Ricky Skaggs Highlights Tucson Holiday Season
Oct 31, 2024 11:00AM ● By Suzie Agrillo
One of the biggest names in music, musician Ricky Skaggs, is coming to the Fox Tucson Theatre this December. He will be performing with his band Kentucky Thunder, as they play their refreshing acoustic style of favorite Christmas songs, both old and new.
When bluegrass legend Bill Monroe came to Martha, Kentucky for a performance, they insisted that six-year-old Skaggs get up to play. Monroe put his own mandolin around Skaggs’ neck and adjusted the strap to fit him. At age seven Skaggs got his first paycheck for a musical performance with bluegrass legends Flatt & Scruggs on their popular syndicated television show. A child prodigy, Skaggs became a music icon as an adult.
Skaggs’s musical accomplishments are prolific. He is a recipient of 15 Grammy aw-ards, has been named CMA’s Entertainer of the Year, and has also been awarded the prestigious National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. He’s been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; the National Fiddler Hall of Fame; IBMA’s Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame; The Gospel Music Association’s Hall of Fame; the Musicians Hall of Fame, and the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.
His musical life path is not one to be typecast. It has taken him to success in various genres, including country music, bluegrass and gospel. He has collaborated with Ry Cooder and Bruce Hornsby on tours and recordings.
“I’m thankful to have the gift of music. It’s something that is needed in this world,” says this music icon, who is excited about his Christmas show at the Fox. “It’s not just a Christmas show, it’s a celebration. I love to showcase the band, and we play a lot of instrumentals. We hope to bring joy into the ears and hearts of the audience for ninety minutes,” he reveals.
A Conversation with Music Legend Ricky Skaggs
Where were you born?I was born in Cordell, Kentucky.
Bill Monroe, the father of bluegrass music. When I started playing, there weren’t many people who played the mandolin who lived near me. Monroe played mandolin like a madman. Hearing him on the radio, and his records, was inspirational to me. I saw where he started a whole new style of playing, with swing, rhythm, jazz and blues as well. He was influenced by
African American guitar players in Kentucky, where he was born and raised. When he hired Earl Scruggs, the banjo player, and Lester Flatt, it was a brand-new genre of music with mountain, jazz, gospel, blues and country music influence.
Monroe’s fame grew, and influenced the Stanley brothers, who started emulating the music. A friend of mine, Keith Whitley, who became a famous country star, and I met at a high school fall carnival. They had a music show with square dancing, and we both were there with our instruments. The two of us talked and discovered we both liked Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers. Every weekend for a year, we played together.
One night we went to see Ralph Stanley perform, and Ralph Stanley’s truck broke down, so he was running 40 minutes late. He called the club owner, who allowed Keith Whitley and I to get up on stage and play. We played mainly Stanley Brothers songs. When Ralph finally got there and got off the bus, he could hear the music, and he thought it was a jukebox playing his songs. That night was a pivotal moment in our history, because Ralph discovered us.
We went on the road during summer vacation in high school. We toured, and the audiences loved the fact that these young kids were playing old music. Now that I’m 70 years old, I look back on those days. I just hired a 30-year-old to play guitar with us. I see the importance of bluegrass being shared with a younger audience.
I’m a musician who loves God and loves my family.
I’m wanting to! I don’t call myself a photographer, but I do love photography. I used to enjoy going out to fish when I was on the road. We would find a lake and go fly fishing. My wife and I are now grandparents. I’ve got four grandchildren I like to see when I’m not traveling. Right before this interview I was gathering a load of things to send to North Carolina to help victims of Hurricane Helene.
My wife Sharon and I have been on a carnivore diet for six months, eating protein with no sugar or starches, and I’ve lost 35 pounds. These days, I’ve really become a very good steak griller. Sharon, who is a great cook, bought me a Green Egg for my 70th birthday, and I’ve been learning the ways of the Green Egg, but I still like my charcoal grill I keep on the porch to grill steaks.
I used to love what was called the “sawmill breakfast,” eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy. It was named for the sawmill workers, who could eat it and then have the energy to work in the sawmill all day. Our grandson, Lyric, recently asked us to come to his fourth birthday party, so we had to have cake and ice cream. If we have a cheat day, we go right back on our diet. This will be my first Thanksgiving and Christmas as a carnivore man, so it will be a trial.
I actually got a high school diploma from Lawrence County High School in Louisa, Kentucky in 2020. In 1972, I needed one credit to graduate. I missed a test since I was on tour with Ralph Stanley, and I had a mean English teacher who would not let me make up the test. In 2020, the school principal and superintendent looked up my records and decided that I deserved an honorary high school diploma for all of my work in music.
They sent me a video of the ceremony, and I watched it on my phone in the basement. When they got to the S’s and read my name, I was so surprised. It really made me happy, especially because it answered a prayer of my mom, who always wanted me to graduate from high school.
One of the highlights is a very old song, “The Brightest and the Best,” by Reginald Heber. A lot of times I will sing it a cappella.
We’ve been doing Christmas songs for a long time, but not out west. Coming to Tucson with the bluegrass band will be a little different, and a lot of fun. The all-star lineup of Kentucky Thunder amazes me in every show. They are some of the best musicians I have ever worked with. Being able to perform music with them makes me realize how lucky I am.”
Tickets to Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder Christmas on Thursday, December 5, 2024, are available at The Fox Theatre at FoxTucson.com or the box office at 17 W. Congress St., in Tucson.
Suzie Agrillo is a freelance writer in Tucson, and a frequent contributor to Natural Awakenings. She focuses on writing about the arts, inspirational people and the human connection. Connect at [email protected].
The Fox Tucson Theatre - 17 W Congress, Tucson, AZ
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