Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens at Tullamore, 8 July

Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens are continuing their nationwide tour and are set to play in Fergie’s Bar, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, on Wednesday 8 July. An enjoyable night is promised as Carmel & the boys perform songs from their recently released second album, Here with you, recorded with multi-Grammy-award-winning Nashville producer Bil VornDick.

'This band simply gets better and better with each performance'

Carmel & the boys have scaled new heights in the past year and performed on the international scene at a level most bands in this country could only aspire to. In America, this band is being mentioned in the same breadth as artists such as Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Tim O'Brien. This is mainly down to the unique sound of Carmel on lead vocals and the band singing clean harmonies throughout. The recently released album consists of a lot of the band's own material, and some collaborations with top American and Irish bluegrass songwriters, including Tim O'Brien (Male Vocalist of the Year & Song of the Year Winner 2006) & Charlie McGettigan.

Admission on the night €10.

Hayseed Dixie in Carrickfergus, 29 Aug. 2009

Hayseed Dixie (USA) will be playing in western Europe during July and August 2009. Confirmed dates on the band's schedule include ten shows in England, Scotland, and Wales between 17 July and 10 August, followed by appearances at the Pukkelpop Festival, Hasselt, Belgium, on Sat. 22 August, and at Carrickfergus Castle, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, on Sat. 29 August.

Homespun Tapes

Homespun Tapes are running a continuing series of short-term sales on items from their enormous catalogue of instructional material on all the bluegrass instruments, not to mention a wide range of other genres of music. The latest sale, which ends on 30 June, offers up to 50% off DVDs on playing the blues on guitar, mandolin, piano, mouth organ, etc.

The Homespun website also offers free video lessons (for instance, Happy Traum demonstrates his guitar arrangement of Clarence Ashley's 'The cuckoo'), instrument accessories, and much more; so it's worth keeping track of what's happening at Homespun. The company now has a new system of delivering DVDs online, eliminating delays and postal charges.

Bluegrass instrument repair

The editor reports:

Instruments often need adjustments and sometimes repairs; and those of us who pick may not always know where to find a qualified craftsman with special knowledge of the bluegrass instruments.

In the last half-year my banjo (left) has needed expert treatment twice on its fingerboard: first to add railroad spikes (for capoing the fifth string), and secondly to replace badly worn frets all the way up to the twelfth. Enda Donnelly of Knocklyon, Dublin 16, has handled both jobs with care going well beyond the call of duty, and with complete satisfaction to the customer. In both cases the banjo not only functions better but looks better than before.

Enda plays mandolin, lead guitar, and banjo himself, and has led the Dublin band Fair City Grass for many years. I strongly recommend anyone needing a skilled repair or setup job to contact him by e-mail or telephone (01-4943644; mobile 086-3184127).

Prison Love at Charles Fort, 18 July 2009

Photo from the Cork Guide

Thanks to Naoimh Looney of the Kinsale Arts Week for further info on the Prison Love appearance at Charles Fort (see photo above), Kinsale, Co. Cork, on Saturday 18 July, where they will be supporting the exciting and multi-award-winning Slovenian band Terrafolk with Cork's own Una Palliser.

The unique location is only one of the ingredients that should make this a very special night. Doors open at 6.30 p.m. and the show begins at 7.00. Tickets are €35. For further info, see the Kinsale Arts Week website or contact Naoimh by e-mail.

Niall Toner Band dates, July-Oct. 2009

Thanks to Niall Toner (above) for the following schedule for the Niall Toner Band in the second half of 2009:

July 2009
Fri. 3rd or Sat. 4th or Sun. 5th Dinn Ri, Carlow (TBC)
Sun. 5th (note 5th, not 4th!) Dundrum Town Centre, Dundrum, Co. Dublin, 1.00-5.00 p.m. (three sets)
Sat. 11th Athy Bluegrass Festival (evening show)
Sun. 12th Athy Bluegrass Festival/2.00-4.00 p.m.
Fri. 17th Eugene's Bar, Phoenix Festival, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, 9.30 p.m.
Sat. 18th Bridge House, Tullamore, 9.30 p.m.
Sun. 19th Stephen's Green, Dublin, 3.00-5.00 p.m.
Possible RTE Radio One, Pat Kenny Show (TBC)

Aug. 2009
Sat. 1st Bluegrass On The Walls, Derry city, 1.00-4.00 p.m. and 9.30 p.m.
Sun. 16th St Enda's, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin, 3.00-5.00 p.m.
Sun. 23rd The Hollow, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 3.00-5.00 p.m.

