Martin Harley and Daniel Kimbro in Ireland, 27-8 Jan. 2018

Acoustic blues and slide guitar have clear links to bluegrass music, so BIB readers may welcome the news that slide-guitar maestro and singer/ songwriter Martin Harley (UK) and US bass maestro Daniel Kimbro (Jerry Douglas Band, Larkin Poe) will be in Ireland for two dates at the end of January, as part of an extended tour supporting their current album Static in the wires, which has received ecstatic reviews from the blues and folk media. There's an even stronger bluegrass connection, as Daniel Kimbro played in old-time and bluegrass bands before studying bass at East Tennessee State University; and Jerry Douglas is one of the guest musicians on the album.

You can hear a full album stream of Static in the wires via SoundCloud. Sample YouTube videos of the duo in performance are ‘Feet don’t fail me’ and ‘Mean old city - part 2’. Their 'Feet don't fail me' tour begins on Fri. 26 Jan. at the Glasgow Celtic Connections festival, after which they will be playing two dates in this island:

Sat. 27th: Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, Co. Antrim
Sun. 28th: The Printworks, Dublin Castle: 'Folk Gala' with Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer and I Draw Slow (part of Dublin Tradfest)

before returning to Britain for eight dates in February and a further eight in March. For further information and interview, session, or guest-list requests, contact Geraint or Deb Jones at
G Promo PR; phone +44 (0) 1584 873211; e-mail

Transport for resonator guitar wanted (update)

The BIB has already mentioned that the coming Shannonside Winter Music Festival (18-22 Jan. 2018) will include Greg Blake (USA), already known over here as the powerful lead singer and guitarist with the dynamic band Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, and this time heading a special band - an elite collection of top-notch bluegrass musicians.

For instance, Sally Van Meter (photo) will be on resonator guitar - the first woman to be recognised as an outstanding player of the instrument. For the tour, she will be using a dobro lent by Colin Henry of Belfast, which has to reach her at Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare, on or before the early afternoon of Friday 19 January. Colin (who has a gig himself in Belfast that night) has posted the news on Facebook in the hope that someone from the North will be going down to Clare and could take it to her, but without response so far. Or would someone from Dublin be able to take it? Colin can be contacted by e-mail.

Update 3 Jan.: Thanks to Ronnie Norton in Dublin for undertaking to deliver the instrument.

Fellow Pynins coming to Ireland in July-Aug. 2018

Thanks to Dani Aubert of the American folk duo Fellow Pynins (above) from Ashland, OR, for the news that they are planning a tour in Ireland this coming July and August 2018, and are looking for concert opportunities. Dani and Ian Van Ornum tour as a duo with clawhammer banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, and guitar, as well as in their six-piece folk orchestra Patchy Sanders. Dani adds:

We thrive on playing listening-oriented venues and we also love to play house concerts. You can get to know the band here.

Their press kit includes videos and audio cuts from their latest album, Hunter & the hunted. Plenty of their work can also be heard on YouTube, both as a duo and with Patchy Sanders. They have also given workshops in harmony singing and songwriting at many festivals and other events. Contact Fellow Pynins for bookings by e-mail.

'Country Cuts', Jan. 2018

Thanks to Roger Ryan of the Country Music Association of Ireland for the January 2018 issue of his 'Country Cuts' e-newsletter. It gives news of events up to the end of March 2018, including the First Irish Old-Time Appalachian Gathering (also on Facebook) in mid February. The newsletter can be read in full here.

Woodbine in Tuohy's, Rathdowney, on New Year's Day

Tony O'Brien of Woodbine sends this news of the first gig of the new year:

Woodbine kick off 2018 with a gig in one of our favourite venues: Tuohy's Bar, Rathdowney, Co. Laois, Mon. 1 Jan. at 9.30 p.m.

More seasonal greetings

Thanks to Richard Hurst and all the team at the Ulster American Folk Park at Castletown, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, for this evocative picture and their greetings for Christmas and a bright new year.

