2010 Ohio Heritage Fellowship Recipient

Performing Arts
Drummer Rick Good has been immersed in various streams of traditional music since he was 12 years old. His journey has taken him from performing old time songs with his relatives to a key role in one of one of the finest string bands in America, The Hotmud Family, to the innovations of the music and dance ensemble Rhythm In Shoes.

The same cornerstones that the Spring Valley-based The Hotmud Family was built on, durable songs by the likes of Uncle Dave Macon and Charlie Poole, have served Rick well through four and a half decades of music making. His devotion to those deep traditions has continued in his work with musicians like Van Kidwell, Dave Gordon and Bill Lowe, the original music he has created for Rhythm in Shoes, productions by the Mad River Theatre Works and countless other settings. The singular vision that Rick and his partner Sharon Leahy have brought to Rhythm In Shoes turned tradition on its head without losing sight of its core. Their concerts are etched in the collective memory of anyone who has ever seen the ensemble perform with The Red Clay Ramblers, Brenda Bufalino, The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, The Horseflies, Jay Ungar, Molly Mason, Santiago Jimenez and others.

Rick’s songs, sometimes set in extended form such as ”Nova Town”, sit at the center of the ensemble’s astonishing body of work. A fearless educator, comfortable in any workshop setting, open and at ease in any community, mentor to younger musicians, a gifted and versatile writer, singer, musician, and actor, Rick Good has had as distinguished a career as any traditional musician could wish for.

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