Bill Whelan: business as usual

Bill Whelan, doyen of clawhammer banjo in Ireland and well regarded further afield, will be back in action at the Cobblestone weekly old-time music session this coming Saturday or the following week. Bill, who has been sorely missed on the scene since being taken ill shortly after his return from the US in February (see the BIB post of 25 Nov. 2007), is bringing his playing back up to his own exacting standards, and resuming operations with his 'new' old-time band, the OXO Cubes.

Bill was the featured artist in a recent issue of the 5-string player's favourite journal, Banjo News Letter. The Rough Deal String Band (Bill, Ben Keogh, and Tim Rogers) will be playing on 1 May for the opening day of the 9th Cathedral Quarter Festival in Belfast.