Lawrence Carlton Haney (September 19, 1928 – March 16, 2011) was an American booking agent, festival promoter, and songwriter primarily active in bluegrass music.
[4] Haney was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina, on September 19, 1928, just as the Bristol Sessions were in full swing.
While working with Reno and Smiley, he initiated the daily television show, “Top ‘o the Morning,” on WDBJ, Roanoke and wrote and co-wrote Reno & Smiley staples songs "He Will Forgive You," "Kneel Down", "I Never Get To Hold You In My Arms Anymore" and "Jimmy Caught the Dickens (Pushing Ernest in the Tub).
[6] With the help of Ralph Rinzler in 1965, Haney produced the first weekend-long bluegrass music festival, held at Cantrell’s Horse Farm in Fincastle, Virginia.
[1] Haney continued staging the festival over the next few years at various locations, including his 160 acres of renovated land in Camp Springs, NC.
Haney died Wednesday on March 16, 2011, at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina, of complications from a stroke at the age of 82.
[9] The IBMA describe the lasting impact of Haney's multi-day festival: "The event proved to be a prototype and precursor that initiated the festival movement in America and ultimately in other countries, bringing incalculable economic benefits to the industry and creating a larger and more diverse audience for the music.