Pinecastle Records, a major player in bluegrass music for the past two decades, shut down in February. Its owner, Orlando, Florida businessman Col. Tom Riggs, was experiencing serious health issues, and his family opted to close the label. This left artists in limbo, with their recordings quickly going out of print. Earlier this month, Dr. Lonnie Lassiter, a bluegrass music lover and friend of the Riggs family, assumed ownership of the label and tapped two of its former executives – Ethan Burkhardt and Matt Hood – to head up the new venture.

Cort Riggs, Col. Riggs’ son, expressed pleasure at the recent turn of events for the label. Noting that Lassiter had often joined his father at bluegrass festivals and International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) conventions, Riggs said: “He is a fan of our music and plans to continue to expand the catalog with new releases and exciting compilations of the vast Pinecastle catalog.” Riggs views the decision by several Pinecastle staffers to join Lassiter in growing the label as “a solid vote of confidence” and says he is “thrilled to see the label in capable hands and look[s] forward to the great music to come.”

Initially launched by Col. Riggs in 1989 as a favor to a friend seeking an outlet for a newly recorded CD, Pinecastle has released nearly 250 recordings to date. These range from releases by young artists like Kristin Scott Benson and Josh Williams to reissues of recordings by such bluegrass legends as the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, and Charlie Waller & the Country Gentlemen. The new Pinecastle Records will be located in Columbus, North Carolina and also will have an online presence soon at www.pinecastlemusic.com.