James Andrew Waive

1963 - 2025

James Andrew Waive

October 17, 1963 - July 2, 2025

Jim Waive, Charlottesville musician and songwriter, died Wednesday, July 2, from a heart attack; he was 61. A lifelong musician, Jim began playing the guitar at age 12, after winning a Martin Sigma in a raffle he entered with the help of his mother. From then on, all of his heartbreak and life experiences were poured through the music he played on that same guitar. Eventually, there was a high school cover band, and after college, he co-founded the rock jam-band Echoes Farm. That band spent 5 years touring and playing over a hundred shows a year together. These formative years taught Jim so much of his fine musicianship, helped him discover his calling as a songwriter, and gave him friendships that lasted his lifetime.

After Echoes Farm, Jim began to focus more on his own songwriting and his love of country music, leading eventually to the formation of Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees. For decades, Jim performed solo and with the band, playing various venues regionally and in Charlottesville. He was a regular fixture at the Blue Moon Diner for many years where he played over a thousand times. That special place is where many people first encountered him and his music.

Over the course of his career, Jim had the opportunity to open for or perform with quite a few of his musical favorites, including Taj Mahal, Little Feat, Phish, Dwight Yoakam, Kenny Rogers, Ralph Stanley, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and Merle Haggard. But in his unique way of appreciating the beauty of life, he was just as enthusiastic to talk about the time he got to perform in the middle of a pumpkin patch. Jim's presence on stage came straight from the beautiful way he was in the world. He most recently had taken up playing a weekly residency at the Batesville Market. As the proprietor of the market aptly put it, "It wasn't just his immense talent, it was how he slowed down time, created intentional space, laughed with the audience, and helped every person in the building exist in a state of gratitude." This is how it felt to watch him on stage and how it felt to spend time with him day-to-day. Jim was exceptionally genuine and true, and his loss is deeply felt by all who knew him or heard his music.

James Andrew Waive was born in 1963, in Portsmouth, VA, to Joan (née Murray) and Dr. Henry Waive. His mother was a nurse, his father an orthopedic surgeon. After attending Norfolk Academy, he enrolled in Roanoke College, where he studied until leaving to pursue his music.

He is survived by his long-time love, Siân Richards; sisters, Patti Rightmier (and her husband, Lonnie Rightmier), Judy Crist, and Betty Bass (and her husband, Barry Bass); niece, Katie McCarron (and her husband, Ryan McCarron); and grandnephew, Walker McCarron. He was predeceased by his parents; a brother, Robert "Bob" Waive; and a brother-in-law, Kurt Crist.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 3rd, at 5 p.m. at Live Arts, at 123 East Water Street, Charlottesville, VA, 22902. Reception to follow.