29 June 2007

Foyle Ulster-Scots Bluegrass Festival, 6/7 August

Frank Galligan reports:

Under the auspices of the first ever Foyle Ulster-Scots Festival, Monday and Tuesday August 6th and 7th sees the inaugural Foyle Ulster-Scots Bluegrass Festival at Derry city, with the Niall Toner Band and the Broken String Band playing in concert in the Memorial Hall on Monday night, and on the historic Derry Walls/Streets on Tuesday afternoon.

Further details are available from Frank by e-mail.

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Andy Irvine at Naul, 30 June

On Saturday 30 June the legendary Andy Irvine appears in concert at the Séamus Ennis Cultural Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin. Doors open 7.30 p.m. Performance 8.30 p.m. Adm. €15.00. The Centre says:

The musician, singer, and songwriter Andy Irvine has been hailed as 'a tradition in himself'. From Sweeney's Men in the mid '60s to the enormous success of Planxty in the '70s to the Irish supergroup Patrick Street in the '80s, Andy has been a world-music pioneer and icon for traditional music and musicians. Don't miss this chance to see him in an intimate setting'.

Not bluegrass, no; but like his fellow Sweeneyman Johnny Moynihan, not just an outstanding musician but an important force for old-time music in this country - only one example of which is his current work with Bruce Molsky and others in Mozaik, who will be at the Open House Festival in Belfast this September.

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Composer of 'Katy Daly' honoured

Tomorrow, 30 June, at the Cityfolk Festival in Dayton, the Ohio Arts Council will present the 2007 Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award for Performing Arts to Paul 'Moon' Mullins - fiddler, broadcaster, and composer in 1962 of the bluegrass standard 'Katy Daly', which has been popular in Ireland (of course) ever since.

The award goes every year to those still active in their field, 'whose achievements have had a positive impact on the excellence, vitality and public appreciation of folk and traditional arts in Ohio', and who are judged on 'authenticity, artistic excellence and significance within the tradition of the performing art form'.

Born in 1936 in Frenchburg, Kentucky, Paul retired two years ago from nearly 45 years as a full-time broadcaster, with a unique regional status, which the IBMA recognised in 2000 by giving him a Distinguished Achievement Award and the Broadcaster of the Year Award. He also played important roles as a promoter; as a fiddler with bands including the Stanley Brothers (who gave him his first professional job in music), the Boys from Indiana, and the Traditional Grass; and as MC for Bill Monroe's festivals at Bean Blossom, Indiana. His son Joe, one of the finest traditional bluegrass banjo players of recent years, follows in his footsteps as a radio presenter.

More details and links can be found on the Bluegrass Blog.

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28 June 2007

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.

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Fair City Grass: new lead singer

Enda Donnelly reports:

Andrew Basquille has officially joined Fair City Grass as tenor vocalist, lead & harmony, replacing Jody Smith, who has emigrated to London to pursue his musical career etc. (sadly missed). Andrew made his debut at the Urban Roots II Festival, Airfield, Dundrum, last weekend, and has subsequently played his second gig at Fair City Grass's long-running residency in Mother Reilly's, Rathmines.

Judging by the favourable comments so far and in our opinion, Andrew has one of the finest bluegrass singing voices in both lead & harmony, here in Ireland, both North and South. He would be well known to songwriters in the Dublin area over the years, having written many fine songs, one of which he performed at our last gig.

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26 June 2007

Sessions in the North

Thanks to Sean McKerr of the Tennessee Hennessees and the World International Blue Grass Band for two welcome items of news:

A bluegrass and country session will be held this Saturday, 30 June, at 4.00 p.m. in the Derryhirk Inn, Aghagallon, three miles outside Lurgan, Co. Armagh. All are welcome. Those present will include Anto Griffen, one of the best bluegrass singers in the Dublin area (and too rarely heard there).

Sean adds: 'The Tennessee Hennessees will be playing in the John Hewitt bar in Belfast on Thursdays at 9.00 p.m. for the next few weeks. There will be some formidable guests arriving to sit in also.'

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Fiddle Hangout

Eric Schlange, webmaster of the Banjo Hangout, sends this message

... to let everyone know about a new website I just opened last Friday - the FIDDLE Hangout! Yes, you heard right - we're spreading the Hangout love to the fiddle world! The same powerful features you've come to enjoy at the Banjo Hangout, including discussion forums and a free myHangout homepage, complete with blogging capabilities, photo albums, MP3 music archives, and events calendar!