Artists sending Christmas greetings include April Verch (CAN), who sends her heartfelt thanks to all who helped to make 2017 'another wonderful year where I’ve been able to do what I love the most'. April sends a video - also on YouTube - of herself and Joe Newberry (USA) singing the John Hartford song 'On Christmas eve'. (April and Joe have both, at different times, performed at the Folk Park.)

Ken Perlman (USA): news, winter 2017-18

Melodic clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar master Ken Perlman (also on Facebook) sends his latest e-newsletter for the first quarter of 2018, with news of some major events later in the year.

Ken's new solo banjo CD Frails & frolics, with forty-five tunes (mainly ones he collected on Prince Edward Island) on seventeen tracks, is just out on his Redbud Recordings label, with an eight-page booklet of notes. Ken is accompanied by Jim Prendergast (guitar) and Janine Randall (piano). His performance of the three movements of 'Concerto for banjo and orchestra' by Harold Schiffman with the North/South Chamber Orchestra (cond. Max Lifchitz) in Manhattan is available as the first three tracks on the CD Vintage soundscapes & more (N/S #1064). Copies can be obtained through North/South Music or Ken's website.

The legacy of the late Alan Jabbour, Ken's longtime music collaborator, will be celebrated at the Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington DC, on Thurs. 18 Jan. (6.00-9.30 p.m.) with a reception, presentations, and a jam session led by Ken and devoted to well-known old-time tunes collected from Henry Reed and other Appalachian fiddlers. Admission is free and all are welcome.

More details, including news of Ken's banjo camp schedule, publications, and recordings, are on his website.

Curly Seckler, 1919-2017 (update)

The BIB learns with deep regret that one of the earliest members of the first generation of bluegrass musicians has left us: John Ray 'Curly' Seckler of China Grove, NC, who died peacefully at home yesterday, two days after his 98th birthday. From his mid-teens onwards, he played in eight different bands (including two terms with Charlie Monroe) before bringing his tenor singing and songwriting ability to the most influential bluegrass band of the 1950s and '60s, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, & the Foggy Mountain Boys.

An outline of his career, plus a video of Curly singing 'Please help me, I'm falling' on TV with Flatt & Scruggs, is on Bluegrass Today; a fuller obituary has appeared on the Nashville Tennesseean. More details are in his Bluegrass Hall of Fame citation. The 2016 biography by Penny Parsons, Foggy Mountain troubadour: the life and music of Curly Seckler - 272 pages with forty-nine photos - is available from the University of Illinois Press.

Update 29 Dec.: Arrangements for Curly's funeral, which will be held in Nashville on Monday 1 Jan., are given by Richard Thompson on Bluegrass Today.

Shannonside Winter Music Festival concert tickets now bookable online

Thanks to John Nyhan for the news that tickets for the concerts for next month's Shannonside Winter Music Festival in Bunratty and Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare (18-22 Jan.), can now be bought online at the Festival website, www.wmw.ie, or by texting 086 870 7739. John adds:

I am especially referring to those who wish to go to the bluegrass concert featuring the Greg Blake Bluegrass Band on Sunday 21 Jan. in O Gliasáins Concert Room in Sixmilebridge at 3.00 p.m.

I also have a number of tickets for sale for that concert (tel. 087 792 1771). Tickets are €20 and are beginning to sell. I would definitely expect the concert to be a sell-out. O Gliasáin's concert room is limited to a maximum 120 people.

Christmas greetings from the BIB

The Bluegrass Ireland Blog sends good wishes for a happy and peaceful Christmas and a joyful and prosperous New Year to all its readers, to all lovers of bluegrass and kindred musics, and to all people of goodwill everywhere.

The editor will be fully occupied with family affairs over Christmas; so by all means keep sending news in, but the blog will be quiet till 27 December.

IBMA news

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) has announced the names of those who will be attending its next Leadership Bluegrass course (5-7 Mar. 2018). The twenty-five names include those of Greg Blake, who will be here in January with his star-studded band; Dan Eubanks, who was here last January as bass player of the Special Consensus; Bil VornDick, the legendary recording engineer and record producer who produced the first two albums for the midlands' Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens when they were #1 European Bluegrass Band; and Emma John of the Guardian newspaper, who (like our Uri Kohen in 2016) is the only person on the course from outside North America.

