With Niall at the heart of bluegrass country: update

The BIB has now found its reading glasses and can give more details of the package tour offered by the Dublin-based travel agency Topflight, and they really look very attractive indeed. For a start, the compere throughout the trip will be Niall Toner - award-winning singer, songwriter, bandleader, presenter of 'Roots Freeway' on RTE Radio 1, and arguably the most knowledgeable person on bluegrass and country music in this island. Thanks to Niall for additional details that aren't on the flyer image.

The seven-day trip begins on Saturday 26 Sept. 2015 with a flight to the USA for three nights in Nashville, TN, with a day excursion on Sunday to Kentucky for the International Bluegrass Music Museum at Owensboro and the birth- and burial places of Bill Monroe at Rosine. On Monday, a Nashville city tour will include visits to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the legendary Studio B.

On Tuesday, the party will go to Johnson City, TN for two nights; there'll be a launch party on the first night for Niall's new album Working on love, and on Wednesday there's an excursion to the Ralph Stanley Museum at Clintwood, VA, and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum at Bristol, TN. On Thursday 1 Oct. the party moves to Durham, NC, for three nights; there'll be a visit to the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC, and all day Friday and Saturday will be spent in Raleigh, NC, at the immensely successful festival part of the International Bluegrass Music Association's World of Bluegrass, before flying back to Dublin on Sunday 4 Oct.

Total cost is €2299 per person, which includes de luxe Anchor Tours motorcoach transport throughout; hotel accommodation, meals, and all taxes at listed hotels; attractions and tours as listed, as well as tickets for the IBMA Festival; daily breakfast at hotels, and lunch at the Ralph Stanley Museum. For more info and bookings, contact Topflight at 01-2401757.