Imor before the Sackville String Band

Readers who are interested in the early days of bluegrass in Ireland and have been following the comments that have built up on the BIB post for 29 Dec. 2010 will join us in a warm 'Thanks!' to Jane Bell, who writes:

This is a wee sketch I did of Imor Byrne which dates from around 1970 in Dublin. As you can see he was a young guy then, probably in his early 20s - if even that. This is about the time of the Dandylion Market and busking at the Green. Imor was playing with Hairy, Clive Collins, and Patsy Whelan at the time and we were all living in a flat in Fitzwilliam St. or Upper Pembroke St. (I can't remember) - It was about the time of the bankers' strike and Clive started squatting in a bank worker's flat who'd gone to London for work, and wearing the guy's clothes. They were mostly playing bluegrass with the occasional traditional tune thrown in, but Imor was mad for bluegrass and Woody Guthrie, 'Pretty Boy Floyd', etc.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who remembered this? I noticed that you had a message on the blog from Imor's niece [Caoimhe] and thought that she might like to have it.

Any reader who recalls those times can contact Jane by e-mail. Comment on this post will also be appreciated.

Woodbine: forthcoming gigs

Thanks to Tony O'Brien (singing lead in the above photo by Patrick Simpson) for the news that Woodbine, in addition to their main engagements as host band at the Athy Bluegrass Festival (11-13 July 2014), Co. Kildare, and as guests at the Ardara Bluegrass Festival (18-20 July), Co. Donegal, will be playing next Friday (4 July, American Independence Day) at Tuohy's Bar, Pound St., Rathdowney, Co. Laois, from 10.00 p.m.; and at Killybegs, Co. Donegal, on 23 August - details TBA.

Update 8 July: The last event on this schedule has now been moved forward a week to 16 Aug. instead of 23 Aug.

Dublin Bluegrass Collective: forthcoming gigs (29 June, 4 July)

Thanks to Aran Sheehan of the Dublin Bluegrass Collective band for news of two major gigs for them in Dublin in the next ten days.

The first is on Sunday 29 June in Sweeneys, Dame St., Dublin 2; the DBC will be playing from 5.00 to 6.00 p.m. on the ground floor of Sweeneys, and admission is free. The gig's page on Sweeneys' website gives a good account of the band's origins and current lineup (Patrick Simpson, guitar; Aran Sheehan, mandolin; Luke Coffey, banjo; Niall Hughes, guitar; Jan Brtník, double bass).

The second - also from 5.00 to 6.00 p.m. - will be on Friday 4 July in the U.S. ambassador's residence, Phoenix Park, to mark Independence Day.

Rattlesnake Annie - and Berea Bluegrass Trio - in Ireland

The BIB carried three months ago (25 March) the news from Roger Ryan of the Country Music Association of Ireland that Rattlesnake Annie (USA), longtime ambassador of American roots music to the rest of the world, would be on tour in Ireland in the first half of July.

Roger has now supplied full dates for the tour, beginning on Thursday 3 July, when Annie arrives at Cork airport from Gatwick. At 9.00 p.m. the same day she will be at a 'Promo Song @ Rockies Bingo Session' at the Rockies Club, Blackrock, Cork. The rest of the dates are:

Fri. 4th: Recital in the Rory Gallagher Room, Cork City Library, 2.30 p.m.
Sat. 5th: Concert in Mardyke Park (Fitzgerald’s Park), 3.00-5.00 p.m.
Concert in the Rockies Club, Blackrock, Cork, with Two Time Polka, 9.30 p.m.-midnight
Sun. 6th: Colfer’s Pub, Carrig–on-Bannow, Co. Wexford, 9.30-11.30 p.m.
Mon. 7th: Dillon’s Bar, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.
Tues. 8th: Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, with Berea Bluegrass Trio.
Thurs. 10th: St John’s Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry, 8.00 p.m.
Sun. 13th: Griffin’s Garden Centre, Dripsey, Co. Cork, 3.00-5.00 p.m.
Mon. 14th: Guest appearance with Ray & Hank, Charlie’s Pub, Union Quay, Cork, 10.00 p.m.
Tues. 15th: Short concert and farewell party at Rockies Club with local guest musicians, 10.00 p.m.
Thurs. 17th: Depart Cork airport for Gatwick.

Last year we had the pleasure of a tour by a full band from Berea College, KY, which included the Ballyhooly Arts Festival.Thanks to John Nyhan for details of this year's welcome visit by the Berea Bluegrass Trio. John writes:

They are Al White (guitar, fiddle, vocals), Ryan Blevins (banjo, mandolin, guitar, vocals), and Sam Gleaves (banjo, vocals). Al White is the music teacher in Berea College, and Ryan and Sam are alumni of the college.

They are coming here for a wedding and will be at that for a couple of days, and then will do two official concerts: Tuesday 8th in Kilworth with Rattlesnake Annie; this will be a double gig. On Wednesday 9th they will be in the Mill Bar, Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare. They will only be here for one week.

Dublin in Old Time Herald - and more autoharps!

The BIB mentioned on 6 Mar. 2014 that The Old-Time Herald magazine had just published a long letter on old-time music in the Barcelona region; and the Herald asked readers outside the USA to write in, describing their own old-time scenes.

