Tom Hanway's banjo rambles in Ireland

Tom Hanway reports:

Howdy friends and neighbours,

I will be finishing out my tour with the Jack Grace Band from NYC, who recently played to ecstatic crowds at the Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival. This Friday night (29th) we will play at McCarthy’s in Dingle, 10 p.m., then on Saturday (30th) we finish the 'Martini Cowboy' tour at Cleere’s in Kilkenny, 10 p.m.

I will also be playing mad minstrel gigs at Electric Picnic, strolling around with my banjo on Saturday and Sunday, from 2.00-6.00 pm, near the Crawdaddy tent and Southern Comfort. Yummy. I hope to have a drink and a pick with Prison Love, who are also recent escapees. };^D>

Stay in trouble,

Tom

Prison Love @ Electric Picnic: and after

Howdy, Friends,

We'll be un-laoised this weekend on the town of Stradbally to teach the pic-nickers and city-slickers how to hoedown...

Come and see us on:
Friday 4.00 p.m. @ the Newgrange Stage (beside the Temple of Truth)
Saturday 1.00 a.m. @ the Village Hall (don't miss that one!)

Sept.: Thursday 25th we're back in Dublin playing Crawdaddy,
& Friday 26th we return to Belfast Open House Festival

Be good,
Mark

MySpace
website

Emmylou Harris in Dublin, 12 Sept. 2008

Emmylou Harris, a good friend to bluegrass music for decades and a headliner at last year's IBMA Fan Fest, will be playing at the National Stadium, Dublin, on Friday 12 September, as the third date in a three-week tour of Europe (9-27 September).

The tour also includes four dates in the UK, three in Germany, one each in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Belgium, and finally two in the Netherlands. Full details, with links for booking tickets, are on the tour schedule page of the Emmylou Harris website.

Foghorn Duo and I Draw Slow at the Cobblestone, 27 Aug.

Thanks to Orla Keeshan of the Cobblestone, 77 North King Street, Smithfield, Dublin, for this special release:

Wed. 27th August. Doors 8.30 p.m. €12

The Foghorn Duo hail from the legendary Foghorn Stringband who have traveled far and wide bringing their tight instrumental work and line-up - fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass, and guitar - to people from their home in Portland, Oregon, to Ireland where they have built a dedicated following. The duo is made up of Caleb & Sammy playing fiddle and guitar but still making as big a sound. The style of music is reminiscent of early bluegrass, but their powerful approach is whole-heartedly old-time, centered largely by the fiddle. Devoted to the interpretation and performance of American stringband music, their style encompasses early country music, the fiddle repertoire of the Southern Appalachians and the Midwest.

I Draw Slow, a 5-piece old-time Americana roots band, is made up of guitar, double bass, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, & 4-part vocals led by Louise Holden. They will be showcasing songs from their long-awaited debut album of original, enthralling, & outstandingly written songs.

This will be an outstanding gig so please do join us.

In the magazines

The Sept. 2008 Bluegrass Unlimited has a strong 'Orange Blossom Special' element, with an excerpt from Randy Noles's recent book Fiddler's curse and a guest editorial by Dick Spottswood on previous train tunes. Also featured are Dan Tyminski, Mike Compton, the Pioneers gathering at the IBMM, Buzz Busby's elder brother Wayne Busbice, and - in Walt V. Saunders's invaluable 'Notes & Queries' column - an article-sized piece on 'Hobo' Jack Adkins, who wrote 'Another night' and other songs in the bluegrass repertoire.

The Sept. 2008 Acoustic Guitar, now in the shops, has an eight-page review feature on currently available dreadnaughts, examining seven guitars in detail, and comparing a further thirty-five. More details here.

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29 July 2008

The August 2008 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited has a cover photo of Danny Paisley and a major article on him inside by Richard F. Thompson. He will be bringing his band, the Southern Grass, to the Appalachian & Bluegrass Music Festival at Omagh, Co. Tyrone, in just over a month from now.

Also in this issue: articles on Cadillac Sky, the Dixie Bee-Liners, the growing phenomenon of bluegrass cruise holidays, and the historic WSVS radio station, plus the usual wealth of reviews, schedules, ads, and other info.

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The August 2008 issue of Reader's Digest also includes an article, 'Music Man', about 'Dr Banjo' Pete Wernick and his banjo camps, instruction methods, and other work to make learning bluegrass music as fun and as widely accessible as possible.

Read more on what's in the magazines here.

