
Bluegrass Today John Sipe passes John Lawless September 11, 2012 0 Comments We have learned that celebrated luthier John Sipe passed away on September 4 at his home in Charlotte , NC . He was 81 years old and had been battling . cancer In addition to a worldwide reputation as a violin builder , Sipe was a lifelong bluegrass musician and bandleader . His Charlotte-based group , Roustabouts , were active for roughly 40 . years One of the former members , Roger Martin , shared a long list of notable south central North Carolina pickers who have done time in Sipe’s . band Numerous well known and not so well known musicians performed with the Roustabouts through the years , : including Wayne Billings , Tommy Faile , Ken Poovey , Dwight Moody , Lee Ward , Jimmy Lee Bowen , Jerry Furr , Harry