Sept. 2009
Sat. 5th, Sun. 6th Appalachian & Bluegrass Music Festival, Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone
Fri. 25th Visual, Carlow (TBC)
Sun. 27th Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival, Longford town, 9.30 p.m.

Oct. 2009
Fri. 2nd Clarinbridge Arts Festival, Co. Galway, 9.30 p.m.
Sat. 31st NTB and Peggy Seeger, Unitarian Church, Dublin (TBC)

Prison Love: events in June and July 2009

Howdy folks,

Here's details of our upcoming gigs this month and next; drop in and say hi! Be good,

Hurricane Barry

Sat. 27 June Festival of Food, Fish & Fun! Spinnaker Bar, Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, 10.00 p.m.
Sat. 11 July Goud’Acoustic Festival, Goudargues, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Sat. 18 July Kinsale Arts Week: Charles Fort, Kinsale, Co. Cork, 7.00 p.m.

Roger Ryan receives Country Music Association award

We mentioned a couple of days ago that Roger Ryan, a graduate of the IBMA's Leadership Bluegrass 2008 programme, is in Nashville, TN. One of the main reasons has now been made public.

On Friday 12 June he was one of three international media representatives who received awards from the Country Music Association (CMA) during an Irish showcase at the Sommet Center Plaza Stage in Nashville, during the CMA Music Festival. Joe Fish and Pio McCann, who hosted the Irish showcase, were each presented with the International Country Broadcaster Award for 2008; while Roger received the 2008 Wesley Rose International Media Achievement Award for outstanding achievements in the media, contributing to the development of country music outside the US.

Roger founded the Country Music Association of Ireland in 1969, has been a country music correspondent for the Cork Evening Echo for more than twenty years, is the chief writer for Personalities magazine, and hosts a video show. A full press release is here.

Béla Fleck in Downbeat

Banjoist Béla Fleck appears on the cover of the June 2009 issue of the jazz world's equivalent of Bluegrass Unlimited - Downbeat magazine, which describes him as 'one of the most adventurous players in improvised music'.

Inside is an article by Geoffrey Himes, 'Bela Fleck: thrown into deep water', which reviews his many current fields of activity, including his work with Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet, and his Africa Project, the latest results of which are the documentary film and CD Throw down your heart. The accompanying photos show him with what we believe is a Gold Tone CEB 5 5-string cello banjo. Downbeat is on sale at Tower Records in Wicklow Street, Dublin, and should be available from other good music outlets.

Greetings from Nashville

Roger Ryan, of the Country Music Association of Ireland, sends greetings from Nashville, where he arrived on 1 June and will remain till 18 July, with singer/songwriters Barry & Holly Tashian.

The above photo shows Roger as a member of the 2008 graduating class of the IBMA Leadership Bluegrass programme, directly behind April Verch, who is fourth from the left in the front row. Richard Hurst, organiser of the Omagh festival, can be seen in the row behind Roger.

Wilders in Ireland, 26 June-4 July

The Séamus Ennis Cultural Centre at Naul, Co. Dublin, sends a reminder that on Friday 26 June the Wilders (USA) will be playing at the Centre at the start of eight days in Ireland. The Centre says:

Renowned as the 'hillbilly hurricane', the Wilders in full, unstoppable flight are firmly established as Edinburgh Fringe favourites after three sell-out runs at the Famous Spiegeltent. The Kansas City, Missouri, four-piece are back to thrill capacity crowds again following sell-out shows everywhere they went last year. Playing storming roots-of-country and old-time with a pure essence of early rockabilly, they deliver a blistering fiddle/ banjo/ guitar/ dobro/ slap bass hoedown, playing whiz-bang music as infectious and fun-loving as you will ever hear.