My plan is to continue expanding the site's content and features as things progress. (We'll certainly be adding a tab/sheet music area in the near future, for one thing.)

But for now, the site's only been live since Friday, and it's already averaging over 2,000 visitors per day. The forums are hopping, and lots of new folks are signing up daily. So if you play fiddle, or know someone who does, be sure to check out the Fiddle Hangout! This is gonna be good!

Contact Eric by e-mail.

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25 June 2007

USA/Ireland acoustic evening at Airfield, 26 July

On Thursday 26 July at 8.00 p.m., Dave Miner & Gary Ferguson (USA) will present 'Acoustic Music with a Heart & Soul' on guitar and dobro at Airfield, Dundrum, Dublin. Gary's songs, which have been recorded by many bluegrass and acoustic music artists, are matched by his own delivery and Dave's steel guitar work.

As a guest opening act, Con Butler (bass and guitar) & Gerry Fitzpatrick (dobro and guitar) will open this evening of acoustic music with a selection of original material plus a couple of familiar songs arranged for guitar and dobro. Con and Gerry are well known figures on the Dublin scene, and Gerry also plays with the Sick & Indigent Song Club.

The evening forms part of the tour by Dave and Gary, which begins with the Athy Festival on 13 July and ends with the Phil Murphy Weekend at Carrig-on-Bannow on 29 July. Full details are on the BIB calendar and the Dave & Gary MySpace site.

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23 June 2007

Bluegrass in Brooklyn



Vincent Cross reports:

New York continues to draw the legends. Last night my wife and I got to see an incredible show: Dr Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys. Ralph was in incredible voice - he is 80 years old. The band were excellent too. His son and grandson play with him. He covered 'O Death' and also his now iconic standard 'Man of constant sorrow'. What was also amazing was the fact that the concert was subsidized, so that it only cost $3.00. The performance took place outdoors in Prospect Park on a beautiful summer's evening. Our friends James Reams and the Barnstormers opened up the proceedings - another great band on the New York City scene. Also, three weeks ago Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver performed a free show in Brooklyn. That was some of the best quartet singing I have heard.


Vincent Cross and Doyle Lawson

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Tennessee Hennessees on MySpace

The Tennessee Hennessees of Lurgan, Co. Armagh, first appeared on the BIB back in January, when they attracted some distinguished commendation from friends in the USA and Europe. They now have a MySpace site, which is worth a visit for the slide show alone - and make sure you read all the captions.

As well as the Athy and Dunmore East festivals this year, the band's scheduled appearances include the Flaxmill Yardfest in Dungiven, Co. Londonderry, on 8 September, and an appearance at IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Nashville in October, where the Hennessees' mandolinist, Sean McKerr, will also be playing bass for the World International Blue Grass Band.

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Dunmore East Festival line-up


Toy Hearts (UK)

The line-up for the 13th Annual Guinness International Bluegrass Festival at Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, on 23-26 August 2007 is probably the strongest to date: three bands from the USA, two from the UK, and a constellation from Ireland:

Jeff & Vida Band (USA)
Hickory Project (USA)
Boxcar Preachers (USA)
Toy Hearts (UK)
Southern Tenant Folk Union (UK)
Prison Love
Knotty Pine String Band
Tennessee Hennessees
Tennessee Hob
Hazard Hollow
Anyoldtune
Desert Aces


Southern Tenant Folk Union (UK)

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22 June 2007

Urban Roots II: update


Dick Gladney, Niall Toner, Tom Kitt, TD, and Clem O'Brien at Airfield, 21 June

Sancho Gallilei, director of Arts & Culture at Airfield, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dundrum, Dublin, reports:

Due to family bereavement the Broken String Band concert scheduled for 6.00 p.m. on Saturday 23 June has been cancelled. We regret any inconvenience that this may cause.

Urban Roots kicks off with a special guest

Adding a blaze of sunshine into a rather damp and overcast midsummer evening, the Urban Roots Festival kicked off with a surprise guest appearance by local TD Tom Kitt, alongside the father of Irish country bluegrass Niall Toner and his band. With only a short time to rehearse with the band before the concert, Tom displayed striking talents not put to daily use in Dáil Éireann. He kicked off with a powerful rendition of 'Magnolia wind', followed up by a stomping version of the Old Crow Medicine Show song 'Wagon wheel'.

