Orin Friesen
Orin Friesen (Born September 1946) is an American bluegrass and cowboy music broadcaster, musician, historian, and author. Raised on a ranch in Nebraska, he graduated from Wichita State University with a degree in speech before pursuing a lifelong career in radio. In 1966, he launched the first all-bluegrass radio show at KMUW in Wichita, Kansas, before creating his hallmark program, Bluegrass from the Rockin' Banjo Ranch, in 1973. As a performer he co-founded the cowboy music group The Prairie Rose Wranglers in 1999, touring internationally to China and twice headlining sold-out concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall. His literary contributions to regional roots history include the volumes Goat Glands to Ranch Hands and Honky-Tonkers & Western Swingers. He was named the International Bluegrass Music Association's inaugural Broadcaster of the Year and received the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award. He’s been inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame, the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Kansas Bluegrass Hall of Fame, and the Old-Time Country Music Hall of Fame.
In the newsletter
- No. 9 Fall 1996
Wrote
- Responses to Editorial: Orin Friesen, Producer–IBMA Awards Show (No. 10)