Irish bluegrass night in Brazil

The session in full swing; Erio (with banjo) is on the extreme right

Our friend Erio Meili of the São Paulo Bluegrass Music Association, the chief bluegrass organisation in South America, reports:

Yesterday we kept jamming also in Irish from 7 p.m. to midnight... Have a look at the pictures here.

The sessions were colored with 'Gravel Walk', 'Irish Washerwoman', 'Drowsy Maggie', 'Blackberry Blossom', 'Saint Ann's Reel', 'Harvest Home', 'Sitting on Top Of the World', 'Loch Lomond', 'Soldier's Joy', 'Sailor's Hornpipe', 'What Shall we Do With a Drunken Sailor', 'Devil's Dream', etc., etc., and there weren't even Irish pickers around to make a real kick-off.

Something will have to be done about that...

Special Consensus at IBMA

The present Special C.: David Thomas (bass), Ashby Frank (mandolin), Greg Cahill (banjo), Justin Carbone (guitar)

The Special Consensus, part of the Irish bluegrass community's extended family, appear in a nice full-page ad on p. 39 of the October issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine, which features the above photo and lists the dates in their tour schedule for the rest of 2007. (November includes multiple shows in Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Indiana, and Wyoming.)

During the IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Nashville, TN, next week, the Special C. will be playing on Wednesday 3 October from 11.00 p.m. to 1.30 a.m. in the Music City Ballroom, Renaissance Hotel; and on Saturday 6 October at 4.30 p.m. as part of the IBMA Fan Fest.

Their latest CD, Down the trail of aching hearts (Pinecastle 1156), is at #5 in the Top 15 Bluegrass Albums chart in BU; the title song is at #8 (out of 30), and still climbing.

Red Wine in the USA

Red Wine, from Genoa, Italy, have many friends and admirers in Ireland, especially after their appearances at the Athy and Omagh festivals this year. The band now have a very handsome new website, not to mention a MySpace site.

Red Wine will form part of the European presence at the IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Nashville, TN, in the first week of October. They will be playing showcases, including the Prolux Guitar Showcase at Suite 102 at 11.00 p.m. on Tuesday and the International Suite showcase, hosted by the EBMA, at Suite 201 at 11.45 p.m. on Wednesday.

They will also broadcast on Michael Johnathon's WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour from Lexington, KY, on Monday 1 October, and will end their tour by appearing on the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2007 Festival in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA, on Sunday 7 October.

Their WoodSongs show will be broadcast live on the internet on Monday 1 October at 7.00–8.15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Old Crow Medicine Show in Ireland, 28-30 Sept.

Thanks to Aran Sheehan for the news that the Old Crow Medicine Show (we quote: 'gotta be one of my favourite bands') will be playing in Dublin at the end of this month. In fact, they're playing three shows in Ireland; the full schedule is:

Fri. 28th Sept.: Open House Festival, Belfast

Sat. 29th Sept.: Black Box, Galway city

Sun. 30th Sept.: The Village, Dublin city. Tickets available from www.wavtickets.com or by calling 1890-200078.

New bluegrass school in Wales, May 2008

Transatlantic Bluegrass, the forum set up by Bluegrass Wales, announces a new five-day bluegrass school - Transatlantic Bluegrass School, to be held on 7-11 May 2008, during the early part of next year's European World of Bluegrass Month, in the beautiful coastal village of Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Newport is a short distance east of Fishguard, terminus of the ferry from Rosslare, Co. Wexford.

The top-level US instructors already confirmed to attend include Kenny Smith (guitar), Amanda Smith (singing), Ross Nickerson (banjo), and Mike Bub (bass). Enrolment is limited to 20 students for each course. Total cost: £195. Full details are on the Transatlantic Bluegrass website.

CD release at the Cobblestone

Thanks to Gerry Fitzpatrick for the news that the Sick & Indigent Song Club will celebrate the release of their new album The Inistioge folly at the Cobblestone, Smithfield, Dublin, on Sunday 23 September from 4.00 to 6.00 p.m.

In its September 2007 issue Hot Press magazine said of the band's work: 'Beautiful dateless things... it's good to see that once in a while they do make them like this any more.'

Music Under The Mountains 2007, 21-23 Sept.

Thanks to Paul McEvoy for the news that Music Under The Mountains 2007 will be held in Hollywood, Co. Wicklow, this coming weekend. The main emphasis will be on Irish music, but Dublin bluegrass band The Tin Box Company will be playing in the Hollywood Inn from 6.00 to 8.00 p.m. on Sunday.

