Posted on December 4, 2024
The MFA Writing Program at UNC Greensboro and The Greensboro Review will host a release party for Riding the Stream: A Tribute to Bruce Piephoff V.1 on Friday, January 10th at 6PM in the UNCG Alumni House on College Avenue. The event is free and open to the public and will include performances of several of the songs on the album.
For directions and more information about parking: https://idcapps.uncg.edu/access/access.html?id=Alumni House
On May 4-6, 2024, a handful of artists and musicians came together to Greensboro’s “Father of Songwriting.” This tribute, recorder at Fidelitorium in Kernersville, NC, features beautiful interpretations of classic Bruce Piephoff songs including “Rufus Kane,” “Notes from Knoxville,” and “Razors Edge.”
BRUCE PIEPHOFF wrote and performed songs and poetry for over 40 years. Firmly a part of the Appalachian tradition of story-songs and character portraits, it was his versatility that made his music so fascinating.
He began in Chapel Hill, NC in the late 60’s, while a student at UNC Chapel Hill. Searching for a major, he decided on English, and followed a life long love of literature. As a child, Bruce was a dreamer at heart, and loved the classic comic books of that time. These led him to the classics themselves, including Huckleberry Finn, The Count of Monte Cristo, Moby Dick, etc.
After two years, Bruce dropped out of college to pursue music. He was particularly inspired by his dad’s collection of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie records. His dad also played guitar, harmonica, and sang as a hobby, but Bruce immediately felt this could be his vocation. Bruce traveled nationwide, playing in small cafes and bars. He spent time in New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles, before travelling to Europe and playing in the streets of Amsterdam as a busker. By the age of 27, he had landed back in Durham, NC, working at John Umstead Hospital as a music and recreation therapist, and playing his music on weekends.
From there, Bruce decided to return to college at UNC Greensboro, where he finished his education with a B.A. in English, and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the school’s acclaimed writing program. He studied poetry with Fred Chappell and Robert Watson before entering the N.C. Arts Council’s Visiting Artists Program. This program enabled Bruce to become the Artist-in-Residence in a number of community colleges across NC, including those in Columbus, Brunswick, and Pitt counties. He then went on to residencies in Orlando, FL; Danville, VA; Norfolk, VA; and western NC. Bruce appeared at thousands of performances through this program, at locations such as schools, churches, and festivals, until the program ended in 2001.
He recorded 21 CDs of original material for Flyin’ Cloud Records, and performed nationwide on the folk singer/songwriter circuit. He published his second book of poetry, Fiddlers and Middlers, in 2009. In October, 2011, he released his 21st CD, Still Looking Up At The Stars, produced by Scott Sawyer. Bruce shared the stage with Steve Forbert, Riders In The Sky, Greg Allman, Chuck Brodsky, Tom Paxton, and others, and played everywhere from Merlefest to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
