jam-band royalty Warren Haynes and Oteil Burbridge, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Spooner Oldham and Patrick Simmons, Americana Greats Jim Lauderdale and Rodney Crowell, and country stars Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill; still, that lineup is just a fraction of the guests featured on the album.

Waldrep continued to say, “All of these artists knew the music of Tony Rice very well—artists from Classic & Southern Rock Royalty to Heavy Metal, Americana, Country & Roots Gospel. Also included are some of the greatest musicians and harmony singers in the business that were influenced by Tony as well.”