Nashville, Tennessee, October/November 2005

By Niall Toner

I have just returned from a five-week visit to Nashville, Tennessee, and surrounding areas, during which I forged many new writing partnerships, and renewed many old ones, and also got to play and sing with many of the legends I have come to know through their classic recordings and performances in recent years.

My visit began on September the 27th, with an appearance at the annual Jerusalem Ridge Festival in Rosine, Kentucky, the birthplace of Bill Monroe, where I performed my original Monroe tribute songs, ‘Bill Monroe’s mandolin’ and ‘The Master’s resting place’, on all three nights to an audience of about five thousand people, seated outdoors in a natural amphitheatre in the grounds of the Monroe homestead. My backing band were the Cumberland Mountaineers, and Al Jones and Frank Necessary and the Spruce Mountain Boys, who had learned my songs, and did a fine job, evidenced by the fact that I sold out of CDs. Also on the bill were the Ralph Stanley Band, Melvin Goins and Windy Mountain, Wayne Lewis, Marty Raybon, Clarence Kelly, Larry Sparks, and about thirty-five other bluegrass legends, and I was very proud to be the first ever Irish artist to appear at this festival.

Towards the end of my trip, on October the 29th and 30th, I appeared at showcase gigs during the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Annual Conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, in the International Suite run by the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA). These performances were also very well received, and as a result I placed many songs with other artists who were appearing at the same event. I was left in no doubt as to the fact that it was my original material that caused the most stir. Clem O’Brien and Dick Gladney, the regular members of the NTB, were unable to travel to Nashville on this occasion, and so for these showcase appearances I was joined by Woody Hawkins (mandolin and vocals) and John Fox (string bass and vocals), both of whom did a sterling job. Also, once again, I was honoured to be the first ever Irish artist to appear at these EBMA showcases. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Paolo and all his compatriots from the EBMA for their help and support and encouragement during IBMA 2005 in Nashville.

My time between these two performing events was spent writing with various writers, and the result was an amazing six new songs. ‘Josie's reel’ was written with Keith Sewell, who currently plays guitar with the Sam Bush Band, but who will be going out on the road shortly again with the Dixie Chicks. ‘Sailing too close to the wind’ was written with Kim Williams, who has sold in excess of 180 million records, and Larry Shell, who wrote ‘Murder on Music Row’, a number one for George Strait and Alan Jackson, and a hit for his co-writer, Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time. ‘O trials, O tragedy’ was written with Terri Lynn Weaver, ‘Short story’ with Barry and Holly Tashian, ‘Beautiful disguise’ with Alison Mellon, and ‘Some things’ was composed with Don Poythress, whose recent successes have included two songs on the current Willie Nelson CD. The quality of new songs written was just wonderful, and I’m pretty sure many of them will turn up on recordings in the near future.

In mid-October, I also performed as part of a Writers-in-the-Round tour with Buddy Mondlock, Rosey from Birr, Co. Offaly, and Brian Heuston from Belfast. We played the Bluebird Café in Nashville, Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, Georgia, a University in Springfield, Missouri, and the Focal Point in St Louis. It was full houses all the way, and we also did extremely well with CD sales after all the gigs.

I was George Hamilton the Fourth’s guest, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, where I met Del McCoury and his son Ronnie, who was sporting a recently-acquired Lloyd Loar Gibson F-5 from 1923 in mint condition! Judging by the price paid for Bill Monroe’s F-5, this one is worth a pretty penny! I also spoke with Jesse McReynolds and Mike Bub. Mike has recently left the McCourys to concentrate on freelance work. Other high points of my Nashville visit were hearing bands like the Cherryholmes Family, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, and the marvellous King Wilkie; and I would have no hesitation in recommending to any artist or songwriter that they should undertake a visit to Music City USA, if for no other reason than to soak up the very musical atmosphere of Nashville.

This article has also been printed in Bluegrass Europe #47 (Dec. 2005-Jan. 2006).