Washington's Bluegrass Newspaper
Published between 1979 and 1983
A Collection of Cover Information
Bluepirnt – Washington’s Bluegrass Newspaper began in June of 1979 as
the brain-child of local musician Robert Kyle, with help from the late Gary Oelze,
former owner of the Birchmere Music Hall. They felt there was a need for a local
publication that covered Washington area bluegrass, giving bands, clubs and venues a
montly paper to advertise their upcoming shows. It also provided the Birchmere another
vehicle to advertise upcoming appearances at the club. The newspaper became quite
popular with the area's bluegrass community.
One of the contributing writers from the start was the late Les McIntyre, musician and
radio host, who in February 1980 became the Associate Editor, however by January 1981,
both he and Oelze moved on, leaving Kyle as both Publisher and Editor. In July of 1981,
Kyle sold off the paper to Mike and Carol Pittard. Keeping with the paper's look and
feel, the couple also wanted more feedback and contributions from a larger cross-section
of the local bluegrass community.
In February 1982, the paper had an article about myself and Les starting the Bluegrass
Overnight program on WAMU. In August 1982, I had my first article published in the
paper, the start of my writing career which continues to this day in Bluegrass
Unlimited. Unfortunatly in the spring of 1983, the Pittards decided to end the paper.
Below are sort of cover shots of each monthly issue, by year. I do not have all the
issues, but this is what I have. Enjoy!