'Roots Freeway' Martin guitar competition - and NTB news

Niall Toner writes:

Due to the weather conditions and the fact that NTB were booked for a couple of gigs, I had pre-recorded the 'Roots Freeway' shows that will be broadcast tonight and on next Saturday, 11 December. I would like to remind listeners that on this new series of 'Roots Freeway', which will run until the end of February 2011, we will be giving away a Martin acoustic guitar [left] as a prize in a competition.

This competition will be based on a similar structure as with our Gibson guitar and Clareen banjo give-aways, and a certain degree of knowledge and understanding of acoustic guitar music, musicians, and instruments will be required, so no harm to get stuck into a little research in the meantime! Details of the questions and conditions will be announced on the Christmas Roots Freeway on 18 December 2010, and the contest will begin in earnest in January 2011. Details will also appear in the January edition of the RTE Guide, and on the RTE Radio One website. I am most grateful to Gerry Crowe of Perfect Pitch Music in Exchequer St., Dublin, and the Martin Guitar Company for their sponsorship.

'Roots Freeway' always includes some bluegrass, as well as information about live gigs by touring and domestic acts, with information so often gleaned from your blog. I should also add that the Irish content of the show is being actively increased, hopefully to around 45% of the total playlist, and this of course includes singer-songwriters, string bands, blues players, etc, etc.

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In connection with NTB, it's worth reminding folks that we have made some additions and improvements to our website; so even if you have visited us previously, please feel free to come and take another look. Among the new features is a blog, which I am doing my best with! It's a 'learning curve', as they say. Another feature is the iTunes button in the top right-hand corner of our page, which gives folks a chance to purchase single NTB tracks for 99 cent each. This page also displays all of our CD releases - There's a better way, Mood swing, and NTB 3, as well as our two American CDs, From Ireland to the Ozarks and Celtic country. For clarification, the two American CDs are released as virtual albums only, by Big Fish Media in Los Angeles, and contain material drawn from our previous CD releases.

The new NTB CD will be released in 2011 to coincide with the centenary of Bill Monroe.