*

In many ways the IBMA has had a very good 2017 - greatly increased attendance at World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC, is just one of those ways - and among its minor projects on hand for the near future are a new website (spring 2018) and a new membership database. The IBMA however remains a non-profit organisation, dependent on the global bluegrass community to support its own upkeep and its two main beneficial organisations: the Bluegrass Trust Fund (to help bluegrass professionals in time of emergency need) and the IBMA Foundation (to help bluegrass grow through education). Under the slogan 'Support each other. Support this music we love. Support bluegrass', the IBMA takes its place in the rank of 'year-end giving opportunities'. Donations (tax-deductible in the USA) can be made through the IBMA website.

Greg Blake on #1 song on US Folk DJ Chart, Nov. 2017

Thanks to Laughing Penguin Publicity for the news that Greg Blake, who will be over here a month from now leading a truly stellar band (see the BIB for 29 Nov. and 7 Dec.) is one of the top bluegrass artists contributing to Maria Levine's recording of the Susan Shann song 'You reap what you sow', which was #1 on the US Folk DJ Chart for November 2017.

Other top pickers on the recording include Rob Ickes (headliner at Dunmore East 2016), dobro; Mark Schatz (whom we shall see as a member of the coming Greg Blake Band), bass; and Scott Vestal, banjo. You can hear a verse of the song on Bluegrass Today.

New releases from Patuxent Records

Thanks to our good friend Tom Mindte of Patuxent Music (Tom has been over to Ireland several times with his Patuxent Partners band, most recently in 2015) for news of three of the most recent releases from the label. Americana Concert: Alan Jabbour & Stephen Wade at the Library of Congress documents a concert of traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo tunes given in May 1998, comprising fifteen tunes, all with commentaries by Jabbour. Mike Baytop & Jay Summerour is an album of blues guitar-and-harmonica duets and vocals, accompanied by Tom on mandolin. Eddie Adcock: vintage banjo jam comprises thirteen previously unreleased tracks, recorded in 1963 by Adcock when he was with the Country Gentlemen, showing how his musical horizons had expanded beyond even that ground-breaking band.

Each album costs $13.50 as a CD and $9.99 as a download. Read more about each of them (as well as others in Patuxent's wide-ranging catalogue) on the website.

'Come Away to the Skies' returns to Ireland, 27 Dec. 2017-3 Jan. 2018

Dr Tim Sharp, executive director of the American Choral Directors Association, is known for generating performances of 'stunning power' and 'great passion and precision'. His publications, choral compositions, and arrangements include 'Come Away to the Skies: A High Lonesome Bluegrass Mass', in which the movements of the Ordinary of the Mass are set to bluegrass music with Southern Harmony tunes. This has been recorded and performed with some of Nashville's finest pickers - Dr Sharp is a banjo-picker himself.

Four years ago (late Dec. 2013) Dr Sharp brought 'Come Away to the Skies' to Ireland for performances in Christ Church cathedral, the Guinness Storehouse, and Taney Church of Ireland, Dundrum, all in the Dublin area. He is now coming back to Ireland with the Georgia Canto Choir (from Alexander High School in Douglasville, Georgia, USA) for three performances of 'Come Away to the Skies' in a wider spread of locations. On all three dates the choir will be conducted by Sandra Chandler and Kevin Hibbard, and accompanied by Tim Sharp (banjo) and LeAndra Douds (harp). LeAndra Douds also performs a few Sacred Harp Pieces.

Thurs. 28 Dec. 2017, St Mary's Church of Ireland, Tipperary town​, 7.30 p.m., in concert with local trad and jazz group The Badgers. This is a free concert, with a collection in support of Circle of Friends Cancer Support Centre Tipperary Town.
​
​Sat. 30 Dec. 2017, Villierstown Church Hall, Villierstown, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, 7.30 p.m., in concert with members of Comeraghs Comhaltas – Cuil na Smear. Tickets €10, with all proceeds going to the Villierstown Church Hall Restoration Fund.

