About Your Host
A native of Western North Carolina, Milton Harkey’s lifelong love affair with bluegrass music often finds him traveling down the road…promoting, producing or just plain listening to the sounds of music he loves so well. He developed a good ear for bluegrass music and as a producer of several bluegrass music events today, his audiences get the the benefit of hearing exactly what Milton likes to listen to.
He grew up in Asheville, NC – where Bill Monroe began his radio career on WWNC Radio. He grew up watching Flatt & Scruggs, Porter Wagoner and the Wilburn Brothers every Saturday afternoon on TV. He and his Mother sang gospel songs together sitting on the piano bench as she played. He got “hooked” and these bluegrass roots set the stage for the rest of us.
In addition to producing his own events, Harkey has been instrumental in helping to establish other forums for the preservation and continued support of bluegrass music. Here’s the short list of his accomplishments and what is yet to come:
- One of the founding fathers of the IBMA (June, 1985) and Chairman of the Board for 3 years.
- Producer of several bluegrass festivals: Fox on the Run Bluegrass Festival in Lexington, Little Mountain, SC, and The Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Family Style Festival (for 17 years).
- Producer at the Quarter Moon Listening Parlor in Columbia, SC.
- Disk jockey at WCOS-FM Radio, a 100,000 watt station located in Columbia, SC.
- For 7 years he hosted an international band contest and boasted Pizza Hut as one of his sponsors.
- Harkey continues to spend his spare time working with young bluegrass artists by providing the opportunity to showcase their talents and achieve the recoginition of seasoned bluegrass audiences nationwide.
Stay tuned: A new Bluegrass Concert Series is now produced 4 times each year at Old Rock School in Valdese, NC along with some collaborative endeavors that feature major artistic performances.
When it comes to Milton Harkey and bluegrass music, you can expect the best and you’ll never be disappointed. Everything he does is First Class!
International Bluegrass Music Association
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