Artists coming to Ireland: update

Near North Music is a Canadian agency for roots musicians, and the artists on their roster include fiddler/ dancer/ singer/ songwriter April Verch (left), who will be touring in Ireland next month (dates are on the BIB calendar). April and her band impressed a lot of people at last year's Omagh festival, and she'll be back here between 6 and 22 May with her trio and her new album The Newpart, due for release next week.

Other Near North artists likely to interest BIB readers are Annie Lou (Anne Louise Genest), who leads a string band; her album Grandma's rules for drinking was reviewed on Bluegrass Today a couple of years ago. The band's fiddler is the astounding John Showman, founder member of the Creaking Tree String Quartet, who was at Omagh with the Foggy Hogtown Boys a few years back and now leads his own group, New Country Rehab.

Pharis & Jason Romero have not yet toured in Ireland, but have got as close as Britain. So near, and yet so far...

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The BIB, a blog for bluegrass and old-time music, occasionally mentions folk and country artists. Give country music an inch, and it'll take a country mile - but we're happy to pass on the news from Nigel Martyn and his Old Flattop agency that singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier will be touring in Ireland next month with special guest Ben Glover. The dates are:

Sun. 10th May: Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Belfast; 028 90 232403
Mon. 11th: Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry; 028 70 831400
Wed. 13th: Coughlan's, Cork city; 021 496 1751
Thurs. 14th: The Button Factory, Dublin; 01 670 9105
Fri. 15th: Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal; 074 912 0777

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Loudon Temple of the UK's Brookfield Knights agency sends Easter greetings and announces:

... we will be working with the one and only Fred Eaglesmith next year and plan to bring him in for a run of UK/Ireland dates in duo format with Tif Ginn from his band (she is also a successful Texas singer-songwriter). It's a great show - hugely entertaining, as those who have experienced the man will testify! The tour period will be March (actual dates not yet known) but we are inviting declarations of interest at this point. We look forward to hearing from you.