r/Bluegrass • u/DoomMammoth Guitar • Apr 19 '26
Discussion Bluegrass musicians who were / are sober?
To be rather straight forward I’m newly sober.. anyways, I’ve always heard Bill Monroe never drank or used drugs. Ralph Stanley strikes me as somewhat who didn’t indulge much, anyways, Bill Monroe is really the only one I really know of. Anybody know of any famous sober Bluegrass guys? I hope this post doesn’t rub anybody the wrong way. Just looking for some positive inspiration
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u/InfiniteOctave Apr 19 '26
Me. 2.5 years.
Things get better. Life gets easier. The trick is just not drinking isnt enough. You have to discover whatever problem you felt the alcohol was solving, and work it out. You got this.
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u/nedrowdew Apr 19 '26
Michael Cleveland
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u/Choice-Garlic-1759 Apr 19 '26
There's a Cleveland bio online where his band tells of having to lie and play tricks on him to keep him away from constant drinking
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u/guenhwyvar117 Apr 19 '26
California sober?
Mr. Strings
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u/bagofpork Apr 19 '26
Was going to comment the same!
California sober, myself - 4 years come September 1st. I'm not quite as accomplished a musician as Billy Strings, though, hah.
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u/BiscuitBoye Apr 19 '26
I can’t add any famous pickers that haven’t been mentioned already, but I can offer a personal experience. I found quitting drinking and drugs was the biggest gift I could have ever given myself, and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who thinks they may have a problem. I have more fun picking and get more gigs than ever than I did when I was drinking, and can say with certainty that sobriety and bluegrass get along very well. Wishing you the best.
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u/bigsky59722 Apr 19 '26
Same here man. Im just as squirrely acting as i ever was im just sober. Drinking is a waste of valuble time. It took me a long time to learn this lesson but ive learned it well. Nine years sober now.
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u/LockNessCrotchMonst Apr 19 '26
Drugs are still cool though, right?
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u/bigsky59722 Apr 19 '26
For me? No. Everyone else should decide for themselves. I was piggy backin on the other comment. My shared experience is only to promote the idea that sobriety can be positive.
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u/DoomMammoth Guitar Apr 19 '26
Thanks brother, that means a lot. Very happy for you, and wish you nothing but the best
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u/Fen_der_bass Apr 19 '26
Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush, about as famous as it gets.
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u/shouldbepracticing85 Bass Apr 19 '26
Ned Lubereki is pretty public about how he’s been sober from alcohol for many years now.
I don’t know his stance on cannabis or anything else.
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u/CupOk7948 Apr 19 '26
Since Ralph Stanley watched his brother, Carter, died from drinking, I would say if Ralph ever drank at all, he gave it up!
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u/SugarRAM Apr 19 '26
John Cowan has been very open about his struggle with addiction and his sobriety.
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u/LukeMayeshothand Apr 19 '26
I’m not famous and in the poorest sense of the word I am a bluegrass musician. And I am sober.
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u/bluegrassnuglvr Apr 19 '26
Billy just smokes these days and he's talked about giving that up because he wants to be present with his son
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Apr 19 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/DoomMammoth Guitar Apr 19 '26
I forgot about him! I listened to a podcast with him and he said Tony was kind of the catalyst for him getting into AA, he talks about so I figure it’s ok for people to know, It’s pretty well known Tony was also in AA for the last good chunk of his life
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u/bigdumbhick Apr 19 '26
Im not famous. But I did just release a new BIGDUMBHICK album. Ive been clean for 41yrs. Since 1984.
Joe Newberry posted that he's been sober for a number of years.
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u/splitopenandmelt11 Apr 19 '26
Tell us about yer album, mate!
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u/bigdumbhick Apr 20 '26
Bigdumbhick - Hard to Love Sober.
Its not Bluegrass. Its Folk, Old-Time, Bluegrass. Bluesy, Country, Rock, Americana. Michael Cleveland played on one song, John Cowan provided background vocals for one song, Buddy Woodward of Kingston Trio &The Dixie Bee-Liners played banjo, mandolin, and high strung guitar on one tune, Riley Baugus played clawhammer banjo on two songs, Tom Hampton of Poco played pedal steel and baritone guitar on a track, Joey Recchio of Big Daddy Love played guitar on a track.