We would add that Betse Ellis singing accompanied only by her fiddle is one of the more moving musical experiences we've had. As usual at the Centre, doors open at 7.30 p.m. and the performance is at 8.30 p.m. Admission is €16. The Wilders' other shows in Ireland can be found on the BIB calendar.

Keep it on the job

Lloyd Loar Gibson F-5 mandolin #73987

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN, still needs over $400,000 to ensure that it will be able to keep several unique historic instruments on display. In addition to Bill Monroe’s Lloyd Loar mandolin (above), these include guitars that belonged to Mother Maybelle Carter and Johnny Cash. The present state of affairs was described on 12 June in a post on the Bluegrass Blog by Richard F. Thompson, who recently became editor of British Bluegrass News.

The best future for these instruments is to stay on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - and that applies especially to Bill Monroe's mandolin. You could argue that it should instead be in the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY, or in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Country Star Museum at Bean Blossom, IND. Both of these are worthy institutions; but they would be in effect retirement homes for the mandolin.

Simply by being where it is in Nashville, #73987 continues to do good work for bluegrass. Standing in the display case among the other instruments, looking (in your editor's words) 'as if a cement truck had tried to crush it, and failed', #73987 is a statement of the strong spirit of bluegrass music and of the respect it has earned in the country music world. It should be allowed to keep doing this.

Sweet sounds on Shannonside, 20 June

Left: Charlie McGettigan

Thanks to Colin Henry, who reports:

Janet and I will be appearing on Saturday 20 June on Charlie McGettigan's morning radio show on Shannonside Northern Sound radio. We are there to promote the forthcoming Gary Ferguson tour which begins on 2 July. Janet is playing some selected gigs with Gary and some 'In the Round' performances with Gary and Charlie McGettigan. I as before am sideman on dobro and guitar. Gary's son Chris is also coming. I will send you a full tour schedule soon.

I see the Carter Brothers are also on Charlie's show on the 20th so it should be some good fun - looking forward to it.

Carter Brothers in Ireland, 20 June-2 July: update

Thanks to Chris Keenan of the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival, who reports:

The Carter Brothers return to Ireland! Tim & Danny Carter return to Ireland next week for a select few dates...

Sat. 20 June Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim
Wed. 24 June Crane Bar, Galway city
Thurs. 25 June Keogh's Folk Club, Longford town
Fri. 26 June Sandino's, Derry city
Mon. 29 June Kilworth Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork
Tues. 30 June St John's Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry
Wed. 1 July Colfer's, Carrig-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford
Thurs. 2 July Carlton Abbey Hotel, Athy, Co. Kildare

Also - don't miss them on the following radio programmes:
Sat 20 June 10 a.m. Shannonside Northern Sound Radio, on Charlie McGettigan's show
Tues. 23 June 9 p.m. RTE Radio 1, on Niall Toner's show
more TBC

Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival
24-27 September 2009 - Longford, Ireland
Celebrating Irish Traditional, American Bluegrass, and Folk Music
ph: 087-281-7825
international: +353-87-281-7825

The Carter Brothers, who are playing as a trio with bass on this trip, will go on to tour in the UK, including heading the bill at the North Wales Bluegrass Festival. Details can be found on their website.

Update 16 June: See today's post on the Bluegrass Blog, which names Mark Vernon as bass player on the tour.

Special fiddle tunes issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

For guitar players who enjoy flat-picking fiddle tunes, the May/June 2009 issue (vol. xiii, no. 4) of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine looks like being essential reading. The issue is packed with fiddle tune arrangements, and the space given to ads and text has been cut down. Editor Dan Miller enlisted many guest contributors, and asked each to provide an easy and a more advanced setting of a jam-session standard. More details can be seen here, where the issue can be bought either as hard copy or as a downloadable pdf file.

FGM has not neglected guitarists who want to play straight bluegrass - see this recent post on the Bluegrass Blog.

