American epic on TV - and a legend at the Olympia in October

Marty Stuart (photo: David McClister)

Thanks to Des Butler for the news that on Thursday 12 October 2017 Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives will be playing for one night only in the Olympia Theatre, Dublin. This is the sixth and last show in a tour of these islands, and the only show the band will be playing in Ireland - so, a unique opportunity to see and hear an artist who in his early teens played mandolin with Lester Flatt & the Nashville Grass, and who (whether playing acoustic or electric) has always championed bluegrass and the classic forms of country music.

Earlier this month the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre (SEAC) in Naul, Co. Dublin, showed (as part of this year’s Séamus Ennis commemorations) an exclusive preview screening of American epic: the Big Bang, a documentary of how roots music developed in the USA from the beginning of commercial recordings in the 1920s.

Thanks again to Des for sending word that American epic is now being broadcast as a three-part programme in the 'Arena' series on BBC4 TV, from 22.00 to 23.00 on Sunday evenings. It began on Sunday 21 May, so just one episode remains to be shown; but if BBC iPlayer is available to you, the details are here.