Liz Carroll (fiddle) and John Doyle (guitar) will be in concert in St. Kevin's Heritage Centre on Friday 21 September at 8.30 p.m. The next morning at 10.30 a.m., they and Cian O’Suilleabhain {flute} will host music workshops in the Hollywood Centre. On Saturday 22 September there will be singing sessions in Tutty's and the Hollywood Inn from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. On Sunday 23 September the sessions will be in Tutty's from 1.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m., and in the Hollywood Inn from 3.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.

There will be a concert at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday in St Kevin's Heritage Centre, with Liam O'Flynn (pipes) and Sean Keane (fiddle), supported by Cormac Murphy (accordion), and informal music & singing sessions will take place throughout the weekend. Information from Eric at 087-2248509 & Senan at 087-2756421. The event is made possible by the generous support of many local sponsors.

NTB mission statement and plan for 2008

The NTB reports:


2008 sees the Niall Toner Band celebrating five fruitful and successful years performing as a three-piece string band, and to mark our musical, artistic and creative achievements, we are setting out our plans for the coming year.

Mission statement

Niall Toner, Clem O'Brien, and Dick Gladney are committed to the composition and performance of original songs and tunes in bluegrass, blues, swing, and old-time country styles, as evidenced by our two CDs, There's a better way and Mood swing, our live performances, and our success at having our songs recorded by other artists. We firmly believe in making a positive contribution to the wider body of material in the field of bluegrass and acoustic country music.

This commitment will continue in 2008 with the release of our third all-original collection, and the NTB will make every endeavour to pursue our stated aims with appearances at many of the leading festivals in Ireland, Europe and the USA.

We have also always believed that we should bring our music to the widest possible audience, and to this end we have performed at many non-folk, non-bluegrass events, such as the Midlands Festival in Mullingar, and the opening slot for Kenny Rogers at the Point Theatre, Dublin, and the Kings Hall, Belfast, as well as appearing at places as varied as the Dundrum Town Centre, the Hollow in the Phoenix Park, and the open day in St Enda’s park in Rathfarnham. We are also honoured to have been included on the bill for Ireland's oldest bluegrass festival in Athy, its newest festival, the Ulster-Scots Fest in Derry, and the annual Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in Longford.

Plans

Plans for 2008 include the release of We believe in clean endings on Avalon Records (AVCD 006), the third all-original, all-acoustic CD from NTB, which includes gospel songs, blues, swing tunes, a Jimmie Rodgers tribute song, a couple of bluegrass standards of the future, mandolin and guitar instrumentals, a co-write with Peter Rowan, a Christmas song, and a few surprises! NTB will also be appearing at the EBMA Festival in Voorthuizen in May and at the IBMA Festival in Nashville in September.

2008 will also see the publication of Nuts and bolts, a songwriters’ guide by Niall Toner, with particular emphasis on writing and pitching in the bluegrass and country fields of music. NTB will also be publishing the Niall Toner Band songbook, containing the lyrics to over one hundred songs composed by members of the band and songwriting partners from around the world, and this will be available in hard-copy and in pdf downloadable format. We are also making our gig list, containing contact details for over 200 venues, festivals, and promoters available to any other bands and solo artists who wish to avail of it for their own promotional purposes.

Thanks

NTB have received huge support from a whole variety of people over the past five years, and we want to thank our colleagues and friends in IBMA, EBMA and IMRO, as well as Richard Hawkins, Dan Hayes, Nancy Cardwell, Paolo Dettwiler, Richard Hurst, Ronan Collins, Sandy Harsch, Aidan Butler, Tony Moore, Tom Stapleton, Ronan Collins, Peter Bardon, Keith Johnson, Peter Browne, Paddy Glackin, Ana Leddy, RTE Radio One, Chris Keenan, Kathy Casey, Mick Daly, Chris Twomey, Keith Sewell, Sam Bush, Tony O'Brien, Jim Rooney, Barry and Holly Tashian, Bob Doyle, Pete and Joan Wernick, Bill Keith, Richard Greene, Clive Barnes, PJ Curtis, Tony Trischa, Dave Howard, John Murphy, Jim Lauderdale, and the many others who have helped along the way.

We would specially like to thank the 5000+ fans who have bought our CDs, and the 3000+ who have taken the trouble to send us comments, suggestions, and good wishes to our website.

