Richard Kubetz (1954-) | University of Illinois Archives

Richard Kubetz (1954- ) was born on January 1, 1954. A University of Illinois graduate and employee, Kubetz is a marketing and communications specialist with ties to the Urbana-Champaign, IL music scene. Kubetz graduated from the University in 1976 with a bachelor of science in Communications, Radio, and Television, then returned to the university to earn a masters degree in Education Policy, Organization & Leadership in 2010.

Kubetz participated (primarily as a writer) in the Urbana-Champaign bluegrass music scene, beginning in the late-1970s. However, he also plays guitar, piano, tuba, mandolin, bass, and drums. In addition to working for the C-U Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Prairie Production group during the 1980s and 1990s, he wrote about and photographed a number of musicians in the area, including singers Megon McDonough and David Roth.

In the late 1980s Kubetz interviewed a young Alison Krauss and her band Union Station, local musicians who had just been awarded a Nashville recording session by winning the Kentucky Fried Chicken Bluegrass Music Festival. Kubetz was introduced to Alison by her father, who he met at a local Kiwanis club. His interview with the emerging musician and her band was published in Bluegrass Unlimited in 1990. Kubetz also wrote and distributed newletters for  C.V. Lloyde, a music store in Champaign.