NTB: Live at Omagh videos

The Niall Toner Band: Dick Gladney, Niall Toner, Clem O'Brien

Niall Toner reports:

Just a note to let you know that we have just put a series of NTB videos up on our MySpace page. These performances were filmed at Omagh 2004, and both the sound and the visuals are just what any band would want. Songs include 'Climbin'', 'The Master's resting place', 'The promise', 'The cheatin' side of town' and 'Chainsaw country blues'.

BIB editor's note: The five new videos are on the NTB MySpace site below the two-part documentary which also appears on the band's new CD, NTB3. The live videos at the Omagh festival give an excellent view of performers on stage, and these are no exception.

Quote of the month

A lot of bands make the mistake of pulling out their instruments as soon as they start learning a song... My dad always insisted that we learn the vocals first. When you're playing your instruments, you might bump into someone else's word and not even know it. But, when you learn it a cappella, you get it right. And once you've got the vocals right, you say 'Let's jam.'

David Parmley of Continental Divide, quoted in an article by Geoffrey Himes in the July 2008 Bluegrass Unlimited

Outlaws: information wanted

Any information on the current playing schedule or contact data of the Outlaws country band from Co. Monaghan (see several previous posts on the BIB from when Tom Hanway was playing with them) will be welcome to Julie Mitchell of Co. Londonderry, who can be reached by e-mail.

Airplay on RBI and NE1FM

Bob Mitchell reports from the US:

My program 'Best of Bluegrass' is broadcast each Sunday from 3.00 to 5.00 p.m. CST (8.00-10.00 p.m. GMT) on Radio Bluegrass International from the web site of the International Bluegrass Museum. There is NO COST and the station broadcasts bluegrass music all day long, every day. Hope you can listen now and then.

(1) Go to the IBMM website
(2) click on box labelled 'RBI'
(3) scroll down the page for program schedule
(4) click on RBI logo at top of page.

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We learn also from Dee Hallett of the BBMA that Sam Harris, a presenter for NE1FM Radio in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is looking for CDs for his radio show. If you have an album for which you’d like airplay, send it to

Sam Harris
NE1FM
NE1 Studios
1 Clarence Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 1YH

Jeff & Vida obliged to cancel tour

Jeff Burke and Vida Wakeman of New Orleans have earned a special place among bands visiting Ireland. Their vitality and professionalism have brought them back here yearly during the past decade, to perform at many major events. This year's tour (Aug.-Sept.) was scheduled to include the Guinness International Bluegrass Festival at Dunmore East, the Galway Americana Festival, and the Appalachian and Bluegrass Music Festival at Omagh, as well as other established venues.

We learn with great regret from Nigel Martyn that Jeff & Vida have been forced to cancel the tour, owing to very serious health problems affecting both their fathers. Jeff writes:

As you know we have been very much looking forward to this trip for some time, and it literally breaks our hearts to have to cancel, especially at such short notice, but at this point it appears that there is no alternative... Vida and I have always prided ourselves on keeping our professional commitments, but our circumstances at the moment just will not allow for us to be so far from our families for any length of time... Please pass on our sincerest apologies.

Our sympathies are with Jeff & Vida, their families, and everyone else involved.

Prairie Dawgs at Bewley's, Grafton St., 15 Aug.

Conor Farrell of the Prairie Dawgs reports:

Just thought I'd let you know that the Prairie Dawgs will play Bewley's, Grafton Street, Dublin, at 8.00 p.m. Friday 15 August (don't panic - there is a bar). Apparently they only let a max of 50 people in (fire regulations) and that includes the band. There will be 7 Dawgs playing & the wonderfully talented Aoife Moriarty - so only about 40 will get in ('cos theres a sound guy & maybe a door person). Aoife will open the show armed with a piano & some great songs.

Anyway, if you got this far - thanks for reading & why not check out our MySpace; we have some spanking new tunes & fresh garden mixes up there, produced by Karl Odlum (Kila, The Frames, Mic Christopher, Gemma Hayes, Ham Sandwich, Blood Red Mountain Band, David Kitt, Fionn Regan etc., etc.)

So if you are interested, then arrive early (doors are at 8.00 p.m.). We have a few new tricks up our sleeves, so it's gonna be a really good night. Show finishes around 11.00 p.m. so we can alll spill out into the street & continue the party in the heart of Dublin with some slurpy creamy pints!

