Open House Festival, Belfast, 26-30 September

The launch reception party for the 9th Belfast Open House Festival was held on 14 June at the John Hewitt Bar, 51 Donegall Street, Belfast. The Festival itself will be held in the Cathedral Quarter, Belfast, from 26 to 30 September, packing over sixty events into the five days and including a wide and powerful range of Americana, Irish traditional, and good-time music generally.

The bluegrass, old-time, and related music section includes the Old Crow Medicine Show, Mozaik, Tim O’Brien and Arty McGlynn, the Earl Brothers, the Hackensaw Boys, Crooked Still, the Duhks, the Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir, the Mountain Firework Company, the Ragged 'n' Rough String Band, and Elvis – The Bluegrass Years (both the last two acts, by the way, have strong elements of the Broken Strings in them). Full details on all acts are given on the Festival website.