Southern Tenant Folk Union: new album and eight-date Irish tour, Aug.-Sept. 2010

Thanks to music media consultant Ann Marie Walsh for news of the new album by the Edinburgh-based band Southern Tenant Folk Union, The new farming scene, to be released on the Scottish label Johnny Rock Records as JOROCK 011. Distributed by Forte Music and available at iTunes/play.com/amazon, it comprises ten tracks of original material and one traditional Scots ballad, 'South Ythsie', which can be heard on the band's website.

Southern Tenant Folk Union have used this album to bring out the talent of their new members, most of whom come from the Scottish folk-music tradition, and to blend that tradition with the sound of bluegrass and old-time music. The original songs, with their 'post-apocalyptic lyrical tone', give a stark, soulful, and spirited vision of a post-technological agrarian future.

The album will be released in Ireland on Friday 27 August; directly afterwards, the SFTU will play an eight-date Irish tour starting on 29 August at the Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival, followed by concerts in Clonmel, Galway, Castlebar, Dublin, Drogheda, Omagh, and Belfast. Launch parties for the new album will be held in the Dublin and Belfast shows. The full schedule is:

Sun. 29 Aug. Guinness International Bluegrass Festival, Dunmore East, Co. Waterford. Doors 8.00 p.m. Free

Mon. 30 Aug. Clonmel World Music, Raheen House Hotel, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Doors: 8.00 p.m. Tickets €15. Bookings: 086 3389619/087 9107201; e-mail

Tues. 31 Aug. The Crane Bar, 2 Sea Road, Galway. Doors 9.00 p.m. Tickets €12.50. Booking: 091 587419; e-mail

Wed. 1 Sept. Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. Doors: 7.30 p.m. Tickets €15/ €12 conc. Booking: 094 9023733; e-mail

Thurs. 2 Sept. The Cobblestone, 77 North King St., Smithfield, Dublin 7: album launch. Doors 8.30 p.m. Tickets €12. Booking e-mail

Sat. 4 Sept. Droichead Arts Centre, Stockwell St., Drogheda, Co. Louth. Folk music workshop 3.30 p.m., followed by concert 9.00 p.m. Booking: 041 983 3946; e-mail. Workshop & concert €25/ Advance booking (concert only) €18/ at the door €22/ conc. €16

Sun. 5 Sept. Appalachian & Bluegrass Music Festival, Ulster American Folk Park, 2 Mellon Road, Castletown, Omagh, Co. Tyrone. Times: between noon and 6.00 p.m. (3 x 45-minute sets). Booking: +44 (0)28 8224 3292

Mon. 6 Sept. Black Box, 18-22 Hill St., Belfast; Northern Ireland album launch, Doors: 7.30 p.m. Tickets £10. Booking: +44 (0)28 9024 4400

What the UK press said about the new album:

‘A bold concept piece' - The Independent, 4 stars

‘A convincingly seamless fusion… surging vocal harmonies riding a railroad of strings…drives along in furious breakdown style’ - The Scotsman, 4 stars

‘Let Me Wipe The Tears From Your Eyes, lovely song isn’t it? I really like the track' - Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2

‘More than simple roots-music revivalism’ - The Sunday Times

‘Absorbing third album… restrained harmonies on a series of rugged songs’ - Mojo Magazine

‘Those harmonies, especially a cappella, are glorious, and the playing is out of the top drawer too’ - The Sunday Herald

‘A smart conflation of Celtic tradition and bluegrass played with rare intuition’ - Uncut Magazine

Southern Tenant Folk Union website