News from La Roche 2010 - and coming Irish festivals

Chris Keenan of the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival recently got back from this year's La Roche Bluegrass Festival at La Roche-sur-Foron, Haute Savoie, France, where she was one of the panel of judges for the band contest section of the festival.

The three top bands were all Czech, underlining the position of the Czech and Slovak Republics as the powerhouse of bluegrass in Europe. The #1 award went to G-Runs 'n Roses (photo above by Lilly Pavlak). Earlier this year, this band won the title of #1 European Bluegrass Band at the European World of Bluegrass [EWOB] Festival 2010 in the Netherlands, where they also won the #3 Audience Popularity Award.

At EWOB 2009, the #1 Audience Popularity Award was won by Blackjack, who came second after G-Runs 'n Roses in the La Roche 2010 contest. Bluegrass enthusiasts in Ireland can look forward to a real treat when Blackjack play at the Omagh festival four weeks from now; they're a tight, hard-driving band with excellent choice of material, as is shown from their albums. The photo above was taken in February this year, when they were chosen to give a special concert during the 2nd European Bluegrass Summit in Bühl, Germany.

Enthusiastic reports on the BIB about the 2009 La Roche festival can be seen here and here.