Del McCoury, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas & Others Celebrate Earl Scruggs’ 100th Birthday At The Ryman

The 100th birthday of late legendary bluegrass pioneer Earl Scruggs was celebrated on Saturday with an all-star concert at The Ryman Auditorium. The impressive roster of performers included Del McCoury, Béla Fleck, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas and many others who came together to honor the renowned banjo player with a collaborative night in Nashville.

Earl Scruggs was born on January 6, 1924, in Shelby, North Carolina. He developed a three-finger banjo-picking style that galvanized bluegrass music. Scruggs spent time as a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys and later teamed with Lester Flatt to form the popular duo, Flatt and Scruggs. The immensely influential Scruggs died on March 28, 2012, at age 88.

McCoury, who joined the Bluegrass Boys initially as a banjo player before switching to guitar, performed throughout the show, and fronted his namesake Del McCoury Band. Along with Fleck, fellow banjo pickers who performed at The Ryman included Tony Trischka, Alison Brown, Rob McCoury, Jeff White, Jim Mills, Gena Britt and Fleck’s wife, Abigail Washburn.

Others sharing the stage at The Ryman were The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Jimmie Fadden and Jeff Hanna, as well as Douglas’ fittingly-named string band The Earls of Leicester. The evening also saw appearances by Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Jerry Pentecost, Harry Stinson, Bryan Sutton, Michael Cleveland, Stuart Duncan, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and Todd Phillips, among others.

View audience-captured video clips from Saturday’s celebratory event at The Ryman below: