On Tuesday, March 18th, Grand Ole Opry member and ambassador of bluegrass music Ricky Skaggs was awarded a Berklee honorary doctorate of music.

Pictured (L-R): Berklee College of Music Professors Pat Pattison and Stephen Webber, Sharon White Skaggs, Skaggs, Dr. Simpson, and Berklee Trustee Jeff Davis
Photo courtesy MusicRow.com

Berklee Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Larry Simpson will bestow the honour. Skaggs performed a full 30-minute segment of the Opry that night, and other performers include Country Music Hall of Famers Bill Anderson and Jimmy Dickens, The Del McCoury Band, and The Whites, with whom Skaggs won a Grammy® Award last month. Also present were 120 Berklee students who had the privilege of a private Q&A session with Skaggs after the ceremony.

“At Berklee, we admire musicians of extraordinary talent who follow their artistic inclinations fearlessly,” said Berklee College of Music president Roger Brown. “Ricky Skaggs is a master musician with sky-high standards who achieved mainstream success his own way, on his own terms. By honoring Ricky Skaggs, we shine a light on the present and future of bluegrass; its heritage and its infinite potential. And besides all that, the man can pick.”

Skagg’s latest release is Honoring The Fathers Of Bluegrass: Tribute To 1946 & 1947, an album that draws from deep roots in mountain music. Backed by Kentucky Thunder on the core bluegrass lineup of mandolin, guitar, bass, fiddle and banjo, Bruce Hornsby added his unique piano playing and inimitable song-writing to the project.

For more information on Skaggs, visit his YMZ artist page.