Country Instrumental Great Mike Auldridge Passes

Photo Credit: Matt McClain/The Washington Post

Dobro master Mike Auldridge, famed for his work in The Seldom Scene and Chesapeake, has died at age 73.

A role model for such Nashville resophonic guitarists as Rob Ickes and Jerry Douglas, Auldridge passed away near his home in Maryland on Saturday, Dec. 29, following a long battle with cancer. The instrumentalist was a key participant on the Grammy Award winning 1994 album The Dobro Sessions, which was co-produced by Douglas.

Noted for his poetic, fluid touch on the Dobro, Auldridge was a 2012 National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow. The ceremony, staged in October, marked his final performance.

His band, The Seldom Scene, brought a modern tone to bluegrass music and incorporated the songs of Bob Dylan, John Prine and other contemporary composers into the style. He also released a series of acclaimed solo albums.

Mike Auldridge can be heard as a sideman on records by Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Linda Ronstadt and Lyle Lovett. But he never pursued a Nashville career as a studio instrumentalist.

His final album will be released next year. It will be a trio collection with his admirers Douglas and Ickes.