Riley Baugus
American musician and instrument builder
title: "Riley Baugus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["singers-from-north-carolina", "appalachian-old-time-fiddlers", "20th-century-american-fiddlers", "21st-century-american-fiddlers", "american-banjoists", "american-folk-singers", "american-folk-guitarists", "old-time-musicians", "baptists-from-north-carolina", "1965-births", "people-from-forsyth-county,-north-carolina", "american-acoustic-guitarists", "american-male-guitarists", "living-people", "guitarists-from-north-carolina", "20th-century-american-guitarists", "21st-century-american-guitarists", "20th-century-american-male-musicians"] description: "American musician and instrument builder" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riley_Baugus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American musician and instrument builder ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Riley Baugus |
| image | Musician Riley Baugus plays guitar at the John C. Campbell Folk School in 2025. 03.jpg |
| caption | Baugus at John C. Campbell Folk School |
| background | solo_singer |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Walkertown, North Carolina, U.S. |
| instrument | Banjo, Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle |
| genre | Old Time American, |
| Americana, Country | |
| occupation | Old Time Musician |
| Instrument builder | |
| website | www.rileybaugus.com |
| :: |
| name = Riley Baugus| | image = Musician Riley Baugus plays guitar at the John C. Campbell Folk School in 2025. 03.jpg| | caption = Baugus at John C. Campbell Folk School| | background = solo_singer| | birth_date = | birth_place = Walkertown, North Carolina, U.S. | instrument = Banjo, Vocals, Guitar, Fiddle | genre = Old Time American, Americana, Country| | occupation = Old Time Musician Instrument builder| | website = www.rileybaugus.com|
Riley Baugus (b. November 28, 1965) is an American old-time guitarist, banjo player, fiddler, singer and instrument builder from North Carolina.
Early life
Baugus was born in Walkertown, North Carolina, near Winston-Salem, and grew up in the Regular Baptist tradition, which gave him a solid foundation in unaccompanied singing. His father had moved from Alleghany County, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to Winston-Salem in the 1950s, looking for work, and his mother's family (from Surry County, North Carolina) had a similar trajectory; and both families brought their culture with them. He began playing the fiddle at age 10 and began playing the banjo at age 11, and grew up with the fiddler Kirk Sutphin. As a youth, he also had the opportunity to study with old-time musicians from Surry County, North Carolina and Grayson County, Virginia, including Tommy Jarrell, Robert Sykes, Dix Freeman, Verlin Clifton, and Paul Sutphin. He is influenced particularly by the Round Peak style of Surry County, North Carolina.
Career
Baugus worked as a welder and blacksmith for 18 years before pursuing a career as a professional musician. He has performed throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and England. He has played with several old-time string bands, including The Farmer's Daughters, The Konnarock Critters, The Red Hots, Backstep, and the Old Hollow Stringband. He tours regularly with Dirk Powell and Tim O'Brien, and frequently performs and tours with dancer Ira Bernstein, with the duo show Appalachian Roots.
He often performs as a guest musician with the Dirk Powell Band and the North Carolina folk band Polecat Creek. He sang on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Cold Mountain. He has recorded with Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, Dirk Powell, April Verch, and Martha Scanlan. He has taught banjo at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina; the Augusta Heritage Center's Old Time Week in Elkins, West Virginia; the Midwest Banjo Camp in Olivet, Michigan; and Banjo Camp North in Massachusetts.
Baugus released his first album, Life of Riley, in 2001. A second album, Long Steel Rail, was released in 2006.
On March 22, 2025 he was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame.
He lives in Walkertown, North Carolina.
Discography
Albums
::data[format=table]
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Life Of Riley (Yodel Ay Hee) |
| 2006 | Long Steel Rail (Sugar Hill) |
| 2019 | ''Little Black Train's a Comin''' (Old Garden Records) |
| :: |
Collaborations
::data[format=table]
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Appalachian Roots with Ira Bernstein (Yodel Ay Hee) |
| 2004 | Going Home Shoes with The Lonesome Sisters (Tin Halo Music) |
| 2010 | Long Time Piedmont Pals with Kirk Sutphin (Old Blue Records) |
| 2012 | Lonesome Scenes with The Lonesome Sisters (Tin Halo Music) |
| 2015 | Tomorrow Morn with Dirk Powell (Wood and Steel Records) |
| :: |
Other appearances
::data[format=table]
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Old Time Music From North Carolina by The Old Hollow String Band (Flyin' Cloud) |
| 1992 | Ready To Roll by The Red Hots (Fire Ant Music) |
| 1993 | Impeached by The Red Hots (Bobville Productions / Hasty Records) |
| 2001 | Salt Sea Bound by Polecat Creek (Yodel Ay Hee) |
| 2002 | Grandpa's Favorites by Kirk Sutphin (Old 97 Wrecords) |
| 2003 | Rare Rags & Stringband Blues by Adam Tanner & The Dirty Rag Mob (Old 97 Wrecords) |
| 2003 | Cold Mountain: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture (Sony Music Entertainment) |
| 2004 | Time Again by Dirk Powell (Rounder Records) |
| 2005 | Come to the Mountain: Old Time Music for Modern Times (Rounder Records) |
| 2005 | Leaving Eden by Polecat Creek (Yodel Ay Hee) |
| 2005 | Elkhorn Riders feat. The Lonesome Sisters by Rench (Gangstagrass) (Rench Audio) |
| 2006 | The West Was Burning by Martha Scanlan (Sugar Hill Records) |
| 2005 | Ordinary Seasons by Polecat Creek (Yodel Ay Hee) |
| 2007 | Raising Sand by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (Rounder Records) |
| 2009 | Frolic in Round Peak by Kevin Fore (Round Peak Banjos) |
| 2010 | Country Music by Willie Nelson (Rounder Records) |
| 2010 | Live & Lively by the New North Carolina Ramblers (Old Blue Records) |
| 2011 | That's How We Run by April Verch (Slab Town Records) |
| 2012 | The Mountain Music Project by Tara Linhardt, Danny Knicely (Mountain Music Project) |
| 2017 | Playing Favorites by Lillian Chase |
| 2019 | Just Around The Bend: Survival & Revival in Southern Banjo Sounds by Mike Seeger (Smithsonian Folkways) |
| :: |
References
References
- https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/SFW40207.pdf {{Bare URL PDF. (July 2025)
- "About Riley Baugus". Rileybaugus.com.
- https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/SFW40207.pdf {{Bare URL PDF. (July 2025)
- "Riley Baugus – Midwest Banjo Camp".
- Adams, Noah. (2007-09-01). "Banjo Master Baugus Looks to Old Times". NPR.
- "Banjo Newsletter".
- "Beginning Southern Clawhammer Banjo".
- "Instructors".
- "Banjo Newsletter".
- (12 August 2006). "Reviews: New and Noteworthy". Nielsen Business Media, Inc..
- "17th Annual Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony".
- "Wilkes Heritage Museum".
- https://archive.today/20250321215003/https://journalnow.com/news/local/article_260c370c-0336-11f0-962c-2b905d7b3b38.html {{Bare URL inline. (July 2025)
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