​Tues. 2 Jan. 2018, ​Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 8.00 p.m., in concert with ​l​ocal bluegrass musicians Niall Hughes (double bass), Paul Kelly (fiddle), Luke Coffey (drums), and Hugh Taggart (guitar). This is a free concert.

For more information contact Miriam by e-mail.

For examples of the music of 'Come Away to the Skies', see these YouTube videos:
Introit (a cappella), Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei

Season's greetings from Woodbine

Woodbine announce:

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas & Bright New Year. Thanks to our many friends for the support during 2017, and special thanks to Mel Corry, Dessie Crerand, P.J. Power, Colin Henry, Clem O'Brien, and Roger Green for guesting with us on occasions during the year, it was much appreciated.

To all the promoters who had us play, we had a great year and look forward to 2018 and whatever it holds for us.

As you can see the year has taken a lot out of us, we might put on a few pounds over the Christmas. Our third Bluegrass Jamboree will be on the weekend 13 & 14 July 2018, full details in New Year.

Best wishes from Nicola, Liam, Martin, and Tony 🎄🎶🎄🎤🎻

Dates for the diaries: Westport 2018

Thanks to Uri Kohen, head of the festival organising team at Westport, Co. Mayo, for this news:

The weekend of June 8-10 will mark the twelfth instalment of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival. As in previous years, the festival organising committee have put together a fantastic lineup of some of the best local, national, and international folk and bluegrass acts. At the 2018 event, fans will be able to enjoy the usual gigs, concerts, sessions, and workshops, as well as some exciting additions, such as a big square dance, which promises to be lots of fun!

The programme will include some of our festival favourites, such as Tim Rogers and the Rocky Top String Band, alongside Irish talents the Brendan Butler Trio and The Big Muddy.

The international side will include some amazing acts, many of whom have never played in Ireland before, so we’re in for a unique and special treat. Confirmed acts include the Gold Heart Sisters (USA), the Buffalo Gals (UK), G–runs ‘n’ Roses (Czech Republic), Thunderbridge Bluegrass (UK), Hot Rock Pilgrims (UK) - and there are more to be announced, so watch this space!

The festival’s website will be updated early in the new year and tickets will be available to purchase online; meanwhile, all news and updates are via the festival's Facebook page.

We really look forward to seeing all music fans in Westport next summer, so mark the dates in the diaries now: 8-10 June 2018 - come join us along the Wild Atlantic Way!

Gold Heart

Buffalo Gals

G-runs 'n' Roses

Hot Rock Pilgrims

Thunderbridge Bluegrass

The Big Muddy

Solid progress on You gave me a song

The production team of the film You gave me a song: the life and music of Alice Gerrard send their latest e-newsletter with the good news that their Crowdfunder campaign reached its target of $20,000. Work is progressing on interviews with many of Alice's friends and collaborators: Laurie Lewis, Suzy and Eric Thompson, Jody Stecher, Kate Breslin, Emmylou Harris, John Cohen, and more.

Fiddler Tatiana Hargreaves has joined the team and will also be assisting Alice's ongoing archival and book work. The project T-shirt, designed by Phil Blank and modelled (above) by Alice, is now available. More details are on the e-newsletter.

Two Time Polka - last gigs of 2017

Thanks to Ray Barron of Two Time Polka for this news and the season's greetings:

Here are our last few gigs for 2017.

Fri. 29th: The Greyhound Bar, Kilkee, Co. Clare. Start 10.00 p.m. Adm. free.
Sat. 30th: The Blue Haven, Pearse St., Kinsale, Co. Cork. Start 10.00 p.m. Adm. free. Tel. 021 4772209.
New Year's Eve, Sun. 31st: The White Horse, Ballincollig, Co. Cork. Start 10.30 p.m. Adm. free. Tel. 021 4871388.

You'll be glad to hear that we've relaunched our website.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas & New Year,

Regards,
Ray & TTP

Session with US guests at McNeill's, Dublin, TONIGHT

The BIB editor writes:

A special jam session of the Dublin bluegrass and old-time communities will be held from 8.30 p.m. tonight at McNeill's of Capel Street, with professional pickers from North Carolina taking part.

