DURHAM, NC (CelebrityAccess) – Barry Poss, the driving force behind Sugar Hill Records and a key player in the rise of bluegrass and Americana music, has died at the age of 79. According to multiple outlets, including Billboard and MusicRow, he passed away earlier this week at his home in Durham, NC, after a battle with cancer.
Poss helped reshape the roots music landscape over four decades, giving both traditional and genre-blending artists a voice. Originally from Ontario, Canada, he later moved to the US to pursue a sociology degree at Duke University.
In the 1970s, Poss joined Rebel Records and County Records, where he got hands-on experience under Dave Freeman’s mentorship. That partnership led to the 1978 founding of Sugar Hill Records. By 1980, Poss had taken full ownership and began steering the label into a household name.
Sugar Hill quickly built a name for championing acoustic and roots artists with serious creative talent. The label’s catalog includes influential work from Ricky Skaggs, Nickel Creek, Dolly Parton, Guy Clark, Sam Bush, The Infamous Stringdusters, and many more. Poss gave artists room to experiment—something that was rare in the traditional music scene at the time.
Sugar Hill’s releases earned more than a dozen Grammy Awards, including bluegrass, country, and folk categories. Poss also helped launch or reignite careers with albums like Parton’s Halos & Horns, Nickel Creek’s breakout self-titled record, and Marty Stuart’s The Pilgrim.
Parton once paid tribute to the label in her song “Sugar Hill,” and Jeff Bridges even cut a record with them. Poss built long-lasting creative relationships and understood the value of giving artists a home where they felt respected and heard.
In 1998, Sugar Hill was sold to Welk Music Group, but Poss stayed on, overseeing the label’s relocation to Nashville and helping guide its transition under new ownership. It was later acquired by Concord Music Group in 2015. Even after selling the label, he remained active behind the scenes.
Poss also co-founded the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and served on the boards of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, MerleFest, the North Carolina Folklife Institute, and the Carolina Theatre, among others.
In 2006, the Americana Music Association honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his invaluable role in shaping the genre.
RIP
