RIBA Hall of Fame

Charlie Pike

Inducted 2019

Charlie Pike grew up in Barrington, Rhode Island, where he learned to play and sing with friends. After graduating from high school, Charlie enlisted in the U.S. Army and was soon deployed to Korea. He took his mandolin overseas with him to so that he could pick with fellow soldiers during his spare time.

Jim Muller and Sharon Horovitch

Inducted 2019

Jim was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He is the band’s principal lead singer and songwriter. Jim’s rich, distinctive lead vocals and offbeat humor have become one of the group’s trademarks. Sharon is originally from Montreal, Quebec. Her first instrument was guitar, but that was soon replaced by the acoustic bass.  Sharon is known for her infectious smile, her limber bass work, and her tireless energy on stage and off. She sings tenor and high-baritone harmonies.

Jeff Horton

Inducted 2018

Jeff Horton has been playing bluegrass for decades and has been featured in some of New Englands premier bluegrass bands.  He sings almost anything, using his natural bass voice all the way up to a clear falsetto.  A founding member of the Neon Valley Boys, Jeff also spent six years with Northern Lights, performing with Jonathan Edwards, Peter Rowan and the late fiddle legend Vassar Clements.

Carl Rebello

Inducted 2018

Carl Rebello was born in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts and grew up during the Great Depression.  He learned to play the guitar at 12 years old with his brothers and switched to fiddle as an adult.

Sam Tidwell

Inducted 2018

Sam Tidwell was the son of William (Bill) H. Thibodeau and Clara Ducharme Thibodeau. Bill was a concert violinist who played in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra.  Sam and his brothers learned to play violin and piano at a very young age. Sam continued with music throughout his life, instilling his love for the craft not only in his sons but to everyone with whom he came into contact.

Jimmy Gaudreau

Inducted 2017

Jimmy Gaudreau has long been regarded as one of the top bluegrass performers in the world. Since getting the call in 1969 to move to the Washington, DC area from his native Rhode Island and join the legendary Country Gentlemen, he has performed with a veritable Who’s Who of bluegrass bands and earned a reputation as a mandolin maverick with a sound and a style all his own.

Bill Hall

Inducted 2017

Roger W. Hall, also known as Bill Hall, was born and lived in Rhode Island his entire life. He learned to play guitar as a teenager and joined The Mountaineers, a local country western band in 1955. In the early 1960’s, Bill heard Earl Scruggs on the radio and fell in love with bluegrass music. He learned to play by ear listening to radio shows and built his first banjo from an old snare drum.

Mike Fischman

Inducted 2016

Mike Fischman moved to Rhode Island from Long Island in 1985. He has played guitar, banjo, bass mandolin, harmonica, bodhrán, tin whistles, and other sundry folk instruments in bluegrass bands, ceili bands, old timey bands, singer-songwriter groups, sea shanty ensembles, Dixieland quintets, blues bands, swing orchestras, kid shows, school shows, show and tell, and more.

Mike Kropp

Inducted 2016

Mike Kropp, born in New York, was a life-long banjo player and teacher. While working at Columbia Records, he collaborated on projects with John Hammond, José Feliciano, and Carole King. Besides being a long time member of the prominent Northern Lights bluegrass group, he was also a founding member of The Pegheads and his own more recent project, the KroppDusters, among other bands.