Dave Evans and River Bend

Band · Active 1979–2008 · Portsmouth, Ohio
Classic Bluegrass Contemporary Bluegrass

Dave Evans and River Bend was the vehicle for one of traditional bluegrass's most powerful tenor voices — a banjoist-lead-singer whose gritty, Ralph Stanley-inflected delivery earned him the nickname “the best bluegrass singer you've never heard of.” Nine Rebel Records albums and two Vetco releases document a career that overcame a mid-career prison sentence to return to the stage in the late 1990s.

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  • Born in Portsmouth, Ohio to Appalachian-migrant parents from Kentucky; grew up in Columbus. Father played clawhammer banjo; Dave switched to Scruggs-style at around age eight.
  • First professional gig in 1968 with Earl Taylor and the Stoney Mountain Boys. Returned home when his mother died in 1969.
  • 1972: Joined Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers as banjoist and tenor vocalist — three years that shaped his signature singing style. Appeared on five Sparks LPs.
  • Post-Sparks sideman stints with the Goins Brothers, Red Allen and the Kentuckians, Melvin Goins, and the Boys from Indiana. The Boys from Indiana gave him solo vocal slots that led to signature songs like “99 Years Is Almost for Life.”
  • Formed Dave Evans and River Bend in 1978. Two albums for Vetco (Dave Evans and the River Bend ca. 1980, Call Me Long Gone) established his repertoire: originals like “Highway 52,” “99 Years Is Almost for Life,” “One Loaf of Bread,” and “Be Proud of the Gray in Your Hair.”
  • Signed to Rebel Records in the early 1980s. Rebel catalog includes Bluegrass Memories (1984), Close to Home (1985), and others — nine albums total under his name or with River Bend.
  • Recorded a notable 1984 duet album Don't Let Me Cross Over with Emma Smith on Rutabaga.
  • Career interrupted 1989–1995 by a prison sentence for assault conviction.
  • Returned to music in 1997. Recorded for the small Neon label in Kentucky (Just Look At Me Now, High Waters, both later reissued on Rebel) and continued touring.
  • Later Rebel releases included Bluegrass Sanctified, In the Bluegrass Tradition, and a compilation Classic Bluegrass.
  • Family-band lineups over the years featured fiddler Gerald Evans Jr. (Dave's son); other River Bend alumni included Derek Sparkman, Lester Williams, Mike Gerry, Jon Gilk, Randy Thomas, and Ray Craft.
  • Retired from touring around 2010 due to diabetes and arthritis; had quintuple bypass surgery in 2011. Died June 25, 2017. Subject of a planned documentary by filmmaker Matthew J. Pellowski.
  • Dave Evans
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Clancy Fields
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Kevin Williamson
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Larry Johnson
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Tommy Cordell
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Art Wydner
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Danny Cade
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Don Rigsby
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Ernie Thacker
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Jon Glik
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Mike Bub
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Ray Craft
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Wendy Miller
    Played on recordings with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Amy Stenberg
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Buddy Griffin
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Dwayne Anderson
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Gene Hurd
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Greg Moore
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Johnny Brown
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Josh “Buck” Graves
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Mark Poe
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Mike Hamilton
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Randy Thomas
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Terry Johnson
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend
  • Tyler Collins
    Played on recording with Dave Evans and River Bend

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