STOKES COUNTY, N.C. — Bluegrass fans are mourning the loss of a local favorite musician.

Bass player and guitarist Brandon Bowles, known as BB, was killed early Sunday morning in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 40 in Davie County.

He was 32 years old.

Troopers say Bowles of Stokes County and Pablo Cruz of Dudley were killed in the wreck.

At first, investigators believed the Ford pickup driven by Cruz was driving east in the highway’s westbound lane hitting Bowles’ Chevrolet pickup head-on.

Now, due to conflicting witness statements, investigators aren’t sure who was driving the wrong way. No one else was involved in the crash.

“You’d be down and out about something and you would see BB and he’d lift you up,” said Dustin Pyrtle, lead singer of the Grammy-award winning group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. “He was always their to lift you up.”

Pyrtle and many other musicians recall Bowles as a musician ready to play anytime anywhere especially small jam sessions throughout the foothills of North Carolina and Virginia.

Bluegrass Today says Bowles held the world record in jamming, once spending 43 days in a row attending a jam session.

“If you mention somewhere to play, you’d bet BB was going to be there,” said local musician Dale Smith who watched Bowles grow up and grow in his love of music. “He started with guitar and then a excellent rhythm guitar player but an outstanding bass player.”

Bowles played with several groups and was a staple at festivals and bluegrass conventions.

“When it comes to traditional bluegrass there was no better side that you could get than BB,” said longtime friend and musician Ralph McGee. “He was a natural.”

Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, 2 p.m., at Poplar Springs Church of Christ in King.