Foundation provides scholarships for young people to learn
more about banjo from Noam Pikelny and others through
the Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program
January 29, 2023
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation was proud to use scholarship funds from the Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program to send three young people to learn more about music and the art of banjo performance from world-renowned musician Noam Pikelny and others at the 2023 Hatfield Music Banjo Workshop held in Nashville, Tennessee in connection with the 2023 Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music Annual convention.
Pikelny, a nine-time GRAMMY Award nominee and 2019 GRAMMY Award winner, is the banjoist with the popular and critically-acclaimed Punch Brothers. He was joined in teaching the afternoon workshop by Ira Gitlin, a Winfield-winning national banjo champion, and well-known banjo teacher and author Jack Hatfield of 
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program is named in memory of Mr. Johnny Vincent of Greentop, Missouri, a bluegrass pioneer and the father of the Foundation’s first Bluegrass Star Award® recipient, Rhonda Vincent, and bluegrass star Darrin Vincent. Johnny was known for his unique banjo style and founded the Sally Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Queen City, Missouri.
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation appreciates the support of Mr. Vincent’s family and friends and our many donors and volunteers, all of whom helped make it possible for us to assist young people in making bluegrass happen.
Bluegrass Heritage Foundation provides the
Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music
with additional Play it Forward! instruments for students
January 28, 2023
Alan Tompkins, President of the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, today presented Dean Osborne of the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music with additional introductory-level instruments, including a banjo and guitar, for students to use while learning to play bluegrass music. The Kentucky School became a licensed affiliate of the Foundation’s Play It Forward!® Instrument Lending Program in 2022.
Last year, the eastern Kentucky area around the Kentucky School experienced devastating flooding, and ten mountain dulcimers used in a Kentucky School high school music program were lost. The Foundation, with help from the folks at the Banjo Ben Clark General Store, provided the school with a pair of high-quality mountain dulcimers and plans to provide more when they become available. “We are so thankful that our Foundation donors, friends, and volunteers have made it possible for the Foundation to continue providing assistance to young people who love this music and want to play at a higher level,” noted Tompkins. 
KSBTM offers a full range of musical education courses, history and background courses in bluegrass music, as well as individualized instruction in banjo, guitar, bass, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, harmony vocal singing, and songwriting. The school’s faculty includes the legendary Bobby Osborne, Dean Osborne, Scott Napier, and Virgil Bowlin.
Play It Forward!® Instruments Presented to
Fiddle & Pick, the Musical Heritage Center of Middle Tennessee
January 26, 2023
Foundation Vice President Gerald Jones today presented several additional entry-level instruments to the Fiddle & Pick Musical Heritage Center of Middle Tennessee as part of the Foundation’s Play It Forward!® Instrument Lending Program. Fiddle & Pick, located in Pegram, Tennessee, was founded by Gretchen Priest-May and her husband Tim May. Fiddle & Pick has been an affiliate of the Play It Forward!® program for more than ten years and has done remarkable work in making musical education available to the young people of the rural Pegram community. Their efforts have been richly rewarding. “We are proud to continue to help Gretchen, Tim, and the other folks at Fiddle & Pick who have given so much to these young people who want to learn more about traditional music,” commented Jones.
Bluegrass Heritage Foundation appoints the
Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music
as affiliate of the Play it Forward! Instrument Lending Program
January 29, 2022
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation today announced that the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music, a part of the Hazard Community & Technical College and the University of Kentucky Community College system, became a licensed affiliate of the Foundation’s Play It Forward!® Instrument Lending Program. The arrangement allows the school to use the trademarked “Play It Forward!” program name in connection with its musical instrument lending activities and to receive donations of instruments from the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation to support young people who want to learn more about bluegrass and traditional music.
The affiliation agreement was signed in Nashville, where both KSBTM Program Director Dean Osborne and Foundation President Alan Tompkins were in attendance at the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music’s annual convention. Tompkins presented Dean Osborne with a number of introductory-level instruments, including a fiddle, banjo, and guitar, that students can use to begin their study of bluegrass music.
The KSBTM Professional Studio Artist program offers a full range of musical education courses, history and background courses in bluegrass music, as well as individualized instruction in banjo, guitar, bass, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, harmony vocal singing, and songwriting. The school’s faculty includes Bobby Osborne of the world-famous Osborne Brothers, Dean Osborne, Scott Napier, and Virgil Bowlin. Alan Tompkins commented that “we’re excited to join forces with Dean Osborne and his faculty at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music to help make music education a reality for more young people who want to learn and play.”