We're delighted to see that in the latest OTH Derek Copley of Dublin's Greasy Coat Stringband (also on Facebook) contributes an excellent account of the scene in Dublin, from the long-established Saturday Cobblestone session to the new series of 'Drunken Hiccups Sessions' on Mondays at Thomas House, which now has an Old Time Music Dublin Facebook page. Derek also mentions the corresponding sessions in Cork city and Tim Rogers & the Clew Bay Critters in Mayo. It's fair to say that there is still room for more extended accounts of the old-time music scenes in this island outside Dublin...

*

And following on from yesterday's BIB news on autoharp events - the new Old Time Herald includes a ten-page feature on Dr George F. Orthey of Orthey Instruments in Pennsylvania, who became a full-time luthier in 1982 and has made some 1,500 autoharps and over 2,000 other instruments. The photo (left) shows a spruce-top example of his Signature Super Star model. Dr Orthey's instruments incorporate many refinements of his own devising, but he writes: 'I give 100% credit for what I make, as far as sound is concerned, to the coaching of Mike Seeger.'

Eleven days ago we were walking to the Sunday lunchtime session at the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, where the Watery Hill Boys from Drogheda were playing with a PA. Jim MacArdle's autoharp, ringing out like a piano, could be clearly heard a hundred yards away - and it turns out that his is an Orthey instrument. The photo below, from the WHB Facebook page, shows the band at Westport with Jim playing his Orthey. Thanks to Jim for this further information:

I bought a GDA Diatonic from George Orthey in 2008. At the time George corresponded in longhand, and I have a few of his detailed letters about the harp body, etc. He offers a number of body types: 'The Pop Stoneman' (from trees at the Stoneman homestead); 'The Carter Gold' - from a tree felled by Joe Carter; and 'George's Choice' - George's own selection of wood. The price at the time was $1,385 for the body and $250 for the bars.

I had purchased a CFG 'Desert Rose' Diatonic from Pete d'Aigle in about 2007 - again, it was custom-made.

The important thing for me is playability and staying in tune - last summer we were all over Ireland, up and down France and Spain, and my Orthey was in beautiful tune all the way. Even though my instrument has fine tuners, I never use them; the pegs are so good.

I would recommend The autoharp owner's manual, compiled and published by Mary Lou Orthey in 2000 and still available. This book has many interesting articles, many by George Orthey and previously published in the Autoharp Quarterly. The Autoharp Quarterly is now an online magazine and is available on Pete d'Aigle's website. The Autoharpoholic (edited by Becky Blackley) ceased publication about 1999-2000, I would say.

My first autoharp was an old East German thing bought in the 1960s, which I used on Ragged but Right's 'You are my flower' recording of 1970. In the '70s I bought an Oscar Schmidt 'Appalachian' for £11 in the late lamented Dempsey's Music Salon at the top of Parnell Street [Dublin]. I played it for years, but it was almost impossible to keep in tune and strings kept breaking.

Oscar Schmidt harps, reconditioned and set up with upgraded parts, are available from Pete d'Aigle.

Reconstruction at EWOB

The organising team of the European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) Festival announces on Facebook:

The EWOB website is temporarily offline and will be transferred and rebuilt to meet future demands and solve historic issues. This means that any links you may have to our site will not function as of now. Once the new site is published we will of course inform you. Thanks for your understanding! Have a great summer!

It's well worth visiting the EWOB Facebook page for the wealth of photos from this year's event; above is one of many shots of Well Enough Alone on the EWOB main stage, taken by Ton Dentinger.

An outstanding guitar coming on to the market

Frank Robinson, enduring pillar of the bluegrass community in Northern Ireland, sends the news that he will be coming to the 24th Athy Bluegrass Festival at Athy, Co. Kildare, next month, and adds:

I shall be bringing my 1988 Dan Crary Signature Model Taylor guitar and I hope to sell it. If anyone is interested they should talk to me and we maybe can come to some agreement. [...] All offers will be considered.

The photo - better ones can be found online - shows a 1993 DCSM, not Frank's. Internet sources seem to agree that the DCSM (of whatever vintage - introduced in 1986, it is now no longer in production) is an outstanding instrument. Frank is a longtime friend of Dan Crary, and his DCSM is likely to be a particularly good one.

NTB play WSM on WDVX - and more

Thanks again to Niall Toner, this time for this link to a YouTube video of the Niall Toner Band (US configuration) performing Niall's commemorative song 'William Smith Monroe', live and using a one-mike setup, on the 'Tennessee shines' radio show.

The show is broadcast by the celebrated East Tennessee community radio station WDVX, which also hosts the 'Blue Plate Special' series on which many top bluegrass artists appear. The video was made while Niall was in the USA this past April for MerleFest.

