Country music and bluegrass great Ronnie Bowman killed in motorcycle accident at 64
Written by oasis96.3 on March 23, 2026
(Yahoo) – Ronnie Bowman, a country music and bluegrass great, has died.
He was 64.
According to multiple reports, Bowman was injured in a motorcycle crash in Ashland City, Tennessee and died at Vanderbilt Hospital Sunday afternoon.
The Boot reported that Bowman was “widely regarded as one of the most important voices in bluegrass over the past several decades.”
Bowman was a native of Mount Airy, North Carolina. He got his career going in 1987 when he joined a bluegrass band called The Lost and Found. He also had a long run with the Lonesome River Band, performing from 1990 through 2021.
The band was known for its 1991 album “Carrying the Tradition” which won IBMA Album of the Year in 1991.
Bowman also released six solo albums, with the first “Cold Virginia Night,” coming in 1994 and the last, “Ronnie Bowman,” coming in 2019.
He won a string of IBMA awards, including taking home Male Vocalist of the Year three times. He also won IBMA Album of the Year for “Cold Virginia Night” in 1995.
He was also a part of four albums with the Lonesome River Band and two more albums with Band of Ruhks.
He won a string of IBMA awards, including taking home Male Vocalist of the Year three times. He also won IBMA Album of the Year for “Cold Virginia Night” in 1995.
He was also a part of four albums with the Lonesome River Band and two more albums with Band of Ruhks.
Bowman also had a name as a songwriter and notably wrote “Nobody to Blame” with Chris Stapleton and Barry B ales and “Outlaw State of Mind” with Stapleton and Jerry Salley. Both of those songs were on Stapleton’s “Traveller” album.
He also wrote “The Healing Kind” which appeared on Lee Ann Womack’s “Hope You Dance” album, and “It’s Getting Better All the Time” which was recorded by Brooks and Dunn.
He and Stapleton also wrote “Never Wanted Nothing More” which is on Kenny Chesney’s “Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates” album