We would also like to pay tribute to the wonderful artists who have recorded our songs, including the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Albert Lee, and Special Consensus. We also currently have songs ‘on hold’ with a wide variety of bands, including Del McCoury, Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Skaggs, and more.

Roots Freeway

Niall Toner broadcasts Roots Freeway on Ireland's National Radio Station, RTE Radio One, on Tuesday evenings, and to quote Hot Press magazine, ‘He knows what he's talking about.’ The show is an eclectic blend of music that falls under the roots banner, and includes lots of bluegrass, folk, traditional Irish, blues and old-timey, and singer-songwriters, with occasional live bands and solo artists in the studio. Recent guests have included the Carter Brothers, Eleanor McEvoy, Prison Love, Bray Vista, and Jim Lauderdale. Niall is also working on a documentary project for RTE Radio, similar to his Bela Fleck project, produced by Aidan Butler, and featuring interviews with established and up-and-coming songwriters and performers in the field of bluegrass music, and he will be conducting interviews at the 2007 IBMA Convention in Nashville, as well as the Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Festival in Kentucky. These interviews will be broadcast on Thursday nights on RTE Radio One.

Further information and contact

There are now as many ways of getting in touch with NTB as anyone would ever need. Our website has recently been updated, and includes full listings of our gigs, as well as reviews of our CDs and downloadable photos.

Our booking agent is Madeleine Seiler, and she can be reached at The Headline Agency: tel. +353-1-2602560; fax +353-1-2611879; e-mail.

Gary and Dave on 'Americana Crossroads Live'

Gary Ferguson and David Miner have been staying busy since their three-week tour of Ireland this summer. Recent performances have included the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, the Purple Fiddle in West Virginia, and 'Americana Crossroads Live' presented by Morehead State Public Radio (MSPR) and the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music.

The 'Americana Crossroads Live' series is now heard on thirty-eight radio stations across the USA, Canada, and in the Philippines. You can tune in to listen to Gary and Dave’s recent performance there on Friday 7 September via radio or webcast. Additional information on 'Americana Crossroads Live', including radio station affiliates, is available on MSPR’s website.

The glory of a good jam

An important feature of the Omagh festivals for some years now has been the McAuley Lectures delivered by Professor Jack Bernhardt of North Carolina. This year's first lecture continued the series of interviews with Rodney McElrea of Omagh, one of the most important country music record collectors on this side of the Atlantic, and a genuine national treasure. The second lecture introduced the members of Bluegrass Experience from North Carolina, including the legendary Leroy Savage and Fiddlin' Al McCandless. They represented the college-educated generation of the 1960s and '70s, who brought into bluegrass new material from rock and pop sources, and played it in the classic bluegrass style to which they were dedicated.

After hours in the Park hostel, there were nightly jams of hair-raising intensity with the members of Bluegrass Experience, the Malpass Brothers, the Lovell Sisters, Sunny Side, Broken Strings, the Rough Deal String Band, and others. Pavel Handlík, guitarist and lead singer of Sunny Side, did a great job of leading the bluegrass jams. Professor Bernhardt, who is a bluegrass journalist of great experience, comments:

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the jam sessions at the residential center. Some amazing talent, and generous, too, offering room for everyone to shine... I noticed early on how welcoming and encouraging Pavel and Tommy [Edwards, lead guitarist of the Experience] were, especially with the younger pickers. Because of this and, of course, the superb quality of the music, those were some of the most enjoyable jam sessions I've ever witnessed.

ABC at Naul, 8 Sept.: a report

The Annapolis Bluegrass Coalition (Roger Green, guitar, lead vocals; Dan Kimball, mandolin, vocals; Sue Tice, fiddle, vocals; Bob Tice, banjo; and Jim Duvall, bass) are gluttons for work. They arrived in Ireland on Thursday 6 September; played at Portlaoise that evening; played two shows for the Harvest Blues Festival at Monaghan on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, and then drove over to the Seamus Ennis Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin, where they gave a fine show to a delighted audience who demanded and got several encores. Thanks to Roger Green for bringing his band over for its fourth tour in Ireland, and to Sean Mac Philibin for asking ABC back to the Centre. The band then returned to Monaghan to do a further two shows on Sunday 9 September before returning to the States.

Sue and Bob Tice are the parents of Jordan Tice, lead guitarist with the Patuxent Partners at the Athy Bluegrass Festival in July this year.