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A reminder from Tom Stapleton that the 2014 double-Grammy nominee Sarah Jarosz will be opening her brief Irish tour next month on Wednesday 16 July at the Set Theatre, Kilkenny city; tickets can be booked on 056 7721728 or Rollercoaster 056 7763669. The other three dates in her Irish schedule are on the BIB calendar; see more on the BIB for 1 June. Tom supplies the following list of sample YouTube videos of Sarah Jarosz in performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOJVU0ZCh4c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8avSGnZlnaY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEeWiEf9KcE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzapgZI5SEc

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Performers and sound men often misunderstand one another. Some time ago Chris Jones, writing for Bluegrass Today, commented on solving or avoiding problems, based on his own wide experience as a performer. Today on Bluegrass Today, Tom Feller (both performer and soundman) writes on what the soundman should expect from the performer, and what performers should do to help everything go right.

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Mike Compton, master mandolinist and interpreter of the music of the Father of Bluegrass, announces this year's Monroe Mandolin Camp, which will be held at Camp Marymount, just west of Nashville, TN, on 4-7 Sept. 2014. Full details of the Camp, and more, are on its website. Watch a 45-second introductory video by Mike here.

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Thanks to Paul Lee of Musiclee.ie for the news that a different kind of string band, No Crows (Steve Wickham, fiddle/vocals; Eddie Lee, bass; Felip Carbonell, guitar, Anna Houston, cello/ mandolin; Oleg Ponomarev, fiddle; Ray Coen, guitar/vocals), will be playing to promote their fourth CD, Waiting for the tide, this coming Friday (27 June) at the DC Music Club, 20 Camden Row, Dublin 2; adm. 15€ (13€ reserved in advance). Doors 8.00 p.m.; concert 9.00 p.m. The band can be seen here performing 'Hey Joe'.

Scottish Autoharp Weekend, 8-10 Aug. 2014

Thanks to Sharon Loughrin of the Red Room in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, for forwarding news of the Scottish Autoharp Weekend, supplied by the organiser, Nadine Stah White of UK Autoharps.

The Weekend - including workshops, sessions, an evening concert on Saturday, and a gospel service on Sunday - will be held in the village of Moniaive, Dumfriesshire, Scotland (site of the annual Moniaive Michaelmas Bluegrass Festival), on 8-10 August. This year, more performers and workshop leaders than ever before are announced, including Maeve Toner, who will be giving a Saturday morning workshop on 'What IS old-time music and why does it work so well on the autoharp?' and playing on the main concert.

Copies of the Weekend's flyer, bio details of all artists taking part, and lists of autoharp resources are also available from UK Autoharps, and Sharon will be bringing some copies to the Athy Bluegrass Festival next month. More information on the Weekend, including downloadable programme, booking form, and accommodation details, is on the UK Autoharps website. Click on the link to 'Future events' and follow links to 'Scottish Autoharp Weekend'. See the BIB for 27 May 2013 for more information on last year's event, including a link to a feature on Maeve.

Special PS coming for autoharpists: watch the BIB!

Tribute concert for Vinny, 24 June 2014

A reminder that the gala concert in commemoration of the irreplaceable Vinny Baker, who died in July last year, will be held tomorrow (Tuesday 24 June) in the Greville Arms Hotel, Pearse St., Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. The lineup can be seen on the poster, left (click for a larger image).

For those who are thinking of staying overnight, the Greville Arms has a special deal on offer. Tickets for the concert are €10; doors open at 7.00 p.m., and the show begins at 7.45.

NTB at the Café du Journal, Monkstown, 26 June 2014

Thanks to Ray O'Brien for passing on the news from his Facebook page that the Niall Toner Band will be playing at the Café du Journal in Monkstown, Co. Dublin. this Thursday (26 June) at 8.00 p.m.

The Café is at 17A Monkstown Crescent (part of the R119 main road from Blackrock to Dun Laoghaire), and the show is part of the Crescent Sessions series, held on the last Thursday of every month.

Niall will be playing songs from his Pinecastle album Onwards and upwards. Joining him will be Richie Foley (mandolin), Dick Gladney (double bass), and Johnny Gleeson (dobro). Doors open at 7.30 p.m.; tickets are €12 at the door.

More detached notes

Thanks to clawhammer-banjo maestro Michael J. Miles (USA) for his latest e-newsletter, with forthcoming shows, classes, and projects up and down the States. In August, for instance, you can make your own banjo (with a yogurt pot body) under Michael's guidance. In early September, he'll be taking part in the American Banjo Camp at Puget Sound, WA, and leading a memorial sing-around in tribute to Pete Seeger (photo).

This coming weekend the Silk Road Rising Theatre company presents in Chicago Unmanned, a drama by Robert Myers with music by Michael, about the lives of two military drone pilots in Arizona, flying drones in Iraq and Afghanistan. More details here.

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More news from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, which (in collaboration with BBC Northern Ireland) is inviting applications for the Northern Ireland Young Musicians' Platform Award. Five awards, worth £5,000 each, plus professional mentoring and performing opportunities, are available to raise the skills and profile of exceptional, talented young musicians (instrumentalists 18-26; singers 18-29).

For the first time, the awards will extend beyond the classical music arena and will now be offered also to musicians from jazz and traditional music backgrounds (we can't guess where bluegrass may come in that spectrum). Applications opened last Friday (20 June) and will close on Thursday 2 October 2014. More details here.