Texas Banjo Champion Riley Gilbreath awarded Scholarship
to Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music through
Foundation’s Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program
August 19, 2019
Reigning Texas State Banjo Champion Riley Gilbreath, age 15, was today awarded a first-semester scholarship by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation. The scholarship was funded in part from donations to the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation’s Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program.
Although still a sophomore in high school (in Texas), Riley enrolled in online classes in audio recording technology and bluegrass music history at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music in Hyden, Kentucky, a part of the Hazard Community and Technical College and University of Kentucky system. Dean Osborne directs the bluegrass music program and personally welcomed Riley to the growing ranks of online students at the school.
Riley is an accomplished banjoist, having won the Texas championship in May 2019 after winning the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival banjo championship in 2018. He is a Bluegrass Heritage Foundation Youth Showcase Artist and plays the Huber Workhorse banjo that was bestowed in connection with that honor. Riley will be competing at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas later this month for the national banjo championship title.
“We’re all thrilled to see how quickly Riley has developed his considerable musical talents, and even more excited that he wants to include the study of bluegrass music in his collegiate career. Riley will be in good company at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music, which includes Bobby Osborne, Dean Osborne, Scott Napier, and Virgil Bowlin among its faculty,” noted Foundation president Alan Tompkins.
The 
Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program is named in memory of Mr. Johnny Vincent of Greentop, Missouri, a bluegrass pioneer and the father of the Foundation’s first Bluegrass Star Award® recipient, Rhonda Vincent, and bluegrass star Darrin Vincent. Johnny was known for his unique banjo style and founded the Sally Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Queen City, Missouri.
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation appreciates the support of Mr. Vincent’s family and friends and our many donors and volunteers, all of whom helped make it possible for us to assist young people in making bluegrass happen.
Kentucky Just Us Family Band awarded Scholarship to attend
Kentucky School of Bluegrass & Traditional Music through
Foundation’s Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program
October 20, 2018
Kentucky Just Us, the O’Neal family bluegrass band from Greensburg, Kentucky, was awarded a $1,000 scholarship by the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival at the Omni Dallas Hotel at Park West in Farmers Branch, Texas. (The Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival, typically held in the Farmers Branch Historical Park, was held in the Omni for 2018 due to wet conditions in the park.) The scholarship was funded in part from donations to the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation’s Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program. The band played a short set before the scholarship presentation and wowed the crowd at the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival.
Several members
of the Kentucky Just Us family band are enrolled in classes where they are studying bluegrass music at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in Hyden, Kentucky, which is a part of the Hazard Community and Technical College. Dean Osborne directs the bluegrass music program, and joined the band on stage for the scholarship presentation.
“We’re so excited to help this terrific young band develop their already-outstanding bluegrass musical skills, and we know they are in the good hands of Dean Osborne, Scott Napier, Virgil Bowlin, and – of course – Mr. Bobby Osborne at the Kentucky School of Bluegrass,” said Foundation president Alan Tompkins.
The Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program is named in memory of Mr. Johnny Vincent of Greentop, Missouri, a bluegrass pioneer and the father of the Foundation’s first Bluegrass Star Award® recipient, Rhonda Vincent, and bluegrass star Darrin Vincent. Johnny was known for his unique banjo style and founded the Sally Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Queen City, Missouri.
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation appreciates the support of Mr. Vincent’s family and friends and our many donors and volunteers, all of whom make it possible for us to assist young people in making bluegrass happen. The photos of Kentucky Just Us are courtesy of Perry Callahan.
More Play It Forward!® Instruments Presented to
Fiddle & Pick Musical Heritage Center of Middle Tennessee
July 31, 2018
Foundation President Alan Tompkins, board member Julie Tompkins, and able assistant Jessica Tompkins today presented Gretchen Priest-May, the co-founder (along with her husband, Tim May) of the Fiddle & Pick Musical Heritage Center of Middle Tennessee, with several instruments as part of the Foundation’s Play It Forward!® Instrument Lending Program efforts to support its outstanding affiliates. “We have always loved what Gretchen, Tim, and the others at the Center have done to bring traditional music to children around Pegram, Tennessee,” said Tompkins. “The dedication and commitment of everyone involved with the Center is amazing. We hope these instruments can help a few more young people go farther in their musical journeys.”
More young people are playing music thanks to Play It Forward!™
December 27, 2017
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation is proud to announce that it has presented several instruments to young people in the North Texas area over the past few months through the Play It Forward!™ Instrument Lending Program.
