7th Bluegrass Jamboree! now on the road

Nearly six years ago the BIB drew attention to the success of Rainer Zellner's first Bluegrass Jamboree!, a venture based on the concept of a 'travelling bluegrass festival' - the first of its kind in Europe - bringing three acts in bluegrass and closely related acoustic music to a score of select venues throughout central Europe.

Rainer (a very capable bluegrass mandolinist) runs the Music Contact agency, handling a wide range of 'Roots and World Music & Diverse Thrills'. On Monday his seventh Bluegrass Jamboree! began a full three weeks (23 Nov.-13 Dec.) of touring - twenty dates in German cities, and one in Switzerland under the auspices of the Bluegrass in Basel association. The full itinerary is on the Jamboree website, where you can see an eleven-minute preview video (also on YouTube) featuring the three acts on this year's bill - Richie Stearns & Rosie Newton, the Howlin' Brothers, and the Railsplitters (who made a successful tour in Ireland this year).

At lunchtime today, the Jamboree's Facebook added the photo below, showing Jamboree! artists enjoying the Christmas Market in Bonn. Congratulations to Rainer (standing on the right of the group) for creating this pillar of the European bluegrass calendar.