Charlie Poole to be on BBC4TV

Mill at Spray, NC, with film crew; photo by Robert Ross

Thanks to FOAOTMAD for the news that Jill Nicholls, Daniel Meyers, and Luke McMahon are in North Carolina, filming for a planned three-part documentary on American music to be shown on BBC4 early next year. This story by Heather J. Smith from the Rockingham News is set in Spray, NC, and concentrates on one of Spray's most famous musicians, Charlie Poole.

Dunmore East schedule in detail

Thanks to Craig Johnson of B2B Communications, 15 Parnell Street, Waterford, for the schedules below for each day of the 14th Guinness International Bluegrass Festival at Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, which begins next week. Click on any of the days for a larger view.



For the official festival release, with links to the websites of the bands taking part, go to the BIB post of 29 July.

Bill Evans & Megan Lynch: banjo/fiddle and then some...

After a very successful trip to England, Ireland, and Scotland in March, Megan Lynch (fiddle/vocals) and Bill Evans (banjo/guitar/vocals) have decided to return. They’ll have their brand new CD in hand and will be fresh from their featured spot at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco.

Bill and Megan have a couple of nights left open on their two-week tour: Friday 31 October and Saturday 1 November. They would love to do workshops on Saturday during the day (they're expert at workshops, especially for children) and a concert on Saturday night, before going to Galway on Sunday 2 November, to play at the Crane Bar on Sea Road. If you would like to put them on at your venue [and we strongly recommend doing so - BIB editor], contact:

Maria Nadauld
Above the Bay Booking
e-mail
+1 510-582-2797-office
+1 510-828-6961-cell

Bill Evans and Megan Lynch
Megan Lynch
Bill Evans

A full press release on Bill & Megan can be seen here.

NTB latest

Niall Toner reports:

We are taking our music to the Solas Festival at Huntington Castle in Clonegal on Saturday next, on stage in the Prism World Music Tent, at 4.00 p.m. in among a huge variety of other world music bands. See the Festival website for more details.

Sunday afternoon next (17 August) NTB will be in the Courtyard at St Enda's in Rathfarnham, behind the Pearse Museum, 3.00-5.00 p.m., and then at the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in Longford on the Friday night (26 September) at 8.30 p.m., and I will be presenting a songwriting workshop at Longford on the Sunday morning (28 September) in the Schoolhouse at 12 noon, with the emphasis on writing for bluegrass and country music, sponsored by IMRO.

Our new CD, NTB3, which got a great review by Jackie Hayden in Hot Press, will also be available at all these shows, as well as in Hot Press Magazine on special offer in the next issue, due in the shops on Thursday next, 14 August.

Festival of World Cultures, Dun Laoghaire

Moonshine: Johnny Moynihan, Lena Ullman, Frank Hall*

The Festival of World Cultures at Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, runs from Friday 22 August to Sunday 24 August with the usual amazing variety of music, workshops, and other events.

Of direct interest to the old-time enthusiast are three free concerts at the Royal Marine Hotel: by John Martin & Tee Boucherie (Cajun trio: fiddle, accordion, guitar) at 8.00 p.m. on Friday 22 August; by Moonshine at 5.00 p.m. on Saturday 23 August; and by the Foghorn Duo (USA) at 5.00 p.m. on Sunday 24 August.

Anyone who's been following the recent pursuit of banjo origins in Africa by Bela Fleck and others will be interested in the concert on 23 August at 9.00 p.m. in the Pavilion Theatre by the Banaya family of West African Griots. There is also a workshop on Griot culture in the Royal Marine at 1.30 p.m. on Sunday 24 August.

*This photo of Moonshine was taken two months ago at the Going to the West Fest old-time music event at Angle, Pembrokeshire, Wales; many more photos from the event are here.

Bluegrass at the Maiden City

The Maiden City Festival at Derry, which ends tomorrow, continued (thanks to Frank Galligan) the 'Bluegrass on the Walls' element established in 2000, and was certainly enjoyed by the bands taking part - the Niall Toner Band, Bill Whelan's OXO Boys, Woodbine, and the home team, Acoustic Grass. The festival programme cover, above, shows Acoustic Grass's Tony Curran (banjo) and Dessie Crerand (fiddle). For the full many-faceted programme of events, which included a concert celebrating the showband days of the Grass's lead singer and guitarist Frankie Robinson, see the Festival website.


The Niall Toner Band in front of the Walls of Derry

Paul Mullins, composer of 'Katy Daly', dies (update)

We learn with deep regret of the death on Sunday 3 August of Paul 'Moon' Mullins, short-bow fiddler, DJ and radio personality, MC, and one of the central figures of bluegrass in the Ohio Valley area for decades. He was 71.