Audrey Fields, an 8-year-old from Waxahachie, is teaming up with her sister, 6-year-old Madelyn Fields, to learn to play fiddle on instruments provided by our program. Their mother and father, Lori and Jason Fields, are members of our bluegrass community and are musicians as well, and they are excited 
that their daughters want to learn to play.
Jacob Jander of Irving, Texas is anxious to develop his flatpicking skills using the vintage Alvarez acoustic guitar provided by our program. He said that he’s already learned most of the chords to his favorite bluegrass gospel tune, This World Is Not My Home, and he’s ready to learn more bluegrass tunes. And
John Puetz of Dallas was excited to start learning to play bluegrass banjo on the Gretsch five-string banjo provided by the program in December.
As always, we are thrilled to be able to help deserving young people who want to be a part of our bluegrass music community. We sincerely appreciate all of the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation supporters who make a difference and find a way to do good for so many fine young people.
13-year-old Banjo Player Riley Gilbreath becomes a
Bluegrass Heritage Foundation Youth Showcase Artist
October 21, 2017
In October 2016, the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, through the Play it Forward! Instrument Lending Program®, presented 12-year-old Riley Gilbreath of Fort Worth, Texas, with a five string banjo so that he could start taking bluegrass banjo lessons. Riley made dramatic progress quickly, impressing his teacher Jim Penson and others who helped him along by exhibiting a dedication and drive to play shown by few others.
At the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival & Chili Cook-Off held in the Farmers Branch, Texas Historical Park on October 21, 2017, Steve Huber of the Huber Banjo Company was on hand to perform with Texas & Tennessee. He also had a number of new Huber banjos on display. Steve enjoyed picking with Riley, and spent a great deal of time giving him pointers on how to play more proficiently.
One thing led to another, and the decision was made by Alan Tompkins of the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation, Steve Huber, and Jana & Danny Gilbreath (Riley’s parents) to present Riley with a new professional-grade walnut Huber Workhorse banjo for his continued development. Riley is only the second person to be named a Youth Showcase Artist, with the first being Brandy Miller in 2012.
The presentation was made to Riley on stage at the Festival, and Riley was moved nearly to tears. His father reported that Riley asked for days afterwards, “how can something this good be happening to me?” In the weeks since the presentation, Riley has played on stage several times as a guest with Dallas/Fort Worth area bluegrass bands. We expect that he will continue to have opportunities to perform on stage for years to come.
As always, the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation is thrilled to be able to help deserving young people play bluegrass music, and we sincerely appreciate all of our supporters for helping to make it happen. We’d especially like to thank the family of Johnny Lee Vincent, including Rhonda Vincent, Carolyn Vincent, and Darrin Vincent, for their support of the Foundation’s Play it Forward!® program and the Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program. Their support helped to make these programs possible.
Here’s a video of the presentation, courtesy of Mark Shaffer. Photos are courtesy of Nathaniel Dalzell.
Nate Jennings, Gigi Jennings, and Riley Gilbreath attend 2017
Acoustic Music Camp on Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program
August 8, 2017
12-year-old banjoist Nate Jennings and his little sister, Gigi Jennings, of Tyler, Texas, as well as Riley Gilbreath of Fort Worth, Texas attended the eleventh annual Acoustic Music Camp in Arlington, Texas (July 27-29, 2017) thanks to the Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program. Nate attended the camp last year and did a great job on banjo, and Gigi has been making progress as a young fiddler.
Riley Gilbreath has been advancing rapidly as a musician and banjoist and particularly enjoyed attending the advanced banjo classes taught by Bill Evans and Tony Trischka. (Riley’s first banjo was provided by our Play It Forward!™ Instrument Lending Program, but he already moved on to buy his own Recording King banjo! The Acoustic Music Camp faculty included accomplished banjoists Tony Trischka, Bill Evans, and Gerald Jones. Other renowned faculty included Robert Bowlin, Tim May, Gretchen Priest-May, Paul Glasse, Brad Davis, Dix Bruce, and Roberta Rast.
The Johnny Lee Vincent Memorial Scholarship Program is named in memory of Mr. Johnny Vincent of Greentop, Missouri, a bluegrass pioneer and the father of the Foundation’s first Bluegrass Star Award® recipient, Rhonda Vincent, and bluegrass star Darrin Vincent. Johnny and his family toured the world as the Sally Mountain Show, performing their special brand of bluegrass music. He was known for his unique banjo style and founded the Sally Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Queen City, Missouri.
The Bluegrass Heritage Foundation appreciates the support of Mr. Vincent’s family and friends, our other donors and volunteers, and all who help make it possible for us to assist young people like Nate and Gigi Jennings and Riley Gilbreath.