Thanks to Patrick for organising the event in this celebrated home for trad sessions.* The occasion is the visit to Dublin of Julie Chiles (fiddle) and Zeb Gambill (mandolin, guitar) of Wilkesboro, NC (see the BIB for 12 Dec.).

*Also, while it was still a music shop downstairs, the place where I bought in 1993 my first Mastertone-style banjo, a 1982 Washburn B-21.

The Cabin Session, Dundrum, 28 Dec. 2017

Gerry Fitzpatrick, organiser of the Cabin Sessions series, 'Acoustic Music at its Finest', announces the last Session of 2017:

Hey Y'all,

We'll be with you on Thursday 28 Dec.  for a special extended Cabin Sessions. Guests include Alfie Trebble Band, Michael Lawlor, Tom Horan, and the wonderful Vicky Sargeant.

Look forward to seeing ya there. And taking this opportunity to wish you and yours every best wish for Christmas from all the Cabin Crew.

*

The Sessions are held on the last Thursday of every month at Uncle Tom's Cabin in Dundrum, south Dublin (not far from Dundrum Luas station, in the city direction). Shows run from 9.30 to 11.30 p.m. and admission is FREE. If you or someone you know would like to perform at the Cabin Sessions, let Gerry know by e-mail. The Sessions are particularly interested in featuring local musicians and singers.

Omagh in OTN

Thanks to William Duddy for this photo of the cover of the latest issue of Old Time News, the magazine of FOAOTMAD, the UK's association for old-time music. It's a bumper issue, and not just for the CD review section mentioned: the cover feature is on the late Tom Paley (honorary president of FOAOTMAD), shown on the cover with his son Ben.

Other features include a 'countdown' to the coming Gainsborough Festival (Feb. 2018), a piece on FOAOTMAD's Nov. 2017 workshops - and a comprehensive, eloquent two-page article by William himself, 'For praise of the (Ulster American) Folk Park!' on September's Bluegrass Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park at Omagh, Co. Tyrone. As William amply demonstrates, if you wanted to design an ideal venue for a bluegrass/ old-time festival - one that would also 'celebrate the roots, migration, and development of Appalachian and bluegrass music', and has done so already for a quarter-century - the Folk Park meets every requirement.

This is all the more significant as, from the report a week ago on Bluegrass Today, the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, TN, has announced that it will no longer be able to operate the magnificent Tennessee Fall Homecoming festival, as it has done since 1980. The Homecoming has grown to the point where the Museum can no longer fulfil its primary functions and maintain the festival at the same time.

This is sad news in itself, but those who loved the Homecoming may take comfort to know that there is still one place where bluegrass, old-time, and traditional country music can be heard every year among log cabins and other historic buildings, set in beautiful country - and it's at Omagh, Co. Tyrone.

Greenshine at Leap Castle, 28 Dec. 2017

Thanks to Tom Stapleton for the news that Greenshine (left) will be playing at Leap Castle, Co. Offaly (between Birr and Roscrea, Co. Tipperary) on Thursday 28 Dec. at 9.00 p.m. with Sean Ryan and guests Brendan Begley, Colm Murphy, and Alec Finn. Telephone or text 087 2238040 to reserve a seat.

Greenshine's 'The girl in the lavender dress' can be heard on YouTube.

Springtime in the Black Forest...

... and the 16th International Bühl Bluegrass Festival will be taking place in south-west Germany on 11-12 May 2018, thanks to the city of Bühl, which has presented it since 2002. Thanks also to our good friend Patrick Fuchs, festival director, for sending the lineup, programme, and booking details.

On Friday 11 May the evening concert (8.00-11.30 p.m.) is designed for a younger (standing) audience. The venue is the premises of the Josef Oechsle company (a major sponsor of the festival) at Robert-Bosch-Straße 12d. Doors open 7.00 p.m.; tickets €17 (in advance), €20 (on the door). Food and drink are on sale. The featured artists are Pert' Near Sandstone (USA); and Murder Murder (CAN), who played several dates in Ireland in May 2016.

Saturday 12 May begins with two sets (free of charge) at the open-air stage on the Johannesplatz in the city centre, with St. Beaufort (D/CAN/USA) - who played two shows in Ireland in October last year - from 11.30 a.m. to noon, and the award-winning Norwegian band Ila Auto from 12.30 to 1.00 p.m.