Westport Festival launch, 6 June: report

Electric Cave Production (ECP) reports:

Last Saturday (6/6/09) the Electric Cave Production launched the 3rd Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival. In front of a full venue we showcased four different acts.

Tim Rogers [left] opened the night, supported by Brian Loftus.


Then we had on stage David Hope [right], who once again gave a great show - his own songs and some classic folk covers. Then Sarah and Hubie MacEvilly [below left] took the stage and gave the crowd a taste of what is to come on the opening gig of the Festival.

We finished the night with Odi [below right] from Wexford, who played their unique indie sound to cheering fans. The Festival programme was unveiled for the first time, and the night was crowned as a huge success.

Uri Kohen (ECP) will host a radio program this Sunday (14/6/09) on crc fm that can be heard on the net here, and the MacEvillys will play live in the studio. There are only two weeks before the Festival - hope to see you all in beautiful Westport!

NTB and Prison Love live in Larne, 12 June

The Niall Toner Band – led by one of Ireland’s best-known international bluegrass artists – will be the headline act at the opening concert of the Larne Alive 'Sister Cities' Festival. The concert by the Country Music Association’s International Award nominee is taking place on Friday 12 June at the McNeill Theatre in Larne.

Friday night’s bluegrass concert is part of the Larne Alive summer festival, which this year celebrates the Borough’s links with the town of Clover in South Carolina. Niall Toner is truly the 'king of Irish bluegrass', playing alongside Irish and American bluegrass legends such as Bill Monroe. Niall currently presents country music shows on RTE radio and at Lite FM. Niall Toner’s songs capture all the best elements of bluegrass music and are sure to be a real treat for the audience.

'Larne Alive are proud to present this world-class artist in what is hoped to be an excellent night’s entertainment right here in Larne', said Rachael McMaster, event organiser. 'This really is an event not to be missed!'


The Niall Toner Band will be joined by Prison Love, whose passion for bluegrass, old-time, gospel and Cajun music has been enjoyed at major roots/bluegrass festivals across the country, as well as in Europe and the US.

Expect the fast pace and dynamism of El Nino’s mandolin, Wil N. Dowds’s flat-picking guitar and banjo, Dancing Pete’s squeezebox, Beau Brakers’s fiddle, and X-Kon’s dog-house bass. Sweet vocal harmonies from Soapy Mahoney and Hurricane Barry complete the line-up.

Tickets are £12 and can be obtained from Larne Tourist Information Centre. Normal concessions apply. Doors for the concert open at 7.45 p.m. Contact 02828260088 for more information.

Two High String Band with added vitamins

Billy Bright (mandolin) and Brian Smith (guitar) with unidentified bassist

Many of us will remember the Two High String Band from Texas, who played at the Dunmore East and Omagh festivals in the late 1990s as a trio: Billy Bright (mandolin), Brian Smith (guitar), and Bryn Davies (bass). Bryn Davies subsequently played with Tony Rice & Pete Rowan, and on the reunion album Old & in the gray.

When Billy and Brian wanted to expand into a full band, they took no half measures. The present six-piece Two High String Band includes legendary banjoist Alan Munde. Read the details on the original Bluegrass Blog. The new configuration can be seen in videos on the band's MySpace site.

Little Ass Birds at the Cobblestone, 12 June

Thanks to Charleen Hurtubise of the Little Ass Birds for this news and the images:

Little Ass Birds are at the Cobblestone in Smithfield on Friday 12 June from 9.00 p.m. From old Carter classics to their own original songs drawn from the musical wells of mountain music and gospel revivals, Little Ass Birds sing in the old-time style around one microphone.

Their sound evokes an atmosphere of simpler days where generations of hard-working men and women passed their time on front porches or around campfires, singing songs of life's harsh realities, survival, hope and songs of better days to come. Haunting harmonies and uplifting melodies mingle in a stirring concoction of spirited old-time and country music.

Also, on the night special guest Cathal McGeown joins them to fuel some old-time fiddle tunes plus the beautiful ambient music of Allison Sleator.

The photos shown in this collage can be viewed on the Birds' MySpace site.