Many performing and recording artists in Ireland have reason to be grateful to Paul Mullins for the song '(Come on down the mountain) Katy Daly'; he made a selection from verses written by Russell Simms, wrote the chorus himself, and composed the tune. The band he was currently with, the Bluegrass Playboys, recorded it in Cincinnati, OH, in October 1962 and it was released on Briar Records in 1963 (Barry R. Willis, America's music: bluegrass (1997), 571).*

A full account of his career by Richard F. Thompson appears on the Bluegrass Blog. We recommend using the link to the additional comments by Katie Laur and Fred Bartenstein and (most of all) to the compilation of things that Paul Mullins said over the years on his radio show.

*Update 23 May 2020: This account of Paul Mullins's part in the 'Katie Daly' story was based on what had previously appeared in published sources. Comparison of the earliest recordings of the song revealed that the Bluegrass Playboys made the first US recording, using the same text as in the earlier Dublin release by the original composer, Herman Weight ('Eamon O'Shea'); see the BIB for 28 Aug. 2019.

Southern Tenant Folk Union tour, 26 Sept.-4 Oct.

Southern Tenant Folk Union

Thanks to Karolina for the news that Southern Tenant Folk Union, the bluegrass supergroup from London, will be releasing their new album, Revivals, rituals and union songs, in Ireland on 12 September. The track 'Back to front' can be sampled here. More songs are on the band's MySpace site.

Southern Tenant Folk Union, whose tour last year included the Dunmore East Festival, will this year be playing the following shows in Ireland:

Sept. 25th: Open House Festival, Belfast
Sept. 26th: The Spirit Store, George's Quay, Dundalk, Louth (8.00 p.m.) +353 42 9352697
Sept. 27th: Barry's Public House, Sligo town (8.00 p.m.) +353 719173111
Sept. 28th: De Barra's, 55 Pearse St, Clonakilty, Co. Cork (7.30 p.m.) +353 (0)2333381
Sept. 29th: Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork (7.30 p.m.) +353 25 27109 [TBC]
Sept. 30th: The Old Oak, Oliver Plunkett St, Cork city (8.00 p.m.) +353 21427 6165
Oct. 1st: St John's Theatre & Arts Centre, the Square, Listowel, Co. Kerry (7.30 p.m.) 06822566
Oct. 2nd.: The Crane Bar, 2 Sea Road, Galway (8.00 p.m.) +353 91 587419
Oct. 3rd: Dunamaise Arts Centre, Church St., Portlaoise, Co. Laois (7.30 p.m.) +353 57866 3355
Oct. 4th: The Cobblestone, Smithfield, Dublin 7 (8.00 p.m.) +353 18721799

Press comments on their first album:

'A brilliant debut.' Rock'n'Reel Magazine

'Bar hopping ballads stuffed with fiddles and banjos.' Uncut Magazine

'This work deserves to escape the niche into which it has been born as it is a piece which contains both soul and beauty.' Americana-UK

'The smoothest, bluegrass tinged, measured acoustic country singing and playing you could wish for this side of the Atlantic.' Maverick Magazine

Cajun feast coming

Balfa Toujours: Courtney Granger (fiddle, vocals), Kevin Wimmer (fiddle, vocals), Christine Balfa Powell (guitar, triangle, vocals), Dirk Powell (accordion, fiddle, bass, vocals)

Late September 2008 is a good time for anyone who likes good traditional Cajun music: Balfa Toujours (one of the most respected bands in the genre) and the upcoming Pine Leaf Boys will both be in Ireland. We have info only for one show by Balfa Toujours at present (21 September at the Seamus Ennis Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin), but in nine days the Pine Leaf Boys will be playing in all four provinces.


The Pine Leaf Boys: Drew Simons (percussion, vocals), Courtney Granger (fiddle, vocals), Wilson Savoy (accordion, fiddle, vocals), Jon Bertrand (guitars), Thomas David (bass)

The Pine Leaf Boys, all in their early twenties, carry on the tradition with fresh energy - Wilson Savoy is the son of Marc and Ann Savoy, Courtney Granger plays with Balfa Toujours... This tour is made by the Pine Leaf Boy Trio (Wilson Savoy, Courtney Granger, and Jon Bertrand): that is, fiddles, accordion, and guitar, without bass or percussion.