The ABC's latest CD, Live at the Prince (Coalition 002), is now available; recorded in November 2006 at the Prince Theatre, Chestertown, Maryland, it presents seventeen 'covers' and three originals.

The Seamus Ennis Centre continues to present adventurous musical programmes, with the three events in the rest of September including singer/songwriter, musical theatre, and Irish traditional evenings. Full details are on the Centre's website.

Quote of the month

A member of a festival audience was reproached for making too much noise among friends during the performances. The audience member was later overheard saying indignantly:

Some people just come here to listen. They don't want to enjoy themselves.

New Transatlantic Sessions for BBC Four

Thanks to FOAOTMAD for the following news:

A new six-part series of Transatlantic Sessions will be aired on BBC Four and BBC Two Scotland, starting Friday 14 September at 8.30-9.00 p.m. Against a backdrop of the Highlands, Transatlantic Sessions 3 brings together the best of Nashville, Ireland, and Scotland to perform what has been called 'the greatest backporch shows ever'. The first programme features Paul Brady remembering Louisiana, Karen Matheson with some astonishing Gaelic mouth music, and American star Joan Osborne making her UK television debut.

The series is again made by Pelicula Films Ltd, following the format established by their original landmark TV series in 1995 and 1998. Music co-directors are Nashville expert Jerry Douglas and Shetland fiddle virtuoso and Transatlantic Session veteran Aly Bain MBE, who have assembled a special array of performers to play together in the atmospheric location of Strathgarry House near Killicrankie in the Perthshire Highlands. Transatlantic Sessions 3 is part of BBC Scotland's commitment to Highland 2007 - a year-long celebration of Highland culture - and of Scotland's Music 07, its year-long celebration of a wide range of musical styles.

Dunmore East memories

Jamming at the Strand with members of the Boxcar Preachers

Thanks to Aran Sheehan, indomitable festival-goer, for some memories of this year's Guinness International Bluegrass Festival at Dunmore East, Co. Waterford. Aran reports: 'It was a weekend full of magical moments; one of many highlights was the Jeff and Vida Band, who are playing throughout Ireland this month. See their MySpace for the tour schedule; just click on their page from my home page for the details.'


Prison Love at the Spinnaker

Aran regularly produces some stimulating video clips from the festivals, and among those from Dunmore East he has one (click here) in which Craig from the Boxcar Preachers (Texas) folds and rebuilds a banjo in seconds, then strums it and it's still in tune.


Toy Hearts (UK) in action

Aran is also the mandolin player for the new six-piece Dublin band, the Wayward Sinner Boys.


Ivor Ottley (fiddle) with Hazard Hollow

Music at the Cobblestone, Sept. 2007

Welcome news from Orla Keeshan, who has recently taken over running the Back Room venue at the Cobblestone, Smithfield, Dublin. Orla says: 'We are hosting some great gigs in the coming months', and backs this up with the following list of shows for September:

Fri. 7th: The Blood Red Mountain Band
Good honest bluegrass love songs
Guest act: The Watchmen
Doors 9.00 p.m. e10

Sat. 8th: Mollie O'Brien & Rich Moore
Contemporary and old timey bluegrass, americana & blues; vocals & guitar
Doors 9.00 p.m. e15

Sun. 9th: The Carter Brothers
Grammy-award-winning Appalachian folk, rock, & gypsy blues
Doors 9.00 p.m. e10

Tues. 11th: Carus
Australian artist playing acoustic-based folk, country, & rock, returning to the Cobblestone for one night
Doors 9.00 p.m. e12 (e10 advanced booking)

Fri. 14th: Al O'Donnell
Long-standing performer of traditional & contemporary folk
Doors 9.00 p.m. e10

Sun. 23rd: The Sick and Indigent Song Club
Album launch - The Inistioge folly. A raw mix of folk, trad, blues & vintage pop.
4.00-6.00 p.m. e5

RTE presence at IBMA: update

Niall Toner, who presents 'Roots Freeway' on Tuesday evenings at 9.00 p.m. on RTE Radio One, Ireland's national radio station, will be conducting a series of interviews during this year's IBMA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, which runs from 1 to 7 October.

Niall and RTE producer Aidan Butler will be recording interviews with all the big names in bluegrass, like Del McCoury, Rhonda Vincent, Larry Sparks, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Trischka, and Michael Cleveland, as well as up-and-coming bands and writers. Any bands or artists seeking exposure in Ireland and Europe should contact Niall or Aidan by the e-mail links given below.