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The International Bluegrass Music Association extends a special invitation to bands from outside the USA to take part in this year's World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC (30 Sept.-4 Oct.). More details and contact information appeared on the European Bluegrass Blog yesterday.

This and that

Thanks to Ray O'Brien for passing on the news that Uri Kohen and his organising team want to receive feedback from anyone who attended last weekend's 8th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival. There's an audience survey questionnaire that should take under ten minutes to complete, and you may be rewarded with - well, go to Ray's post and look up all the details.

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More coming-bands news from Loudon Temple of the Brookfield Knights agency: Woody Pines (above) from Asheville, North Carolina, who toured here in 2012 and 2013, will be back in these islands in March 2015. Loudon sends this YouTube link showing the band in trio configuration.

Also following on from Loudon's message of a week ago about the Railsplitters from Colorado, who will be available for bookings in May/June 2015, he sends a copy of a review of their album by Paul Kerr for Maverick magazine, drawing particular attention to this sentence:

'My world' is nothing less than astonishing. A polished (to a sheen) country pop song that has a driving rhythm with some very fine mandolin playing throughout, it’s elevated by an astonishing vocal performance from Stovall while there’s a powerful hook in the chorus, almost demanding that the song should be blaring from the radio this summer.

This track can be heard here, and a performance of it by the band can be seen on YouTube. Promoters and event organisers are asked to indicate their preferred dates for either band or both, to assist Brookfield Knights in drawing up tour schedules.

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Last but certainly not least - Richard Thompson reminds us on Bluegrass Today that today (19 June 2014) is the centenary of the birth of Lester Flatt, member of the 'classic' version of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, and co-leader with Earl Scruggs of one of the most influential bands in bluegrass history.

Richard gives an ample overview of Lester's career, with video clips from the Flatt & Scruggs years and after, plus the news that a musical celebration in his memory (see poster image) will be held in Sparta, TN, on 11 October 2014.

More good news from Italy: Friend of a friend

Two weeks after the news from Luca Bartolini of the acoustic duo Late Night, the BIB is delighted to receive this news from another friend in Italy - Martino Coppo, mandolinist and lead singer of Red Wine (and also EBMA board member):

I'd like to ​forward you the presentation page of this new project I have released with a good friend of mine and great guitar player/ singer/ songwriter from Genova, Paolo Bonfanti, called Friend of a friend. ​It's not bluegrass 100%. but there's a lot of it, mixed with blues, original songs and tunes, a few covers​​ and even some little Irish flavour ('Matilda's dance').

We are very active promoting our CD, and if you​ hear of anyone who could be interested in a duo show ​for next fall/winter ​we'd be happy to travel to ​Ireland​!​

Friend of a friend (Felmay Fy 8213) is a fourteen-track album by Paolo Bonfanti (vocals, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, National guitar, percussion) and Martino Coppo (vocals, mandolin, octave mandolin, acoustic guitar), with Lucas Bellotti (electric bass), Roberto Bongianino (accordeon), and Alessandro Pelle (percussion). Previews of all tracks can be heard on iTunes, where it can be bought as a download together with digital booklet.

We particularly recommend going to the presentation page Martino mentions - a very neat piece of work with full bio details; photos; links to websites, YouTube, and Facebook; reviews; tour schedule; and press kit. Martino can be contacted by e-mail.

Dubl Handi returns to these islands, 1-16 April 2015

Loudon Temple of the UK's Brookfield Knights agency announces that Dubl Handi (also on ReverbNation and Facebook), after a successful first visit earlier this year, will be back in these islands by popular demand, and available in the period 1-16 April 2015.

The Brooklyn-based old-time band consists of Hilary Hawke, Ernie Vega, and Brian Geltner, using banjo, guitar, washboard, and other percussion. Their album Up like the clouds won them loads of UK radio airplay and good reviews, followed by similar acclaim for their live shows: 'A superbly entertaining and enjoyable evening from a band who skilfully add infectious toe-tapping rhythms to much loved old-time songs, both traditional and original... Great stuff! Let's hope they come back this way again soon' (Peter Cawley, Fatea magazine).

Their music can be heard on Bandcamp and ReverbNation. Promoters and event organisers should contact Brookfield Knights.

Coming events at the Seamus Ennis Arts Centre

Thanks to the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre, a good friend to bluegrass and related music in the Dublin region, for their latest e-newsletter, giving details of coming events at the Centre up to Saturday 28 June, which happens also to be the date of the show there by the Corn Potato String Band.

The show at Naul will be the last chance to see and hear the CPSB in Ireland during their current tour, which began at the Westport festival last weekend; they will be going on to play in Britain and on the Continent. Strongly recommended; a video of them playing the old-time tune 'Squirrel heads and gravy' (with Scruggs-style banjo) can be seen on the Centre's website.

