Shannonside Winter Music Festival, 21-5 Jan. 2016

Thanks to Brendan Walsh and the organising team at the Sixmilebridge Folk Club for the good news that their well established Winter Music Weekend. with its wide-ranging programme, is now expanded into the Winter Music Festival, to be held in Sixmilebridge and Bunratty, Co. Clare, from Thurs. 21 Jan. to Mon. 25 Jan. 2016.

Over the five days, eighty events - concerts, pub gigs, sessions, and shows - will take place at twenty venues, with a core of traditional music (Irish and English) complemented by classical, mariachi, jazz, blues, bluegrass and Appalachian, poetry and humour, and more. Full details, with artist bios, location maps, website links, and more, are on the Festival website and in the 32-page full-colour brochure which is now available.

Of special interest to BIB readers are the bluegrass concert at 3.00 p.m. on Sunday 24 Jan., with Jeff Scroggins & Colorado (USA) and Martin Gilmore with Nick Amadeo (USA) (both acts will be playing other shows during the Festival); and shows by Rackhouse Pilfer from Sligo and Meascán, an Irish classical ensemble who tackle Appalachian music and Texas fiddle tunes. Keep a check, too, on the Festival Facebook.

Update 23 Nov.: Thanks to John Nyhan for pointing out that the Sunday bluegrass concert (in Durty Nelly's) will be at 3.00 p.m., not 5.00 p.m. as originally shown here.