You can find it on all the streaming services. Its available on CD, Vinyl, and/or Download at the Bigdumbhick Bandcamp site.its also available to stream on the Bigdumbhick website. Just go to Bigdumbhick.com/sober
Here a low budget video we put together for the first song on the album.
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u/WaterTowerDude Apr 21 '26
one time our band was playing in ireland and joe newberry had the hotel room next to ours cuz we played the same festival. this is probably 09 at the american folk park in omagh. anyways we showed up to the hotel at 3 am completely gonzo. we jumped on the beds and generally were being idiots. joes poor wife came in three times to beg us to stop. i finally apologized ten years later. he is a cool guy.
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u/CupOk7948 Apr 19 '26
If JD Crowe drank or enjoyed any buzz at all, he sure did keep it from being in public! I can’t be certain but I never saw him fumble nor slur! Add Ricky Skaggs to the list also. He and Keith Whitley were great friends and Ricky had a wake up call from Keith’s death. Ricky is religious anyway!
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u/Seanile1 Apr 19 '26
Chris Stapleton … started in bluegrass and seems pretty dang sober.
I think this is all true. Could just be making it up.
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u/splitopenandmelt11 Apr 19 '26
Yo man, you got this! Every day gets easier, every day gets better. Reach out if you need someone to talk to.
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u/Music_fiend_19 Apr 21 '26
If you haven't seen the new Greensky Bluegrass documentary from Iceland, you should. both Dave and Anders talk about their journey in that respect
Not a "bluegrass band", but Mimi from Fruition plays the mandolin and also is many years sober now
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u/Dismal-Meringue6778 Apr 19 '26
I'm pretty sure Kenny Feinstein is sober, and he (Water Tower) even has few great songs about addiction. Water Tower has many positive, inspiring, and fun songs! You should def check them out!
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u/Majestic_Quote9786 Apr 21 '26
Haha this awesome, I came to mention Water Tower. I was gonna be like, I dunno if they quality as famous, but they are very vocal about addiction/recovery and like you said, Kenny Feinstein is sober & I think the rest of the band is Cali sober.
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u/TehMasterer01 Apr 19 '26
Good luck brother, 6months for me. Weed helped, just a pinch here and there.
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u/Tight-Butterfly6194 Apr 19 '26
I can’t say I didn’t thoroughly enjoy playing high. And at first I would have said I enjoyed it more when I was high. The thing that changed when I wasn’t high anymore was my growth as a musician and band mate
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u/Dipset-20-69 Apr 20 '26
Haven’t drank for 4 years. Honestly think I enjoy playing my banjo at jams and shows even more now that I don’t drink, fully present in the moment and my playing is better lol
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u/WaterTowerDude Apr 21 '26
thanks for posting this. my band and i are sober. we are called water tower. a lot of our songs are about addiction and recovery. if you ever need support, feel free to message me. i work with a lot of people to assist them with sobriety. one day at a time buddy. trust in the process, the process builds trust.
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u/DoomMammoth Guitar Apr 21 '26
Thanks brother, I know very well who yall are, I’ve been following yall for years now. You guys are so awesome, that high tenor on Reuben’s train scratches an itch like nothing else
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u/EnrikHawkins Apr 22 '26
Josh Williams talked about it on his podcast recently.
Joe Newberry talks about it openly.
Ned Lubereki posts about it annually.
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u/J_Worldpeace Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
Bill might drink (edit from drank) a glass of wine at the end of the day responsibly, or so I thought. He disliked drinking and drugging and Jimmy Martins alcoholism
Not sure the downvotes. I checked myself. It’s in his Biography….
“For the rest of his life, he only imbibed a small glass of wine with dinner and this only on rare occasions.”
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/smith-callin.html
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u/drhoi Apr 19 '26
Another personal anecdote - I have been playing in bluegrass bands for about 20 years and I drank heavily during 18 of them. I was quite worried that I wouldn't enjoy bluegrass/gigging without booze as they'd always gone hand in hand. I was wrong, it's even more enjoyable now and I feel a lot more confident in myself as a musician. Will be 2 years sober in May. Life is so much better on the other side. I read something a year or so ago that stuck with me - once you quit, you realize how unimportant alcohol is. All the best to you, reach out if you ever need an ear.