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.