At this point the audience were roaring for more, and the TD had to turn to sheet music, and the undaunted band jammed along as Tom delivered a fiery version of 'Jackson', with the audience whooping and singing along. It certainly whetted the appetite for more and left one with the impression that this successful politician might have as easily carved out an illustrious career in the music industry. We can only hope that he may take to the stage again in the near future. To the delight of the enthralled listeners the Niall Toner Band continued long into the extended twilight, and darkness had long fallen by the time that the band abandoned the PA system and wrapped up with a rousing farewell of 'Goodnight Irene'.

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The rest of the 'Urban Roots II: Hoe Down on the Ranch' programme remains as in the BIB post of 29 May. To contact Sancho, tel.: (01) 298 4301; dir.: (01) 296 7609; mobile: (087) 938 3186; e-mail.

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18 June 2007

The World International Blue Grass Band

Banjo player, former Blue Grass Boy, and author Butch Robins is forming a World International Blue Grass Band as a statement of cooperation, goodwill, and peace.

The band consists of Kazuhiro Inaba from Japan (guitar); Arnold Lasseur from the Netherlands (mandolin); Jan Johansson from Sweden (fiddle); Hamish Davidson from Australia (fiddle); Sean McKerr from Ireland (acoustic bass); and Butch himself on banjo. His father, the late Calvin Robins, who was a close friend of Bill Monroe, was a major influence in introducing Butch to visitors from outside the US and encouraging him to make contact with different cultures.

The World International Blue Grass Band will be playing shows in autumn 2007, including appearances at the IBMA's World of Bluegrass Business Conference, Award Show, and Fan Fest in Nashville, TN.

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Enda Donnelly reports:

I was delighted to see Hamish Davidson in the role of fiddle player in WIBGB, even though he is a terrific banjo player as well: listen to his 'Davidson County' instrumental in the 'Friends' section of Fair City Grass's MySpace site.

I met the Davidson Bros some years ago in my travels around Australia, at a bluegrass jam session at Bluegrass Club in Melbourne, along with the great mandolin builder Stephen Gilchrist, also a good mando player.

Hamish was a chiropractic student then & musician, along with his brother Lachlan on mandolin & fiddle, and of course baby sister very good on fiddle also. On that terrific jam, Hamish played banjo, fiddle, guitar & (would you believe) piano. I had the pleasure of playing tunes like 'Jerusalem Ridge' etc. with them. They are a very musical & friendly family, and Hamish or Lachlan could have filled the role on any instrument in WIBGB.

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Adam Steffey instruction set on Acutab



Acutab Publications announce the release of My approach to bluegrass mandolin, a new 2-DVD instructional set by Adam Steffey, IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year for each of the last five years.

On the first disc, Adam deals with and demonstrates rhythm playing, right-hand attack, note spacing, tone/volume, practising, and building speed. He then devotes some 45 minutes, using three common jam-session tunes, to showing how to build a mandolin solo, starting with the basic melody - in several different keys.

On the second disc, Adam teaches seven of his most requested solos. Each in turn is played with a band, broken down lick by lick, and then played (fast and slow) in a split-screen orientation. An accompanying printed booklet contains transcriptions for all solos, in both tab and standard notation.

Full playing time is four hours and twenty minutes. Full details are on the Acutab website. Acutab are also offering, at no extra charge, an autographed copy of an 11 in. x 17 in. (28 cm x 43.2 cm) colour poster, showing Adam with his Daley mandolin, for the first 300 customers placing an order through AcuTab. The Gibson company launched an Adam Steffey signature model mandolin in 2002.

15 June 2007

Chris Newman guitar workshop: how to sign on

Thanks to Herbie Mitchell for asking how one should book a place in the Chris Newman flatpicking guitar workshop which will be held at Airfield, Dundrum, Dublin, from 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. on Saturday 23 June as part of the Urban Roots II: Hoe Down on the Ranch festival there (21-24 June).

Cathal Cusack is organising the workshop, so to book a place, contact Cathal via this link. The two-hour workshop costs €30. Other details went on the BIB earlier this week.

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14 June 2007

Tim Carter's solo CD debut

Tim Carter, well known to Irish audiences from his appearances with the Carter Brothers Band at the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival and elsewhere, has released Bang bang!, his first solo CD, for sale on the Carter Brothers website. It should be in the stores on 26 June.

