Mark your diaries!

Thanks to Uri Kohen, mastermind of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, for this announcement of next year's event:

We've got the dates! The eighth Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival will take place from Friday 13 June to Sunday 15 June 2014. Once again, the beautiful seaside town of Westport, Co. Mayo, will attract bluegrass- and folk-lovers from near and far, music will fill the bars and streets, and the whoops and hollers of appreciative audiences will bounce off the walls.

Growing on the massive success of last year's festival, the organisers have been hard at work, pulling together yet another fabulous lineup featuring the best bluegrass and the finest folk for your listening pleasure! And it's shaping up to be another fantastic three days of music, fun, and frolics, with phenomenal concerts, free gigs galore, and shed-loads of sessions…

This year, acts from the UK, mainland Europe, America, and Australia, as well as plenty of Irish acts from all over the island, will be attending the much-loved multi-venue festival. So far, the line up includes the Loose Moose String Band from the UK, the Corn Potatos from America, Battenkill Ramblers from Germany, the Down and Out Bluegrass Band from Northern Ireland, Hat Fitz and Cora Robinson from Australia, and Irish acts Miriam Donohue, the Sullivan Brothers, the Rocky Top String Band, and Tim Rogers & Friends. Expect more exciting announcements over the coming months!

Also, in a festival first, many of the acts will also be lending out their members to form 'Super Groups' especially for the festival – all in the spirit of knowledge sharing, top-class pickin' and jammin', and exciting, exclusive entertainment. All of the artists and groups in the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival are being handpicked to reflect different movements in the bluegrass and folk genres.

For those who love to learn, there'll be workshops and lots of informal sessions where members of the public are welcome to join in and play along with the best of them. As always there'll be bucket-loads of free gigs, more sessions than you can shake a banjo at, and a high-calorie feast of bluegrass and folk – from the sublime to the stompin'. Hold on to yer hats, folks – Westport will be hoppin' again this June!

Keep an eye on westportfolkandbluegrass.com and the Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival Facebook page for more updates.