Get your news and name in Bluegrass Europe

BLUEGRASS  EUROPE 16 June 2014 The Official EBMA Magazine with Europe's leading Bluegrass Concert & Festival Calendar and the European Bluegrass Guide Dear bluegrass bands in Europe The deadline to send in dates for BE#92 is this Friday, 20th June! Please send in your public gigs and concert dates between 1st July and 30th November 2014! To make our life easier, please use our Excel-spreadsheet (click http://www.ebma.org/uploads/media/BEXX_calendar_dates.xls to download), as usual, fill in your details and email back the completed form to editor@ebma.org as soon as possible, no later than this Friday, 20th June 2014.   There's some space for advertising, too! Check out our rates and contact us for your package: http://www.ebma.org/be/advertising/ If you don't get Bluegrass Europe in your mail, but you would like to, please consider a subscription at only 25EUR/yr, get it online here: http://www.bluegrass-europe.org/subscribe-to-bluegrass-europe/ (only 6.25EUR per issue!). Your supscription also supports EBMA's endeavours to promote Bluegrass Music in Europe - so hey, why not subscribe today!? Thank you for taking time to contribute! Angelika Torrie European Bluegrass Music Association & BLUEGRASS EUROPE www.ebma.org ¦ www.bluegrass-europe.org European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) http://www.ebma.org

Athy 2014

Thanks to Tony O'Brien of the Athy Bluegrass Festival, Ireland's longest-running annual bluegrass festival, for more on this year's event (see also the BIB for 9 June):

Only 4 Weeks To "Athy in July" Bluegrass Festival

24th Athy Bluegrass Festival
11th-13th July 2014
Featuring
New Essex Bluegrass Band (UK) Ferguson & Ferguson (USA)
Nelson, Crosby & Crosby (USA) Down & Out Bluegrass Band (Irl)
Woodbine (Irl) Bending The Strings (Irl) Della Belle (Irl)
Clem O Brien (Irl) and The Chanders Family (Irl)
Concerts
Fri, Sat nights and Sun afternoon in Athy GAA Centre... €15
Sat 12 noon-1 pm Athy Heritage Centre... free
Sat 2 pm-4 pm Special Tribute to Vinny Baker & Denis Chanders

Athy Community Arts Centre... free
Week-end Ticket €35
Tell a friend, bring a friend
Your support as usual is much appreciated.
Pre-booking... booking appreciated so as to decide on venue lay-out
Payment on the door.
Tony

Dan Tyminski in Ulster with Cara Dillon, 11-12 Oct. 2014

Thanks to Ray O'Brien for passing on the news from Daphne McAllister that Dan Tyminski will play as special guest to Northern Ireland singer/songwriter Cara Dillon on two upcoming shows in the North this coming October. The two artists became friends in 2010 when they both performed with the 'Transatlantic Sessions' tour, based on the acclaimed TV series. The shows are:

Sat. 11th Oct.: Cara Dillon with special guest Dan Tyminski, Waterfront Hall, Belfast
Sun. 12th: Cara Dillon with special guest Dan Tyminski, Millennium Forum, Derry city

The Railsplitters in 2015? - and more

The Railsplitters (Kirsten Cohen Photography)

Loudon Temple of the UK Brookfield Knights agency draws attention to the Railsplitters bluegrass band from Colorado, who in his words 'have taken off with rocket boosters attached', after being named the outstanding act at last year's Rockygrass Festival, getting played on mainstream/pop radio, developing a very broad fan base, and receiving warm critical acclaim. As evidence, Loudon supplies this YouTube link; more sample tracks and information are on the Railsplitters page on the Brookfield Knights website.

A tour in these islands for May/June 2015 is under consideration, and event organisers and venue managers are invited to suggest preferred dates for bookings, to help Brookfield Knights to draw up a practicable schedule.

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Thanks to Ray O'Brien who publishes on his 'Bluegrass in Ireland' Facebook page this news from Uri Kohen in Westport: there are plenty of copies in Westport of the programme for this weekend's Folk and Bluegrass Record, but anyone coming to the town can download their own copy in advance (together with copies of the posters, and more) by using this link.

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Thanks to Angela Warren of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for news of four new music touring programmes funded by the Council as part of its five-year 'Strategy for music'. At least two of these will be of particular interest to BIB readers:

• Moving On Music, which will present five tours around Northern Ireland including the US old-time band Furnace Mountain.

• Open House will collaborate with Smalltown America Music to enable international musicians in the folk/roots genre and emerging young local artists to tour a selection of unusual and iconic venues around the scenic Northern Ireland coast.

The plan also includes a seven-date tour for the Neil Cowley jazz trio presented by the Walled City Music Festival, and Quercus Ensemble, which will present and tour a French-themed chamber-music evening and a new musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Revolting rhymes.

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John Hart of NewFolkRadio in Portland, Oregon, offers a service to enable folk, bluegrass, and indie bands to make their music available to the rapidly growing numbers of people who listen to music on smartphones or tablets: on his new website, he offers to build a web-based smartphone app for $195. As a bonus, he will build a tablet app at the same time, for no extra fee. John gives these six reasons to have a web-based smartphone app:

1 Smartphone users listen an average of 16 minutes a day to their favorite bands.
2 You can't catch fans on the move with a desktop web site.
3 There are more than 5,000 different models of smartphones; signing up with one phone, like Apple, eliminates 4,999 other models. Using my service means you reach all 5,000 smartphones plus any new models that come down the line.
4 Reach your fans immediately with one Tweet, right inside your own app.
5 Change videos, photos, events, etc. anytime. (Can't do that at the Apple or Android store without losing your mind).
6 You get a dedicated domain name that you can promote at every venue. Like this: www.GoBandName.com.

