Celebration of Life: Mick McGonagle

Roots of American Music celebrates the life of Michael “Mick” McGonagle, who passed away on October 10, 2025 at the young age of 28. We greatly appreciate Mick’s family for sharing ROOTS and our mission with their extended family and friends. As a result of this kindness, we received over 70 generous donations from Mick’s friends and family, which will support our Blues is the Backbone classroom program at CMSD during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years.

Music was the great love of Mick’s life. He was a brilliant musician, excelling at any instrument he picked up. In particular, he had a tremendous gift for guitar. His playing spanned everything from folk to metal, from classical to blues, from jazz to reggae, and beyond. He was deeply interested in roots music and had a foundational knowledge of America’s earliest guitar players, eagerly absorbing their styles into his own. His family fondly remembers how much he enjoyed picking Freight Train by the early American Blues pioneer Elizabeth Cotten.

Like Roots of American Music, Mick had a fondness for American roots music and believed deeply in music education. With the support from his family and friends, Mick will help us extend our music education to a greater number of children at CMSD through our Blues is the Backbone program. Thank you Mick for your influence and sharing our reverence for music education and the legacy of American Music.