Local beloved musician Peter “Uncle Pete” Mergard of Cheyenne passed away Thursday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 58 years old. Mergard was the charismatic banjo player of local bluegrass favorites Beatgrass. Beatgrass was a popular musical act performing at a variety of venues in the region, including the University of Wyoming.
Pete and his band mates Shawn, Jeff and Josh, performed at Wyoming Public Media’s Single Shot online music series and the StoryCorps event at the Albany County Library, as well as performing three times in the Union Gardens at UW.
Anna Rader, Online Manager and Production Assistant at WPM, said Beatgrass was an act she looked forward to working with.
“They fit everything that public media is about,” she said. “It all just worked together.”
Rader said the StoryCorps event was also a great success for the band and public media.
“They were great and everyone loved them,” she said. “It was great promotion for them and good for us.”
Miles Griffith, Event Programmer for Studio WYO, arranged Beatgrass’s performances at the Union. Griffith said working with Mergardnever felt like working.
“I’m going to miss his lighthearted, playful attitude,” Griffith said. “He had a way of keeping everyone who was working with him relaxed.”
Both Griffith and Rader were quick to recall Mergard’s persistent smile and the band’s jovial, lighthearted performances.
“He always had a smirk on his face or a joke to crack,” recalled Griffith.
According to the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, a celebration of life hosted by the family and Beatgrass will take place Saturday at 3304 Gregg Way at 2 p.m. in Cheyenne.
The family asks that instead of flowers, contributors donate to the Grace for 2 Brothers foundation, in memory of Mergard’s son Joshua, who passed away in March of 2011.