New CD from Sometymes Why

Thanks to Kristin Andreassen of Uncle Earl, last seen over here at the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival a couple of years ago, that her 'other band', Sometymes Why, has released its third CD, Your heart is a glorious machine.

Sometymes Why (also on MySpace) consists of Ruth Ungar Merenda, Aoife O'Donovan of Crooked Still, and Kristin. You can read more about the project, hear some of the music, watch a video about the band, and link up to their other internet outlets, through this link. Kristin adds: 'Stay tuned for some exciting Uncle Earl news soon!'

Quote of the month

The pop/rock songs that I have recorded are songs that I always heard instantly being done in the bluegrass style from the first note. I am a firm believer that bluegrass can lend itself to any lyric or melody... that’s how much I respect the music and its incredible musicians.

Dale Ann Bradley (IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year 2007, 2008), quoted on the Bluegrass Blog

Hot Seats in Ireland, Sept. 2009

The Hot Seats from Richmond, VA, 'Richmond's Beloved Absurdist Stringband' and formerly known as Special Ed & the Shortbus, will be touring in these islands from 21 August to 4 October. Most of the dates are in Scotland, beginning with the Mull of Kintyre Festival; but they will be in England and Wales in early September, and will be playing a few dates in Ireland later in the month, as follows:

Thurs. 24 Sept. Glens Centre, Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim
Fri. 25 Wexford (venue TBC)
Sat. 26 11th Coors Light Open House Festival, Belfast

Westport Festival 2009 programme now out

Uri Kohen, organiser of the 3rd Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival (Friday 26 June-Sunday 28 June 2009), reports that the programme for the festival, with times and venues for all events, is now available as a flyer. The outside and inside can be seen at these links.

The lineup can be seen on the Festival poster (click to enlarge).

Patuxent Music releases open for IBMA nominations

Frank Wakefield

Tom Mindte's Patuxent Music record company, based in Rockville, Maryland, requests that IBMA members consider Patuxent recording artists for awards at World of Bluegrass 2009.

Several of the artists recommended for instrumental performance of the year, album of the year, and instrumental recording performance of the year, have come to Ireland as young members of Tom's Patuxent Partners band - Patrick McAvinue (fiddle), Nate Leath (fiddle), and Jordan Tice (guitar) - while others are major figures in bluegrass history such as Frank Wakefield or the three Stoneman sisters, Patsy, Donna, and Roni. See the full list of Patuxent recommendations (and hear some of their music) here.

Low Country Boys at Glenarm Musikfest

Thanks to Ivan McFerran of the Low Country Boys for this summery photo of the LCB (l-r: Gibson Young, banjo, guitar; Richard Mottram, dobro; Ivan McFerran, bass, fiddle, mandolin), taken at the bluegrass gospel concert on the final day of the Glenarm Musikfest, which took place on 28-31 May at Glenarm, Co. Antrim. Contact details for the Musikfest are at the page given on the link.

Details of the latest LCB CD, recorded before Richard (from Bangor, Co. Down) joined the band, appeared on the BIB on 31 May.

IBMA's World of Bluegrass 2009

The IBMA's World of Bluegrass 2009 will be held in Nashville, TN, from 28 September to 4 October 2009, comprising the Business Conference, Awards Show, and Fan Fest. You don't need to be an IBMA member to attend! Complete event info and a link for registration can be found here.

The IBMA have also produced a fine video showing the reasons why people keep coming to World of Bluegrass. Plenty of familiar faces can be seen, and some outstanding music can be heard. View the movie here.

The current issue of the IBMA's e-newsletter includes a report on the European World of Bluegrass 2009 events by Richard Hurst, chairperson of the EBMA, with special mention of the EWOB Festival in the Netherlands. Richard is also organiser of the annual Appalachian and Bluegrass Music Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park at Omagh, Co. Tyrone.

Michael Miles newsletter

Michael Miles (from a Chicago Irish-American family) is a Renaissance man of the banjo - a phenomenal player, songwriter, music educator, and 'musical playwright'. His beautiful settings of J.S. Bach for clawhammer banjo are only a small fraction of what he's involved in. Read Michael's latest newsletter here.