The Dixie Flyers were a Canadian bluegrass band based in London, Ontario, Canada. The band first came together in 1974,^[1] and became one of Canada's best known bluegrass bands.^[2]

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Original members of the band were guitarist Bert Baumbach, mandolinist Ken Palmer, harmonica player Willie P. Bennett, bassist Brian Abbey and Dennis LePage on the banjo.^[3] Although lead vocalists Baumbach and Palmer have been continuous members, over the years the band has seen a number of changes in the lineup.^[4] Dixie Flyer band members have included:^[2][5]

• Guitar: Bert Baumbach
• Fiddle: Gordon Stobbe, Peter Robertson (miscredited on at least one Boot Records album as "Peter Robinson"), and John P. Allen.
• Mandolin: Ken Palmer (died October 30, 2013)^[6]
• Bass: Brian Abbey, David Zdriluk, Luke Maynard, and Chris Ingram
• Banjo: Dennis LePage, David Jack, David Talbot, Paul Hurdle, Walter Maynard, and Darin Parise
• Harmonica: Willie P. Bennett (died February 15, 2008) and Mike Ethelston
• Dobro: Al Widmeyer, Blair Heddle, Darin Parise

The Dixie Flyers played at the Carlisle Bluegrass Festival in 1975,^[3] where they met Bill Monroe, and were subsequently invited to play at Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival in Indiana, USA.^[7][8] The band also played at the Cambridge Millrace Festival^[9] and the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival in Stony Plain, Alberta.^[10] They also played several times at the Canterbury Folk Festival in Ingersoll, Ontario.^[11] The band performed regularly at the Flint Folk and Bluegrass Festival in Michigan.^[6]

The Flyers recorded a series of albums on the Boot Records label during the 1970s.^[2] They were the hosts of a television show called Bluegrass Express on CFPL in London in 1985 and also took part in a weekly radio show for seven years.^[12][3] The band appeared on the Tommy Hunter Show, and for a time managed the Back 40 Bluegrass Festival at Woodstock, Ont.^[2]

After a last stand with The Flyers at the Elgin County international plowing match in the fall of 2010, Ken Palmer retired due to heart problems.^[13] The band played on briefly without him before going on indefinite hiatus. On October 30, 2013, Ken Palmer died at the age of 65 after a bout of pneumonia contracted after a heart transplant.^[14] A few months earlier, in the spring of 2013, the band had been inducted into the London (Ontario) Music Hall of Fame, with both Palmer and Baumbach in attendance.^[8][15]

Albums:

^[2][6]