New album from an Irish bluegrass pioneer

To the best of the BIB's knowledge, Gerry Madigan of Dublin was the first person to make the sound of live bluegrass 5-string banjo playing widely heard throughout Ireland in his fifteen years as a founder member of the Cotton Mill Boys, one of the most successful and most devotedly 'country' of Irish showbands. So we're glad to hear of his latest projects.

In the course of an active and productive career both inside and outside music, Gerry (now living in Alberta, Canada) has brought out a new twelve-track CD, Wild bird, fly free, an eclectic mix of country, blues, folk, and more. It can be heard on BandCamp and SoundCloud. Gerry will be playing theatres in Canada in October with a full ten-piece band, to recreate the album sound live on stage.

During the summer and early autumn, most of his gigs will be house concerts, folk clubs, and other intimate venues with a fiddler/ vocalist and a dobro/ vocalist – 'some good tunes, a bit of bluegrass, some acoustic folk-style songs (plus some suitable originals), and some nice tight three-part harmonies', Gerry writes. A ten-day tour of Ireland in late October, with a similar small ensemble, is being planned.