More details on his website.

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Finally, a treat which anyone who regularly looks at Bluegrass Today will already know about: the one-and-a-half-hour closing jam from the recent DelFest festival can be viewed online, either at Bluegrass Today or on the DelFest YouTube channel here. At the core of the jam are the Travelin McCourys, and the tight focus of their energy is (as always) a wonder. During Robbie McCoury's banjo breaks the camera tends to stay on Cody Kilby playing rhythm guitar, but this will annoy no one except banjo-players...

Omagh 2014: programme details and booking available

Thanks to Jeremy Smith for the news that details of this year's 23rd Appalachian and Bluegrass Music Festival in the Ulster American Folk Park at Omagh, Co. Tyrone, are now available, together with online booking facilities.

The lineup is headed by Dale Ann Bradley (above; five times IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year), Love Canon (USA), the Outliers (USA), and the April Verch Band (CAN), plus established favourites from Europe 4 Wheel Drive (NL/D/BE) and Robirohi (EST), and home-grown talent including Rackhouse Pilfer and White Mansions.

We expect more bands to be announced as taking part in the daytime 'Bluegrass in the Park' schedules. Announcements about the Festival will also appear on the Folk Park's Facebook page.

Special tribute concert on Athy 2014 programme

The Chanders Family: Rob sr, Rob jr, Paddy

Thanks to Tony O'Brien for the news that more features and artists have been added to the programme for the 24th Athy Bluegrass Festival (11-13 July 2014) since the last announcement on the BIB two months ago. The complete updated schedule, with ticket prices, is now on the Festival website.

The main addition to the programme is a special free concert at Athy Community Arts Centre from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Saturday 12 July as a tribute to Vinny Baker and Denis Chanders. The concert features Bending the Strings, Clem O'Brien, and the Chanders Family. Tony adds:

Pre-booking of all concerts would be much appreciated, so as to decide on venue layout. Pre-booked seats can still be paid for at the door on the night.

Tickets can be booked by 'phoning 085 1656685 or 059 8625266. A full weekend ticket (€35) covers the Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon concerts, all of which are held in the GAA Club, Dublin Rd, Athy, Co. Kildare. Free acoustic sessions will also be held in Pat Dunne's Bar on Sat. 12 July at 10.00 p.m. and on Sun. 13 July - the Festival Finale Session - at 8.30 p.m.

The full list of acts taking part is: New Essex Bluegrass Band (GB), Ferguson & Ferguson (USA) (Sat.-Sun.), Nelson, Crosby, & Crosby (USA), Down and Out Bluegrass Band, Della Belle, Woodbine, Bending the Strings, Clem O'Brien, and the Chanders Family.

Detached notes

First, a few items relating to the Father of Bluegrass Music. This coming Tuesday (10 June) at 9.00 p.m. (EDST) Kentucky Educational Television will broadcast the premiere of the two-hour documentary film POWERFUL: Bill Monroe remembered, directed by Joe Gray of Louisville, KY, and produced by the International Bluegrass Music Museum (IBMM) in Owensboro, KY. It is a special offshoot of the IBMM's ongoing Video Oral History Project to record interviews with the members of the first and second generations of bluegrass music.

The film tells the story of Bill Monroe with concert footage and (mainly) the memories of dozens of those who were in his band, the Blue Grass Boys, from the 1940s till his death in 1996. The list includes Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, Bobby Hicks, Jack Hicks, Jim Shumate, Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, Byron Berline, Glen Duncan, Bill Keith, James Monroe, Lamar Grier, and many more. Preview sections were shown at the IBMM's Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration in September 2011; Pete 'Dr Banjo' Wernick called it 'probably the best movie ever about bluegrass'.

After the TV premiere, the IBMM will show POWERFUL: Bill Monroe remembered on each day of its upcoming ROMP festival (25-8 June) at Owensboro.

Before then, the 48th Annual Bill Monroe Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival will take place (12-21 June 2014) at the Bill Monroe Music Park & Campground in Bean Blossom, Indiana. The lineup includes perennial favourites in Ireland, Chicago's Special Consensus, who will be back with us in the new year. Full details of the Bean Blossom schedule are here.

Finally - if you go to the IBMA website, the first image to appear is that of Bill Monroe, taken (we guess) in his early sixties. Hang on while the image changes a few times, and behind the legend 'Empowering the global bluegrass community' you'll see our Italian friends from Red Wine with Peter Rowan.

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Thanks to Ray O'Brien and his Bluegrass in Ireland Facebook page for this link to the Ugly Bartender blog, which carries a very rewarding interview with Aran Sheehan of the Dublin Bluegrass Collective and its jam session every Tuesday in Sin É on Ormond Quay. Aran does a splendid job. We'd take issue with him only where, replying to 'What changes would you like to see come about in the bluegrass scene in Ireland?', he says: 'More 4/4 and less 3/4'. What? As Mantis says during a pivotal scene in Kung Fu Panda 2: 'That makes no sense.'