Niall adds: 'We can also be contacted through the EBMA stand at the IBMA trade show, or at the Holiday Inn Express, Nashville Downtown, during the Convention, tel : 615-244-0150.'

Niall will also be interviewing some of the legends at the Jerusalem Ridge Festival in Rosine, Kentucky, the week before IBMA, and the results from both Nashville and Kentucky will be broadcast on RTE Radio One in a special series on Thursday nights, later on this year.

For further details e-mail Aidan or Niall.

Sweet 16 for Bluegrass Music Festival

Press release

The 16th Annual Bluegrass Music Festival proved to be a sweet success for the Ulster American Folk Park last weekend as it recorded its highest ever visitor numbers in the event’s history. Over 10,000 people flocking to the museum to enjoy energetic, exhilarating, and at times breathtaking performances from some of the biggest names in international bluegrass music. Despite a few light showers, blue skies dominated much of the three-day event, allowing visitors to explore with ease the picturesque musical locations dotted throughout the park.


The Malpass Brothers against the backdrop of the main concert stage

Three evening concerts brought record numbers to the festival marquee each night to witness electric performances by the highly talented Lovell Sisters, Malpass Brothers, Bluegrass Experience, and Red Wine, and simply iconic displays of musicianship from the Steep Canyon Rangers.

'Once again we were delighted to welcome some of the top names in international bluegrass music to our 2007 festival stages', commented Paula Donnelly, Marketing Officer at the Ulster American Folk Park. 'Our insistence on variety through the diversity of our line-up has ensured that there was a bluegrass musical style out there to suit all tastes. The success of the festival this weekend will further strengthen the event’s reputation on the international stage.'


Steep Canyon Rangers at the Ship

Charles Humphrey from the Steep Canyon Rangers, whose band headlined the sell-out Saturday night concert, was eager to express their joy at performing: 'We have been absolutely thrilled to play at the Bluegrass Music Festival in Omagh over the weekend. We have never performed at a festival before which offers so many stages in such diverse locations. The museum is an ideal place to host this type of event. The marquee stage was fantastic to perform on and the crowd gave us such a wonderful welcome, we’ve had a great time!'

Read the full press release here.

Hardly a town at all

Alaska’s Rural Delivery bluegrass band has just released its first CD, Hardly a town at all, on Tank Farm Records. It features twelve songs recorded in the studio, plus six bonus tracks recorded live on 27 February 2007 at the College Coffeehouse in Fairbanks.

Rural Delivery is Ben Bragonier (mandolin, vocals), Suzanne Graves (guitar, vocals), Tye Menser (banjo, vocals), Jeff Siniscalchi (mandolin, harmonica, vocals), and Ken Brown (bass, dobro, vocals). Brown had the opportunity of playing Seamus's dobro with Omagh's Knotty Pine String Band in both Donegal town and Omagh on a visit to Ireland in 2004, where he also attended the Athy Bluegrass Festival with his wife and their two Cup'ik Eskimo children. 'I was so inspired by the guys in the Knotty Pine String Band that I just had to start a band as soon as I got home to Alaska', states Brown.

Brown previously performed in Oregon as a member of Pumpkin Ridge (now Great Northern Planes), Nightly Bluegrass Report, Sidekicks, and Daddy's Advice. In Alaska, he has performed with Ungak and the Maklaks, the Chevak Fiddle Band, Quarter Moon, and Earl Hughes's Alaska Opry. He is the coordinator of the 2008 Fairbanks Bluegrass Festival, and was the coordinator of the Oregon Bluegrass Festival for four years in the early 1990s.

Over the last several years, Rural Delivery has performed at the Fairbanks Winter and Summer Folk Fests, the Anchorage Folk Festival, the Anderson Blugrass Festival, the Hunter Creek Bluegrass Festival, and many public and private events in Fairbanks. Rural Delivery blends traditional bluegrass, alternative country, and hillbilly jazz in a winning mixture for the band, which is not limited to a strict bluegrass repertoire. Their sound combines bluesy harmonica, Scruggs-style banjo, Grisman-esque mandolin solos, and original songs, with all five members singing both lead and harmony.

Rural Delivery hopes to do a short tour of the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia/Yukon music festivals during the summer of 2008. 'We'd love to come to Ireland at some point in the future', says Brown. Hardly a town at all can be purchased for $10.00 plus shipping from Tank Farm Records at 170 Humboldt Way, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA.

Contact Ken Brown by e-mail.