Jack of Diamonds Festival in Dublin, 17-19 Aug.: update

Thanks again to Christina Quill for an update on the first Jack of Diamonds Rhythm & Roots Festival, scheduled to be held in seven closely spaced venues in central Dublin on the weekend 17-19 August 2012 - Sweeney's Bar, the Grand Social, the Mercantile, the Stag's Head, the Button Factory, the Dame Tavern, and the Workman's Club. A location map is on the venues page of the Festival website.

The lineup is practically a Who's Who of Irish bands in the Americana and related fields; details can be seen on the poster image (above left; click to enlarge), and more acts are to be announced. Individual acts have been featured in posts on the news section of the homepage since March. There will also be a busking trail, where all money collected will go to the Musical Youth Foundation.

A notable feature of the Festival is the ample programme of instrumental and vocal workshops, for which the standard admission is €8 per person. At present the workshop schedule includes Sacred Harp singing (no booking charge, but donation of €4 suggested), bluegrass banjo (Tom Hanway), old-time banjo (Bill Whelan), finger-picking guitar (Stefan Galt), blues harmonica (Christian Volkmann), bluegrass mandolin (Aran Sheehan), country harmony (Aoife Ruth), swing dancing (DubLindy), and rockabilly bass (Tim Fernley). Tickets for workshops went on sale on 22 May. Times and venues are on the workshops page of the Festival website.

A schedule of events will be posted closer to the Festival dates; meanwhile, you can contact the Festival through its website and keep up with it on Facebook and Twitter.