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.