25/03/2026
Heartbreaking news. Deepest condolences. We were at the show in the Station Inn last Tuesday watching him and so many great musicians on stage playing great music and having such fun.
So sorry
Ronnie Bowman, widely admired for his emotive baritone voice and incisive songwriting, died on Sunday, March 22, from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident the previous day. He was sixty-four years old.
Bowman was held in high regard within the bluegrass community and in the wider Nashville community of musicians. His engaging personality and willingness to share his talents with fellow stars and newcomers alike endeared him to many.
“He was the favorite bluegrass and country singer of everyone I know,” Dierks Bentley wrote on social media on Sunday. “And he was everyone’s favorite hang.”
“Ronnie Bowman was an amazing singer and songwriter,” Billy Strings also wrote on social media. “One of the best entertainers in bluegrass and country music. He lit up any room he was in.”
Born in Mount Airy, North Carolina, Bowman grew up singing in a family gospel group. He joined a bluegrass band, the Lost and Found, in 1987. He won the first of a long list of awards shortly after becoming the vocalist and bassist of the Lonesome River Band in 1990 in a classic lineup consisting of Sammy Shelor, Dan Tyminski, and Tim Austin.
While with the Lonesome River Band, Bowman was a three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year award, in 1995, 1998, and 1999. The band received the 1992 IBMA Album of the Year for “Carrying the Tradition.” Bowman won a second IBMA Album of the Year honor in 1995 for his debut solo album, “Cold Virginia Night.”
The title song, “Cold Virginia Night,” earned Bowman IBMA Song of the Year honors that year as well. He won his second Song of the Year award in 1999 for writing “Three Rusty Nails.” In 2016, the Academy of Country Music gave its Song of the Year award to Bowman and co-writers with Barry Bales and Chris Stapleton for “Nobody to Blame,” which became Stapleton’s first Top Ten hit. The IBMA named Bowman its Songwriter of the Year in 2022.
Bowman co-wrote two No. 1 country hits: Brooks & Dunn’s “It’s Getting Better All the Time,” co-written with Don Cook, and Kenny Chesney’s “Never Wanted Nothing More,” co-written with Stapleton. Bowman’s songs have also been recorded by Cody Johnson, Jake Owen, Ralph Stanley, and Lee Ann Womack, among others. Bowman appeared on albums by John Fogerty, Sierra Hull, Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, Larry Sparks, Mac Wiseman, and frequent collaborator Dan Tyminski.
Bowman’s last performance fittingly found him sharing a stage full of friends at Nashville’s bluegrass mecca, the Station Inn. He played bluegrass and country classics with, among others, vocalist Shawn Camp, bassist Mike Bub, percussionist Harry Stinson, and recent IBMA award winners Jason Carter and Michael Cleveland.
Bowman appeared at the Museum in August 2022 to perform his songs and share some stories behind them. View the program here: https://watch.countrymusichalloffame.org/videos/ronnie-bowman-live-at-the-hall-2022