Tues. 23 Sept.: The Local, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford
Wed. 24 Sept.: Colfer's, Carrig on Bannow, Co. Wexford
Thurs. 25 Sept.: Seamus Ennis Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin
Fri. 26 Sept.: Open House Festival, Belfast
Sat. 27 Sept.: Sandion's Cafe Bar, Water St., Derry city
Sun. 28 Sept.: Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim
Mon. 29 Sept.: The Linenhall, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
Tues. 30 Sept.: The Crane Bar, Galway city
Wed. 1 Oct.: The Pavilion, Cork city

Hot Club of Cowtown tour, 5-8 September

Jake Irwin (bass, vocals), Elana James (violin, vocals), Whit Smith (guitar, vocals)

Thanks to Ailis Corey of Moving On Music for news of the forthcoming tour by the Hot Club of Cowtown, the western swing trio based in Austin, TX. From 4 September to 23 September the Hot Club will play fifteen dates in England and four in Ireland. The four Irish dates are

5 Sept.: Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, 20:00

6 Sept.: Black Box, Belfast, 20:00

7 Sept.: Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin, 20:00

8 Sept.: Colfers, Carrig-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford, 20:00

The Letterkenny and Belfast shows are presented by Moving On Music. Tickets for the Letterkenny Regional Cultural Centre show cost €15/12 and are available from An Grianán Theatre Box Office, +353 (0)7491 20777. Doors open at 8.00 p.m.

Tickets for the Belfast Black Box show are priced £12/8 (concession) and are available from Belfast Welcome Centre (028 9024 6609) or online from Moving On Music. Doors open at 8.00 p.m.

The full schedule is on the band's MySpace site. A fuller version of Moving On Music's release, including press reviews of the Hot Club, can be seen here.

News from Vincent Cross

Vincent Cross (above; photo by Paul Collins) reports from New York:

I've been meaning to drop you a line about all things bluegrass and events in NYC. There is always plenty to see and to hear for sure. Firstly, I will be over for two gigs in August. I won't be bringing the full band but will have some special guests up...

August 10th: Monroe's Tavern (Function room), 9.00-11.00 p.m. in Galway

August 12th: The International Bar, Wicklow Street, Dublin, 9.00 p.m.

Secondly, I've been working on a new album called Home away from home which contains all original compositions with a full bluegrass instrument lineup. Songs veer from straight-ahead bluegrass barnstormers to more folk/Americana tunes. This will be my first full-length album, so I'm pretty excited about that.

Thirdly, I had the great honour of playing for Odetta, the legendary folk singer that Martin Luther King called the Queen of American Folk Music. My wife wrote a great article about it...

Finally, I got to chinwag with some bluegrass legends at Grey Fox this year. I always wanted to ask Grisman one of those nitpicky questions about his mandolin-playing requirements. So I asked him how often he changed his strings. I was surprised to hear that he changes them for every professional engagement, for fear of one breaking.

PS: I've attached a pic for the new album by a guy called Paul Collins; he has some fantastic cowboy stuff on his site if anyone is interested.

Countryfest review

Thanks to Sharon Loughrin, who sends

... a wee taste of what we heard yesterday at Countryfest in Dungannon. The festival was a real treat for fans of Irish country, but the only significant bluegrass presence was Ricky Skaggs.

During the 1 hr 20 min. set we listened to country and bluegrass favourites such as 'How mountain girls can love', 'Uncle Pen', and 'Cajun moon'. Tribute was paid to the legacy of Bill Monroe, and Skaggs performed several songs from his recently released CD, Honoring the fathers of bluegrass (I can reccomend this one to bluegrass fans, my copy has been well played!)

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder put in a very polished performance, well received by the crowd, who didn't let the heavy rain dampen their enthusiasm for the music (Ricky did say he was considering moving to Ireland to make his fortune selling umbrellas and wellies; I'm sure BIB will be first with the news should this happen!)

We did feel the performance was a little more geared towards the country fans: it didn't have that full-blown bluegrass sound with banjo and fiddle solos and lots of mandolin pickin' that we heard at Midlands last year. Despite this, it was great to see one of the big bluegrass names in Ireland again; maybe we'll get a bit more next year if Countryfest is repeated.

By the way, the Ulster American Folk Park girls had a stand this weekend in Dungannon, they tell me tickets are selling fast for the Saturday night concert at the festival up there in Omagh. This concert in particular is a sellout every year; anyone wanting to hear Michael Cleveland etc. should book with Marion soon. Even those travelling up for the weekend pass need to sort this to be sure of a seat on the Saturday night.