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Still in Dublin: Rua Red, the South Dublin Arts Centre in Tallaght, Dublin 24, sends its June newsletter including details for Love Live Music Day (20 June) and the Centre's Open Mic Night (27 June) - both events are free-admission.

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Loudon Temple of the UK agency Brookfield Knights sends this news:

... the brand new album from Fish & Bird [see the BIB for 11 May 2014] will get its official UK/Ireland launch on 1 July - great timing to allow for radio exposure and print reviews ahead of their visit to these shores early in 2015.

We are proud to have a band of this stature coming over for UK and Ireland dates - the period is January 9 to 27. See this link with new 'live' video clip captured when they were in the studio. Please let us know if you would like to involve the band in programming ahead of their headline show at Celtic Connections Festival.

Global June newsletter from Vincent Cross

Thanks to Vincent Cross (left; photo by Todd Zimmer) in New York for his 'Global June newsletter', which includes links to a short film of Vincent singing his composition 'Childish things' live on WKCR radio, and a six-minute film by Cathy Grier on auditions for 'Music under New York'.

Vincent is looking forward to his 'Eurograss in New York City' night at the Jalopy Theater, 315 Columbia St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, on 12 July (see poster image), featuring the fine Swiss band Mala & Fyrmoon, and Vincent with a full band playing music from his last album, A town called Normal. After that, he will tour in Australia (25 July-25 Aug. 2014), with eighteen dates scheduled at present and room for additional house concerts; Vincent can be contacted about this by e-mail.

Vincent's interesting 'Tools of the trade' blog (exploring the relationship between songwriters and the instruments with which they compose) continues with an interview with Diana Jones; he adds: 'Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to be featured.' Read the full newsletter here.

Westport earns its place in the top twenty Irish festivals

The Westport festival team announce:

With only a week to go to the 8th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, Uri and his team were delighted to learn that the festival was included in a list compiled by the Irish Times of the top twenty festivals in Ireland.

The festival, which is expected to be the biggest one to date, will include more then fifteen acts in ten venues over three days. This year will see the return of some familiar acts such as the Rocky Top String Band and Tim Rogers, alongside some top Irish acts who will play the festival for the first time, such as the Down and Out Bluegrass Band and the Watery Hill Boys. There will also be no less then five international acts - for some of them, it will be the only Irish appearance this year.

There will be the usual open sessions as well as two very unique events:

* the Luthiers showcase. where four instrument makers will exhibit their work and will give a workshop of their art.
* another event which is custom-made for the festival is Mando Mhaigh Eo - a mandolin quintet will play all handmade instruments, and will play in front of a crowd for the first time.

Westport's festival is the first bluegrass event of the summer and we are very much looking forward to see all music fans enjoying three days of top music. Regular updates are available on the festival Facebook page.

Late Night from Italy: riding the blue highway

Late Night: (l-r) Luca Bartolini, Ivo Sposaro

The BIB published on 12 May news from our friend Luca Bartolini about the powerful band he's now in, 0039 Bluegrass Made in Italy. Luca now sends news of another project of which he's a part - the acoustic duo Late Night.

Late Night consists of Ivo Sposaro and Luca Bartolini - both sing and play acoustic guitar and mandolin; both have years of experience on the bluegrass, folk, and acoustic music scenes in Italy; and in the late '90s they both picked together in the traditional bluegrass band Lost in Bluegrass, of which Luca was a founder member.

Luca learned flat-picking from guitar wizard Beppe Gambetta, and succeeded Beppe as guitarist for Red Wine, with whom he made four American tours, played at the major bluegrass festivals in Europe and the USA, and recorded on their 2008 album Winter’s come and gone. His experience in Red Wine and other bands enabled him to develop his technique and personal style by meeting and playing with many great guitarists.

Ivo's musical knowledge (says Luca) is so extensive that there is no label, producer, or obscure performer that doesn’t ring a bell with him. He is also an outstanding guitar player in flat-picking or finger-style; a talented songwriter (see the video link to his 'Weather dancers' below); and a singer who has been complimented by Malcolm Holcombe and Greg Trooper.

Eighteen years ago the two first discussed the idea of a duo act in which they would play their favourite stuff and become rich and famous. 'Well,' says Luca, 'we’re still working on the "rich and famous" part.' The central ideas of the project, though, remain the same:

... to run on the 'blue highway' of the American songwriters: Townes Van Zandt, Jeffrey Foucault, Steve Earle, Kelly Joe Phelps, Malcolm Holcombe, Eric Bibb, Darrell Scott, Gillian Welch, and many others, some of them not so famous in Europe (especially in Italy). We also try to 'translate' for acoustic guitars some more rock stuff, like Tom Petty or John Fogerty or Elvis himself, always trying to put them with the sound of our own. We’ve also written some songs to create something new and more representative of what we are and what we play.

