Ralph Rinzler (July 20, 1934 – July 2, 1994)[1] was an American mandolin player, folksinger, and the co-founder of the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall every summer in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a curator for American art, music, and folk culture at the Smithsonian.[1] This festival was from the beginning and continues to be a major event for musicians, artistans, and craftsman from a broad variety of American culture, including African American, Native American, Appalachian, Southern, Western and other groups in the United States.[2]
He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2012.