Czech Republic -- Leading Bluegrass Musician Milan Leppelt Dies

The late Milan Leppelt (r) and his band Bluegrass Cwrkot, at the Banjo Jamboree, Caslav, CZ, 2007. Photo (c) Ruth Ellen Gruber

Milan Leppelt, a leading Czech bluegrass musician, has died, aged 49, following a heart attack apparently triggered by a wasp sting. Leppelt was a longtime member of the band Bluegrass Cwrkot and very active in the Czech bluegrass scene -- the (proportionally) biggest bluegrass scene in Europe.

See an obituary on the European Bluegrass Music Association Blog:

His death is also a great loss to Bluegrass Cwrkot (he was their banjo-player since 1991, and wrote most of the band's original material); to the Bluegrass Association of the Czech Republic (for whom he was membership secretary and chief contact with the EBMA); to the Czech bluegrass scene in general; and to its links with bluegrass in the rest of Europe.