Help Support The Legendary Ron Holloway!
- Nate Payne
- Aug 12
- 5 min read
by: Nate Payne
My earliest memory of Ron Holloway was from 2008 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The Derek Trucks Band was opening for The Allman Brothers Band, and my dad had scored us pavilion seats. It was my second time seeing Derek Trucks, and their set lit the fuse for what became my very first Allman Brothers experience. Gregg Allman, Derek Trucks and Warrens Haynes lead the way and eventually they played the best cover of The Weight that I’ve ever witnessed. To this day, almost 20 years later, I distinctly remember a powerfully striking saxophone performance by Ron Holloway. After hearing his sax solo in The Weight and not knowing who he was initially, I remember thinking to myself, “Holy shit, who was that!?”. A moment later, Warren Haynes leaned into a microphone and shouted, “RON HOLLOWAY!!!” acknowledging his solo and the audience erupted with cheering. From that point on, I associated Ron Holloway with some of the most masterful music I’ve ever seen.
Fast forward to 2015, when I began photographing concerts. A few years in, I finally got the chance to photograph Ron in action. It was 2018 at the Hot August Music Festival in Cockeysville, Maryland. Wandering to the third stage tucked into the far end of Oregon Ridge Park, I spotted him—saxophone in hand, waiting under a tent to jump in for another solo with the Hall Williams Band. In an instant, I was back at Merriweather in 2008, remembering that searing sound. Since then, I’ve photographed Ron every year at festivals and shows, quickly learning that he’s not only a legend but one of the hardest-working musicians in the business.
When I moved to the DMV, Ron became a familiar face at many of the same gigs. He was one of the first artists to invite me to capture photos at his shows—always welcoming, always supportive, and always lifting others up. That generosity of spirit helped build my confidence as a photographer in the DMV music scene.
In December of 2018 I saw a Rolling Stone writeup about the Warren Haynes 30th Christmas Jam and the Pre-Jam in Asheville, North Carolina. Guests of both events included artists like Ron Holloway, Dave Ghrol, Grace Potter, Jim James, Eric Church, and Mike Gordon. The performances that came out of these events became legendary. At one point in the evening Ron performed with Grace Potter on “Paris (Ooh La La) and nearly burned down the house. This was one Jam I was sorry to miss.
A few weeks later, during the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Warner Theatre residency in D.C., I bumped into Ron at The Hamilton before his afterparty set. I told him how much I loved that Christmas Jam performance. His face lit up. “Yeah! That was a fun one!,” he said with a smile. I mentioned that I was a big fan of Grace and that I had recently been a photographer for her annual music festival, Grand Point North in Burlington, VT. He said, “You know Grace?” and I told him that I had only briefly met her prior to working with GPN. Ron said, “I’d love to be on stage with her again.” Over the years, our shared appreciation for Grace Potter has become a small but meaningful thread in our conversations.
Ron Holloway’s resume reads like a living history of modern American music. In the ’70s, he toured with jazz greats Freddie Hubbard and Sonny Rollins. From 1977 into the late ’80s, he played worldwide with Dizzy Gillespie’s quintet, then joined Gil Scott-Heron’s Amnesia Express. By the mid-2000s, he was working with Susan Tedeschi and collaborating with Derek Trucks, The Allman Brothers Band, and eventually the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Add to that collaborations with Little Feat, Devon Allman, Melvin Seals & JGB, Nicki Bluhm, Kung Fu, and Gov’t Mule—especially their Island Exodus and Christmas Jam events—and you begin to understand his reach.
In 2015, he formed The Ron Holloway Band, showcasing his soaring sax alongside Jenny Langer, Rachel Ann Morgan, Justin Gillen, and others. Over my decade photographing concerts, I’ve seen him play with hundreds of artists. When you realize he’s been doing this for more than 50 years, you grasp just how deeply he’s woven into the fabric of the music industry. In 2019, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton honored him with a U.S. House of Representatives plaque for his “steadfast dedication to promoting and preserving music in Washington, D.C.”
In recent months, Ron has incurred some health challenges and could use a little help from the music community. Ron’s stepdaughter Natalie, along with Jenny Langer and Rachel Ann Morgan, have organized fundraising efforts to help with medical and care expenses.
Passing along a message from Rachel Ann regarding how the music community can help support him:
“Many of you have been reaching out to me asking about my dear friend, Ron Holloway, over the past few months...
Out of respect for Ron's privacy and his family's wishes, we have been keeping things close to the chest until we had a clearer picture of his situation.
For those that are not aware, Ron suffered an injury on Halloween 2024 that required an intense surgery to fix. During Ron's recovery he faced a number of complications and this injury ended up uncovering some other, very serious underlying health issues that needed addressing.
Ron had a cancerous mass removed from his intestines and has been suffering from a condition called Wernicke's disease as a result of a lack of nutrients due to the cancer.
Ron has been between the hospital and a rehabilitation center since February of this year. His condition continues to improve, but he still has a long road ahead of him.
Jenny and I have been working closely with Ron's step-daughter, Natalie, to organize some fundraising benefits to help aid in Ron's medical bills and ongoing care bills, and this GoFundMe is just the first step in what we have planned!
There has also been a great team of long-time friends of Ron's helping us out with various other behind-the-scenes large scale tasks, and we are so grateful to everyone that's been able to help out so far!
At the time of this post, Ron is currently back in the hospital after a slight setback the required the removal of his spleen and a case of pneumonia, but he is currently recovering nicely! Once this hospital stay is over, he will return to an acute rehab facility and would LOVE some extra visitors and to see some friendly faces! If you are interested in visiting Ron, please reach out to me directly for information .
Ron has had such an impact on me as a musician. He has been an incredible friend, mentor and band leader to me the past 10 years and all I want is for this man to recover enough that he can offer "human sacrifices" on stage with RHB once more. :) ” - Rachel Ann
Please consider supporting Ron Holloway. He’s a legendary artist and he's been a fixture of DC music community for the last 50 years. He has lifted up countless individuals with his gifts, mentorship, and stewardship of the music industry. I’m grateful to call him a friend. Please share this with your fellow music lovers. This community is powerful and its energy flows both ways, Ron needs a little juice, lets light him up. We can help bring him back to the stage where he belongs.
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