From Suzy Thompson:
I got the email below tonight from Mike’s wife, Alexia. Mike went home from the hospital to be with family and receive hospice care a bit more than a week ago. He was a dear friend and a mentor to both me and Eric; each of us met him during our teenage years as fledgling musicians and he was an inspiration and also personally helped us to pursue the “real deal” traditional music. Eric recorded and performed with him. He helped me to get the NEA grant to study with Dewey Balfa, helped me get the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention going, and I spent the last 2 years working on the New Lost City Ramblers documentary which was a challenging project and Mike was always gracious and thoughtful. We will miss him more than I can express. Â
Mike was one of the best friends that American traditional music has ever had; he helped so many musicians, in every kind of traditional music, including the blues. One of the most important things I learned from him was about how all the different kinds of vernacular old time music are connected: what we now call “old time” (fiddle & banjo music), country blues, Cajun music, bluegrass — all are part of a continuum and are not as compartmentalized as some people think. Â
Mike was always eager to hear new sounds, always working to advocate for homegrown regional music, always wanting to encourage younger musicians, and older ones too, to play the music of what he called “the true vine”. Â
Suzy T.
From Alexia:
Dear family, dear friends… Mike has completed his passage. He died this evening, August 7, some time before 9 pm. Family, home, peace. It’s what he wanted, and he did it so gracefully. It went too fast for me to comprehend–but he always said “I don’t want to linger!” Clear in what he’s about, as always.
The love coming from you and from friends all over is just amazingly helpful, sustaining. Thank you. Love——–A
PS Please pass on this news as you wish.