Tony de Boer

The BIB learns with regret of the death of Tony de Boer, 'grandfather of Canadian bluegrass', on 20 May. Tony was born in the Netherlands eighty-one years ago; and though his family moved to Canada when he was 9, he always gave a very warm welcome to the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) contingent attending IBMA's World Of Bluegrass events over the years, and saw to it that the EBMA's hospitality suite was well supplied with Canadian beer. His much greater achievements for bluegrass in Canada, over nearly half a century, are indicated on Bluegrass Today.