Calendar 2023
The calendar is frequently updated, and past events are transferred to the separate calendar archive post. All events in the Irish bluegrass festival season for which we have dates can be found below. Some items of country music news, prepared by the Country Music Association of Ireland, can be seen here.
A few important and/or accessible events outside Ireland are also listed. For a fuller listing of events in the UK, see the calendar pages on the BBMA website and FOAOTMAD website. A select list of festivals in Europe is on the EBMA website.
Bands and event/venue organisers: if your session or event is not shown here, please contact the editor. Punters: please note that tour schedules often have to be changed, so before you go to a show, please check that the date and place are still the same as when you first noted it down.
If you first heard about an event from the Bluegrass Ireland Blog, we'll appreciate it if you tell the organisers that.
JANUARY 2023
Fri. 20th: Wookalily, Black Box, Belfast, 1.00 p.m.; tickets (£10) include lunch (part of 18th Out To Lunch Festival)
Wed. 25th: Special Consensus (USA), Black Box, Belfast, 1.00 p.m. (part of Out to Lunch Arts Festival); American Bar, Belfast, 8.00 p.m.
Wed. 25th: Dirk & Amelia Powell, Shanley's Bar, Clonakilty, Co. Cork
Thurs. 26th: Special Consensus (USA), Court House, Bangor, Co. Down, 8.00 p.m.
Thurs. 26th: JigJam, Grand Social, Dublin, 8.00 p.m. (part of TradFest Temple Bar)
Thurs. 26th: Tim O'Brien (special guest of Dervish), National Stadium, 145 South Circular Road, Dublin 8 ('Great Irish Songbook')
Thurs. 26th: Dirk & Amelia Powell and I Draw Slow, The White Horse, Ballincollig, Co. Cork (part of Ballincollig Winter Music Festival); SOLD OUT
Thurs. 26th: The Yonder Boys (USA/AUS/CHL), St John's Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry
Fri. 27th: Special Consensus (USA), Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Limavady, Co. Londonderry, 8.00 p.m.
Fri. 27th: Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius, Moynihan's Bar, 30-34 Upper Gladstone St., Clonmel, Co. Tipperary (Clonmel World Music)
Fri. 27th: The Yonder Boys (USA/AUS/CHL), Levis Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
Fri. 27th: Brendan & Louis Butler, free-admission bar session, The White Horse, Ballincollig, Co. Cork (part of Ballincollig Winter Music Festival)
Sat. 28th: Dirk Powell, old-time music workshop, 11.00 a.m.-2.00 p.m., €20.00, The White Horse, Ballincollig, Co. Cork (part of Ballincollig Winter Music Festival)
Sat. 28th: Special Consensus (USA), Marketplace Theatre, Armagh city, 8.00 p.m.
Sat. 28th: The Yonder Boys (USA/AUS/CHL), Levis Corner House, Ballydehob, Co. Cork
Sun. 29th: Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius, White Horse, West Village, Ballincollig, Co. Cork (part of Ballincollig Winter Music Festival); SOLD OUT
Sun. 29th: The Yonder Boys (USA/AUS/CHL), free-admission bar session, The White Horse, Ballincollig, Co. Cork (part of Ballincollig Winter Music Festival)
FEBRUARY 2023
Thurs. 2nd Feb.: Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius, Cleere's Bar & Theatre, 28 Parliament St., Kilkenny city
Fri. 3rd: Special Consensus (USA), Colfers Pub, Carrig-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford, 9.00 p.m.
Sat. 4th: Special Consensus (USA), Raheen House Hotel, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, 9.00 p.m.
Sat. 4th: Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius, Clew Bay Hotel, James St., Westport, Co. Mayo
Sun. 5th: Special Consensus (USA), Campbell's Tavern, Headford, Co. Galway, 4.00 p.m.