Musicians also taking part in the project include Tim's brother Danny, Tim O’Brien, Alison Brown, Casey Driessen, and Jim Hurst (all of whom have played several times in Ireland), as well as Matt Flinner, Tim Stafford and Rob Ickes from Blue Highway, and Ross Sermons. Fellow banjoists Tony Trischka and Alison Brown have given Tim Carter's playing high praise, and on the CD he also plays guitar and mandolin.

The ten original compositions include 'Where I belong', about his first time in Ireland, and 'Vassillie’s lullaby', a tribute to the late great fiddler Vassar Clements. For further details or a copy for airplay, contact Shari Lacy of GoodStuff PR Co. (e-mail)

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Bill Whelan to teach at Sore Fingers Weekend

John and Moira Wirtz of the UK's Sore Fingers bluegrass/old-time instructional workshops report that old-time music will be represented at this autumn's Sore Fingers Weekend, 27 and 28 October, by Kate Lissauer (fiddle) and our own Bill Whelan of the Rough Deal String Band (banjo) respectively. They add:

Both Bill and Kate have taught at Sore Fingers Week in the past and have proved very popular as they are both excellent teachers.

Kate Lissauer has played in Ireland at several festivals: at Omagh as a solo act, and at Omagh, Dunmore East, and Wexford Hooves & Grooves with the Buffalo Gals. Other courses are given by Mike Pryor and Rex Preston (mandolin), Stuart Williams (guitar), Greg Smith (bluegrass fiddle), Richard Collins (bluegrass banjo), and Gary & Sherryl Payne (singing). An autoharp course, taught by Will Smith, will be run in collaboration with UK Autoharps.

The venue is Kingham Hill School in the Cotswolds. For more info and a booking form, see the Sore Fingers website. Early bookings are appreciated.

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12 June 2007

The difference one person can make

Saburo 'Sab Watanabe' Inoue of Japan sends via the IBMA-L list the sad news that Japanese bluegrass pioneer Tatsuo Arita passed away today while on a tour cruise in the Mediterranean. Although not a musician, he played a key part in creating the first bluegrass-like band in Japan, the East Mountain Boys, in October 1958. There was no tradition in Japan at the time of stringband music or even fiddle and banjo, but from his knowledge of how a bluegrass band should sound, Arita encouraged Don Sano to play banjo and the Ozaki Brothers to play bluegrass-style mandolin and guitar.

While staying in New York in 1961 he heard the loudspeaker of a car (it belonged to the Stanley Brothers) yelling: 'The bluegrass show is in town!' so he went there and met David Freeman, who later founded County Records. The two men quickly became friends and went to 'Bluegrass Day' on 4 July 1961 at Luray, Virginia, the first ever all-bluegrass all-day event, produced by Bill Clifton.

The contribution made by Mr Arita and the Ozaki Brothers is on record as part of the IBMM Video Oral History Project, thanks to Fred Bartenstein. Sab adds:

Personally, I fell in love with bluegrass when I heard a single EP record which Mr Arita loaned to my brother Toshio in the early '60s - Flatt and Scruggs's 'Old home town'. Since the day I heard it, my life changed forever.

Mr Arita was behind the Japanese bluegrass scene since its heyday of the '60s, so not many people know him. However, the people who were inspired by his love of music will never forget what he gave me and us... to Japanese people, the bluegrass music.

Guitar workshop in Airfield Hoedown!

Cathal Cusack reports:

Chris Newman is a regular visiting instructor at the home of flatpicking guitar at Kaufman Kamp in Tennessee. He will be conducting a two-hour workshop on flatpick guitar on Saturday 23 June at Airfield House (Dundrum) as part of its 'Hoedown on the Ranch'. The two-hour workshop starts at 4.00 p.m. and costs €30. Chris is used to dealing with all grades of players, from those who are just starting out to those who started out a long time ago (and could do with some help).

If you play guitar and use a flat pick (plectrum), you just shouldn't miss this! I attach a sample of Chris's book Adventures with a flatpick, so the guitar players can limber up in advance...

BIB editor's note: The rest of the Airfield Hoedown programme was posted on the BIB on 29 May. Cathal had previously sent on 1 March a link to a YouTube clip of Chris Newman and Steve Kaufman playing 'Nothin' to it' as a guitar duet. A two-hour workshop with a picker of Newman's calibre seems a pretty good deal at €30!