Our main goal - not considering having fun; that is the essential reason - is to bring to the people a 'vintage' sound with quite modern songs. So we use a single mic, we have no plug-in instruments, we want our music to come out as intimate as possible, like being sitting on a sofa and listening to a friend playing. All these elements make what me and Ivo call Late Night Music…

I know everything sounds a little too philosophic, but playing acoustic music here in Italy is more like a mission. People are still surprised a lot by the fact that they can hear everything even if we’re playing, singing, and moving around a single mic, and you don’t have to break any glass with the volume of the instruments…

We’ve spent a lot of years attending to festivals, listening to musicians in little clubs, and we learn something from everyone. Now we’re ready to play our music and leave our very small and personal message in the world of music, playing with feelings, without any cliché - only the respect of the tradition and the desire of making music, only the two of us and a single mic. We put together folk, Americana music, rock, blues, bluegrass and roots music, everything spiced up with some irony and the sound of our own, a little different formula that we love to call 'Late Night Music'.

Late Night can be contacted through their Facebook page or by e-mailing Luca, who also sends these YouTube links to performance videos showing the range of 'Late Night Music'. The first is an example of Ivo's songwriting.

'Weather dancers' (Ivo Sposaro)
'Walking the blues again' (Eric Bibb)
'The cape' (Guy Clark)
'Miner's refrain' (Gillian Welch)
'Fortunate son' (John Fogerty)

James Alan Shelton, 1960-2014

Within the space of two months, bluegrass music has lost two supreme masters of the cross-picking style of lead guitar playing. On 7 April George Shuffler (below right; shown at his induction into the IBMA's Hall of Fame) died at the age of 88. James Alan Shelton (left and below left) died yesterday evening. Both had long and close connections with Dr Ralph Stanley: George Shuffler worked with Ralph and his brother Carter in the 1950s and '60s; James Alan Shelton has been guitarist and road manager with Ralph's Clinch Mountain Boys for twenty years, including the band's Dublin visit in 2003.

A fine photo by Jim Wing of them playing side by side on a festival stage can be seen on the Flatpicking Guitar Network Forum. They can also be seen together on this YouTube video, an excerpt from Flatpicking Guitar Magazine's instructional DVD Clinch Mountain guitar, in which James Alan Shelton interviews George Shuffler.

Update: A commemorative article on George Shuffler by Derek Halsey, including ample quotation from James Alan Shelton, appears in the June 2014 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine.

Prison Love at Whelans Upstairs, 7 June 2014

Thanks to Mark O'Mahony of Prison Love (also on Facebook), who writes:

Howdy Folks,

Prison Love are in action this Saturday bringing their barnstorming bluegrass, outrageous old-time, and confounding Cajun music to the Upstairs of Whelans in Dublin city...

Kickoff is at 9.00 p.m. sharp. Entry is €10 which includes access to the late bar and club, should you be so inclined!

Come along, let’s dance and be merry...

Jerry Sullivan, 22 Nov. 1933-31 May 2014

Many people in Ireland will have been saddened to hear of the death on 31 May of Jerry Sullivan of Alabama, longtime member of the renowned bluegrass gospel group, the Sullivan Family. Jerry and his daughter Tammy (above) performed and recorded as a duo, and were twice on the programme of the annual Appalachian and Bluegrass Music Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park, Co. Tyrone. Richard Hurst, head of the Festival organising team, writes:

Thinking of all the Sullivan Family circle on your sad loss. Jerry and Tammy are remembered fondly by so many people who were blessed to witness their performances at our Bluegrass Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park in Northern Ireland in 2003 and 2008. A wonderful musician, troubadour, and man of peace who was blessed with talent from above. Truly, as Jerry and Tammy sang and played over the years, Jerry is now 'At the feet of God'

Thanks to Richard for this link to a video of Jerry and Tammy performing 'At the feet of God' at Omagh in 2008, accompanied by Jesse Brock on mandolin. Yesterday Bluegrass Today published an account by Richard Thompson of Jerry's life and career in music, with a discography.

Tom Stapleton provides a gig calendar up to Nov. 2014

In response to public demand, longtime promoter of acoustic music Tom Stapleton has provided a gig calendar, listing dates confirmed up to November this year, together with a YouTube link for each artist on his roster.

The closest set of dates, and the most likely to interest BIB readers, is for multi-talented singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and 2014 double Grammy nominee Sarah Jarosz (USA), who will be playing four dates in Ireland next month, supporting her latest release, Build me up from bones. One of the shows is already sold out. Her dates are:

Wed. 16th July: The Set Theatre, Kilkenny city; 056 7721728 or Rollercoaster 056 7763669
Thurs. 17th: Whelan's, Dublin 2; 1890200078
Fri. 18th: Coughlan's Live, Douglas St., Cork city (sold out)
Sat. 19th: Campbell's Tavern, Cloughanover, Headford, Co. Galway (Galway Arts Festival); 093 35454
Video: 'Build me up from bones'

The other most bluegrass-related artist on Tom's list is Willie Watson (USA), who plays guitar, banjo, and harmonica. His dates are:

Thurs. 11th Sept.: Coughlan's Live, Douglas St., Cork city; Hotpress Venue of the Year.
Fri. 12th: Cleere's, Parliament St., Kilkenny. Capacity seated 70.
Sat. 13th: Leap Castle, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. Capacity 60.
Videos: 'Rock salt and nails'; 'Mexican cowboy'

Contact Tom Stapleton by post (Mountheaton, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary); mobile (00353 (0)872238040); land line (00353 (0)505 21647); or Facebook.