Bea Lilly
Musician · Clear Creek, West Virginia
Best known for
Guitar
Bea Lilly was a West Virginia-born guitarist and singer who, with brother Everett and banjoist Don Stover, made the Lilly Brothers the band that brought bluegrass to New England — a more-than-decade Hillbilly Ranch residency in Boston that shaped Peter Rowan, Joe Val, Bill Keith, and a generation of Northeastern bluegrass.
- Born Michael Burt "Bea" Lilly on December 15, 1921 in Clear Creek, West Virginia; died September 18, 2005.
- Half of the Lilly Brothers duo with younger brother Everett Lilly (1924–2012, mandolin); Bea played guitar.
- Made his radio debut in 1938 on the "Old Farm Hour" on WCHS in Charleston, WV.
- Performed on WCOP's "Hayloft Jamboree" in Boston and worked with Don Stover; band was a house act at the Plaza Bar, Mohawk Ranch, and most famously the Hillbilly Ranch.
- The Lilly Brothers' long Boston residency (late 1950s–1970) is credited with bringing bluegrass to New England.
- Direct influence on Peter Rowan, Joe Val, Bill Keith, and the broader Northeast bluegrass scene.
- Boston era ended when Everett's son Giles was killed in a 1970 car crash and Everett returned to West Virginia.
- Inducted (with Everett Lilly and Don Stover) into the IBMA Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2002 and the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.