Critter Fuqua Leaves Old Crow Medicine Show

2020 may only be a couple of days old, but it's already brought one major change to Americana string outfit Old Crow Medicine Show. The band is parting ways with founding member, banjo player and multi-instrumentalist Critter Fuqua, after playing their last show together at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on New Year's Eve.

"Leaving Old Crow is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make," Fuqua tells Rolling Stone. "These men that I've played with for 21 years are not only bandmates but dear, dear friends, brothers in arms. Old Crow is more than a band, it's a spiritual being with many entities that have flowed through it since its inception in 1998. It's my path that I flow out again, but all the folks that have played with Old Crow, worked with Old Crow, managed Old Crow, booked Old Crow and loved Old Crow will always be family. Family is eternal."

Change has been a constant for Old Crow Medicine Show's lineup over the past several years, particularly in 2019. Earlier in the year, guitar player Chance McCoy also exited the group. On the flip side, Old Crow saw some exciting additions to its band: noted drummer Jerry Pentecost joined the band's live roster, and Charlie Worsham became an adjunct member.

It fact, it isn't the first time Fuqua has left the group. He departed Old Crow for the first time in 2007, returning in 2012. Fuqua co-founded the band, which is known for hits like 2003's "Wagon Wheel," with singer and fiddle player Ketch Secor in 1998. However, Fuqua and Secor have been playing together for even longer.

"I first started making music with Critter in the seventh grade," Secor notes. "We bonded over roots music, taught ourselves to play traditional instruments and began writing songs. Together, we have lived our musical dreams, traveling the world with fiddles and banjos as co-founders of Old Crow.

"Over the past 20 years OCMS has seen numerous lineup changes, all part of the rotating cast of talents we've been honored to share the stage with," he adds. "Critter's voice will always be a part of Old Crow Medicine Show and we wish him love and luck on this next leg of his journey."

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