Sun. 5th: Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius, Hawk"s Well Theatre, Temple St., Sligo town
Mon. 6th: Special Consensus (USA), Glen Theatre, Banteer, Co. Cork, 8.00 p.m.
Tues. 7th: Special Consensus (USA), Bob's Bar, Durrow, Co. Laois, 8.00 p.m.
Wed. 8th: Special Consensus (USA), Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo town, 8.00 p.m.
Thurs. 9th: Special Consensus (USA), Beehive Bar, Ardara, Co. Donegal, 8.00 p.m.
Fri. 10th: Special Consensus (USA), Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, 8.00 p.m.
Fri. 10th-Sun. 12th: Friends Of American Old Time Music And Dance (FOAOTMAD): Gainsborough festival, England, with FOAOTMAD AGM
Sat. 11th: Special Consensus (USA), Séamus Ennis Arts Centre & Café, Naul, Co. Dublin, 8.00 p.m.
Sun. 12th: Special Consensus (USA), Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, 8.00 p.m.
Mon. 13th: Special Consensus (USA), The Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, 8.00 p.m.
Tues. 14th: Special Consensus (USA), Corner House, Lurgan, Co. Armagh, 8.00 p.m.
Fri. 17th: I Draw Slow, Workman's Club, 10 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2. from 7.45 to 11.45 p.m.; tickets
Sun. 26th: Two Time Polka, Crane Lane Theatre, Cork city. Starts midnight, adm. free
MARCH 2023
Sat. 4th: Pilgrim St, Ballina Arts Centre, Ballina, Co. Mayo, 8.00 p.m.
Thurs. 16th: Pilgrim St, Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell St., Drogheda, Co. Louth, 8.00 p.m.
Thurs. 16th: Two Time Polka, Left Bank Bar, Kilkenny city, 10.00 p.m.-midnight, adm. free (part of Kilkenny Tradfest)
Fri. 17th: Two Time Polka, Crane Lane Theatre, Cork city, 2.00–3.30 p.m., adm. free
Sat. 18th: Niall Toner Band, The Pumphouse, Kilkenny city, 2.30 p.m. (part of Kilkenny Tradfest)
Sat. 18th: Two Time Polka, Blarney, Co. Cork; open air outside Castle Hotel, 2.00–3.45 p.m.
Sun. 19th: Two Time Polka, St Columba's Hall (Tinny Shed), Douglas, Cork, 5.00–7.00 p.m.
Fri. 24th: The Raines, Seachurch, Ballycotton, Co. Cork
APRIL 2023
Mon. 10th-Fri. 14th: Sore Fingers Week (bluegrass/ old-time music instruction camp), Kingham Hill School, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire OX7 6TH, England
Sat. 15th: Pilgrim St, The Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, 8.00 p.m.
Thurs. 27th-Sun. 30th: MerleFest, Wilkes Community College, NC
Fri. 28th-Mon. 1st May: Cahersiveen Mountain Roots Music Weekend, Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry: High Plains Tradition, Two Time Polka, Freddie White, Hank Wedel & Friends, many more acts; tel. 087 706 9935
MAY 2023
Mon. 1st: High Plains Tradition (USA), Kilworth Community Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 087 792 1771 (25th Anniversary Concert)
Tues. 2nd: High Plains Tradition (USA), The Copper Buoy Restaurant, Lower O'Connell St., Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, X35 FE09, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 087 064 0542
Wed. 3rd: High Plains Tradition (USA), St Senans Church of Ireland, Ardrum, Inniscarra, Co. Cork, T23 T934, 8.00 p.m., support act Pat Kelleher; tel. 087 792 1771
Thurs. 4th: High Plains Tradition (USA), O Gliasain's Bar (concert room), Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 086 607 9864
Thurs. 4th-Sun. 7th: Baltimore Fiddle Fair, Baltimore, Co. Cork; Foghorn Stringband (USA), Alison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves (USA), many more; programme
Fri. 5th-Sat. 6th: Mini Bluegrass Festival, Bob's Bar, Durrow, Co. Laois; High Plains Tradition (USA), supported by the Gill Family (Fri.), Woodbine (Sat.); pickin' session all day Sat.; concerts €20.00 per person each, €30.00 per person for both days; booking 851 656685
Tues. 9th: Foghorn Stringband (USA), Raheen House Hotel, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
Wed. 10th: Foghorn Stringband (USA), Colfers Pub, Carrig-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford
Thurs. 11th: Foghorn Stringband (USA), Séamus Ennis Arts Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin
Fri. 12th: Foghorn Stringband (USA), The Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
Sat. 13th: Foghorn Stringband (USA), The Beehive, Ardara, Co. Donegal
Thurs. 18th-Sat. 20th: European World Of Bluegrass Festival (EWOB), De Eng, Voorthuizen, the Netherlands; band applications to be in by end of 23 Dec. 2022
Fri. 19th: Pilgrim St, The Venue Theatre, Ratoath, Co. Meath, 8.00 p.m.
