Ireland leads the un-American bluegrass world?!

The January 2009 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine is out, with its annual massive calendar of bluegrass festivals throughout the USA, and a much shorter list of festivals outside the USA, including twenty-three from Canada.

Once again, Ireland appears in this list as the country with the largest number of bluegrass festivals outside North America: four - Kilkenny, Dunmore East, Open House (Belfast), and Johnny Keenan (Longford).

Of course, this is an incomplete list even of Irish festivals, and it's necessarily (and no blame to BU) a very incomplete picture of bluegrass festivals round the world. But in this incomplete picture, we're glad Ireland makes so good a showing. Congratulations, all!