Rolling Stone calls him "a master performer without an expiration date." Richmond.com calls him "our favorite Good Ole Boy."

This afternoon, May 10, The Science Museum of Virginia will be holding the CitySlickers Bluegrass Festival and the honorable Dr. Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys will be the headliners for this grand ol' shindig. Recently named 2008 Outstanding Virginian of the Year, the 81-year-old Stanley ain't slowing down any time soon.

"I've become much stronger," chuckled Stanley during a recent interview with Richmond.com. "I'm stronger now than ever. I played the part in this film, 'O Brother Where Art Thou?,' that really doubled my fans and my crowds. It just put the icing on the cake for me."

With many awards on a shelf at his home in mountainous southwestern Virginia and just as many notches on his belt for respect, this old man won't stop picking until he's done kicking.

Stanley is renowned for his banjo expertise, timeless vocals and certified bluegrass music writing. Appearing on more than 170 separate albums as a guest and performing in more than 150 shows each year, it's a wonder how he manages to make it home every Sunday to his wife Jimmi.

Ralph and his late great older brother Carter Stanley formed the Stanley Brothers and the Clinch Mountain Boys over 60 years ago and rivaled such bluegrass greats as Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs. When Carter died, Ralph took on the torch and steered the music's navigation even further back to an older root of Appalachia folk, which is said to be the sad, oppressive, original style of when the Irish and Celt's brought the old time music to America.

In regards to the composition of his shows' audience, Stanley is surprised at how bluegrass has become a fountain of youth for a family in today's day and time.

"Well, I've been having all different sorts of people [including] a whole lot of younger fans. I'm more in the band and popular than I ever was," Stanley said with a note of vigorous merriment.

Since then, he and the Boys have taken on such credits winning the 2002 Grammy for Best Country Male Vocalist Performance and Album Of the Year for his contribution to O Brother, Where Art Thou?. A year later, they took home the 2003 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.