Sat. 20th: World Fiddle Day
Fri. 26th-Mon. 29th: Bluegrass Omagh 2023, Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone: Honey Dewdrops (USA), Zoe and Cloyd (USA), Truffle Valley Boys (I), Niall Toner Band (IRL), Blue Grass Boogiemen (NL), Viper Central (CAN), Old Baby Mackerel (ENG); Friday events at Silverbirch Hotel; weekend tickets include entry to Bluegrass Family Day (Monday)
Sat. 27th: Pilgrim St, The Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co. Louth, 8.00 p.m.
JUNE 2023
Fri. 9th-Sun. 11th: 17th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, Westport, Co. Mayo: Kody Norris Show (USA), Fog Holler (USA), Bill and the Belles (USA), Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman (USA), The Pond (USA), Rustic Robots (CZ), Lluís Gómez Bluegrass 4tet (E), Niamh Dunne, Tim Rogers, Rocky Top String Band; more TBA; concerts, pub gigs, sessions, workshops, square dance, gospel hour
Wed. 21st-Sat. 24th: Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum ROMP (River Of Music Party) festival, Owensboro, KY
Fri. 23rd-Sun. 25th: Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival, Rotterdam (NL); details TBA
Sat. 17th June: Pilgrim St, The Ramor Theatre, Virginia, Co. Cavan, 8.00 p.m.
JULY 2023
Fri. 14th-Sun. 16th: Crossover Bluegrass, Old-Time. & Americana Festival, England; details TBA
AUGUST 2023
Fri. 25th-Sun. 27th: 28th Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival, Dunmore East, Co. Waterford; details TBA
SEPTEMBER 2023
Fri. 1st-Sun. 3rd: Earl Scruggs Music Festival, Mill Springs, NC
Fri. 22nd-Sun. 24th: 13th Moniaive Michaelmas Bluegrass Festival, Moniaive, Dumfries & Ayrshire, Scotland; details TBA
Tues. 26th-Sat. 30th: International Bluegrass Music Association World Of Bluegrass (IBMA WOB), Raleigh, NC
NOVEMBER 2023
Wed. 1st: The Dead South (CAN), Ulster Hall, Belfast, 7.00 p.m.
Thurs. 2nd: The Dead South (CAN), Vicar Street, Dublin, 7.00 p.m.
3 Comments:
The Horsenecks touring Dec 6-15th nad @ Cobblestone on the 12th are from Portland Oregon and play Old Time Stringband music on 5 Str, Fiddle & G - TMI?
Any blue grass in Dublin in November/ December?
If there is to be any, no public announcement of it has yet (7 Nov.) been made. The likeliest place to see news of bluegrass activity in Dublin is the Dublin Bluegrass Collective Facebook - see the BIB's sidebar. If the BIB receives any news, it will go on our calendar, with a corresponding post on the front page.
BIB editor
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