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10 June 2007

House concerts on eBay

An idea for bands in Ireland to consider: the Belgian band Rawhide recently offered a house concert by themselves for auction on eBay. Thierry Schoysman, banjo-player for Rawhide, reports:

We've done some living-room concerts in the past and it's always a very nice thing. We don't need a sound system, the atmosphere is always great, and we sell a lot of CDs afterwards. Our reaction is always that we would even do such gigs for nothing. So I thought: let's clearly write down our conditions and put it on eBay. And about 195 visitors [up to a few days ago], that's good publicity. Maybe we've launched a new wave in music?

Rawhide won the #3 Audience Popularity Award at the European World of Bluegrass Festival in the Netherlands in 2006 and 2007, and also won a special award this year as the only band to appear at all ten EWOB Festivals.

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Hank Williams commemorated

Hank Williams songs remain unshakably popular with bluegrass bands in Ireland and with their audiences; so we're glad to learn from the Bluegrass Blog that the song 'Hillbilly Hemingway', written by Mike Ward, Tommy Meece, and Carl Jackson in tribute to Hank, has not only been recorded by Mark Newton as the title track of his latest CD, but can be heard in a video that loads and plays automatically when you visit Mark Newton's web site.

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Last session at Rosie's: photos

The last jam session at Rosie O'Grady's pub, Harold's Cross, Dublin, on 27 April, continues to be fondly remembered; and the need for an opportunity to pick regularly together in Dublin continues to be felt. Thanks to Terence Cosgrave for the following photos.


Richard Hawkins (banjo), Patrick Simpson (mandolin), David Simpson (guitar)


David Simpson (beer), Catherine Simpson (guitar), Aran Sheehan (mandolin)


Enda Donnelly (mandolin), Maeve Toner (autoharp), Danny McCarthy (elbow)


Paul McEvoy (guitar), Richard Hawkins (banjo)

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08 June 2007

Outlaws in action


Photo: Denise Hanway

Tom Hanway reports:

Pictured here from the Outlaws are Diane Treanor (fiddle/vocals) and Tom Hanway (banjo/vocals).

The Outlaws, Ireland’s hardest-working bluegrass-country dance band, won the Most Entertaining Band award from Tipperary Mid-West Radio, at the station’s Country Awards dinner and ceremony two weeks ago at the Templemore Arms, Co. Tipperary. We performed three songs (at 1:00 a.m.) from our recent CD Empty mansions (Sharpe Records), which is getting steady airplay across Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

I am writing songs (on the banjo) for the band, and also singing some of my favourite numbers by my bluegrass heroes, such as Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, John Hartford, Keith Whitley, and Ralph Stanley.

We do our annual tour of Scotland next week, starting in Aberdeen. As you can tell by the photo, we have a great time onstage, and we improvise constantly, trying out new material at nearly every show. I’m writing and playing more bluegrass songs than ever before since landing in Ireland.

‘Ellie’s song’, which I wrote for my four-year-old granddaughter, has become a favourite at shows, and we plan to record it along with several other originals for the next project. It's a song that, at shows, I dedicate to single fathers living here in Ireland.

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Butch Baldassari

Enda Donnelly sends the sad news that Butch Baldassari, one of the leading mandolinists playing today, has had problems with his playing since the spring, and has recently been diagnosed with an inoperable anaplastic astrocytoma in the brain. He began a six-week course of radiation and chemotherapy on Wednesday 6 June, and will also be following a macrobiotic diet and receiving acupuncture, energy balancing treatments, and massage therapy. For full details, see the Mandolin Cafe website.

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A new treasury of old-time banjo

Thanks to FOAOTMAD for the news that a unique double-CD set, Banjo gathering, with fifty tracks of unaccompanied old-time banjo playing has been released.

The soloists are Bruce Molsky, Mike Seeger, Cathy Fink, Brad Leftwich, John Cohen, John Herrmann, John McCutcheon, Alice Gerrard, Rafe Stefanini, David Winston, Paul Brown, Terri McMurray, Tom Sauber, Gordy Hinners, Phil Jamison, Bob Thornburg, Gail Gillespie, Brett Riggs, Dan Gellert, Joe Newberry, Scott Ainslie, Steve Baughman, and Pete Sutherland. A twenty-page booklet is included, with information about the players, their styles, their instruments, and their stories. (Bruce Molsky, John Herrmann, Alice Gerrard, Phil Jamison, and Joe Newberry have all played at the Ulster American Folk Park at one time or another.)

Banjo gathering costs $20.00. 100% of artist royalties go to the Swannanoa Gathering Scholarship Fund to provide opportunities for economically challenged musicians to spend a week every summer at the Swannanoa Gathering music camp in the hills of North Carolina. It can be bought through CDBaby, where full details are available and every one of the fifty tunes can be heard.

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Music in Dublin parks, summer 2007

The Office of Public Works has launched its annual summer programme of music in St Stephen's Green, the Phoenix Park, and St Enda's, Rathfarnham. The Green's programme today features the Niall Toner Band, who are playing at the bandstand between 1.00 and 2.00 p.m. They will be playing in St Enda's on Sunday 17 June (3.00-5.00 p.m.); again in the Green on 27 July (1.00-2.00 p.m.); St Enda's again on 12 August (3.00-5.00 p.m.); and the Phoenix Park on 19 August (3.00-5.00 p.m.).

Other bluegrass, old-time, and country artists taking part in the schedule are Martin Cooney and Myra Fraser (14 June and 26 July, the Green, 1.00-2.00 p.m.); Fair City Grass (the Green, 20 July and 10 August, 1.00-2.00 p.m.); the Rough Deal String Band (21 June, the Green, 1.00-2.00 p.m.); the Rocky Mountain Rebels (29 June, 17 August, and 31 August, the Green, 1.00-2.00 p.m.); the Blue Mountain Boys (10 June and 29 July, Phoenix Park, 3.00-5.00 p.m.; 13 July, the Green, 1.00-2.00 p.m.); and Bill Whelan & Friends (the Green, 22 August, 1.00-2.00 p.m.).

The full schedule can be seen here. Once again, we have reason to be grateful to the OPW for making a wide range of music freely available in Dublin's public parks.

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04 June 2007

New member of IBMA staff

The International Bluegrass Music Association announces that Katy Leonard joins the IBMA staff today, Monday 4 June, as administrative assistant. Her responsibilities will include helping to manage information systems, member services, event planning, and operations.

Katy Leonard, as well as being a devoted bluegrass fan, has previous experience in the legal, education, business, music, and customer service fields. She has a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from Birmingham-Southern, Alabama, and an MA degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Limerick, where her work included research into the bluegrass scene in this country.

Katy recently completed coursework for her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Brown University. She is now the first member of the IBMA staff to have an international background. Many of us in Ireland will have had contact with her during her MA work at Limerick; messages can be e-mailed to her here.

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03 June 2007

Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens in the US

Press release

NASHVILLE, TN (5.29.07) Irish bluegrass band, Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens will head back to Nashville for an upcoming performance at the Station Inn on 6 June 2007. The band's last US appearance was in September, where they represented the European Bluegrass Music Association as the #1 European Bluegrass Band at the annual IBMA World of Bluegrass conference in Nashville.

The next stop for the group will be kicking off the Kentucky Lake Bluegrass Festival in Aurora, Kentucky. The band's performance is sponsored by the legendary and world famous string manufacturer, GHS Strings. Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens will make numerous other appearances in Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin, and West Virginia before heading back to Ireland later in June.

For a complete tour schedule and more information on Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens, please visit their MySpace site.

U.S. BOOKING CONTACT:
Terry Lease +1-217-243-3159

U.S. MEDIA
Hope River Entertainment
+1-678-377-3298

IRELAND CONTACTS:
Auld Shebeen Music 2005, Moate, Co. Westmeath, Ireland.
phone: +353 (0)90 6485007
e-mail
Info: +353 (0)90 6478935 / 0878747477

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01 June 2007

Prison Love win with 'Teenage kicks'

Thanks to Mark O'Mahony/Soapy of Prison Love for the news that the band's version of the Undertones' classic 'Teenage kicks' was broadcast on Today FM on Tuesday 29 May between 7.40 and 8.00 a.m. as part of a text-in competition. Voting by text message took place between 7.50 and 8.50 a.m. on Friday 1 June, and Prison Love won. We quote Mark: 'Next stop Eurovision, then... the world!!!'

Prison Love's winning track can be heard on their MySpace site.

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