Sierra Hull

The main concert takes place on Saturday evening (5.00-11.30 p.m., with interval for evening meal etc.) at the Bürgerhaus Neuer Markt in Europaplatz, the city's state-of-the-art concert venue. The lineup is St. Beaufort, Ila Auto, Sierra Hull (USA), and Peter Rowan (USA) backed by one of Ireland's favourite Continental bands, Red Wine (I) - who, incidentally, had a very successful Ninth Red Wine Bluegrass Party in Genoa last month. All bands will join in the finale.

Seats are numbered for the main concert; doors open at 4.30 p.m.; and tickets are €35 (advance) and €39 (on the door). Special evening tickets (€25) are available on the door from 8.00 p.m.

Update 21 Dec.: Patrick's father Walter Fuchs, doyen of German country music historians, veteran radio presenter, and director of the Bühl festival up to 2015, has a weekly radio show, 'Country Club', which can be heard on FM in many cable networks, over the whole of Germany in digital Radio DAB+, and worldwide on the internet (www.schwarzwaldradio.com) each Sunday from 7.00 to 8.00 p.m. (Central European Time), repeated on Tuesdays from 9.00 to 10.00 p.m.

Peter Rowan (photo: Amanda Rowan)

Coming this way in early spring

Gina Clowes (left) of Virginia, who will be in Ireland from 28 February playing banjo on tour with Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, has recently released a solo album on the Mountain Home label, True colors. She is accompanied by Chris Luquette (guitar), Jack Dunlap (mandolin), Marshall Wilborn (bass), and Malia Furtado (fiddle). You can read an appreciation by John Lawless and hear all twelve tracks of the album on Bluegrass Today.

More power to the Gathering

Thanks to Andrew Lambert, co-organiser of the First Irish Old Time Appalachian Music Gathering (Facebook), for this news:

Just to let you know we are now also being joined by a great duo from Galax, Erynn Marshall & Carl Jones – see www.irisholdtime.com/erryn.htm. Some other great musicians are coming on board, including the chair of the UK's BBMA, Dave Teague.

We’ll be offering workshops in guitar picking/accompaniment, mandolin, and dance as well as fiddle and banjo.

First featured on the BIB last week, the Gathering will be held in the Roadside Tavern and the adjoining Burren Storehouse, Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, on 16-18 Feb. 2018. Full details are here.

Erynn Marshall & Carl Jones

Another good year for Ear Trumpets

Since this time last year we've seen more visiting bands in bluegrass and old-time music making use of the distinctive hand-made microphones from Ear Trumpet Labs of Portland, OR. Well known artists who have been using them include Elvis Costello, who favours the 'Josephine' model. Read more in Ear Trumpet Labs' latest e-newsletter.

North Carolina pickers in Dublin this weekend

A reminder that fiddler Julie Chiles (right) and guitar/ mandolin player Zeb Gambill from Wilkesboro, NC (home of MerleFest), are visiting Dublin this coming weekend, arriving on 15 December, staying in an AirB&B, and leaving on 19 December.

As announced on the BIB on 1 Dec., they are hoping to meet and play with pickers on the Dublin scene. For nearly ten years, Julie has been a professional musician and music teacher in the North Carolina mountains. She and Zeb often perform in a string band as The Grit Lickers. Julie can be contacted by e-mail.

The Roots Revival again on Bluegrass Today

As mentioned on the BIB on 9 Nov., Bluegrass Today is alert to exciting new developments on the scene here in Ireland, and today the focus is again on the Roots Revival, comprising the three members of Cup O' Joe, plus fiddler Niall Murphy and Eamonn Rooney on bodhran. BT's John Lawless calls them 'surely one of the most interesting new groups to emerge this year'.

At the weekend the Roots Revival released a new, handsomely made video: their arrangement of the Gillian Welch song 'Orphan girl', with Tabitha Agnew singing lead. It can be seen on Bluegrass Today as well as on YouTube.

La Fuente Old Time Music Week, 19-26 May 2018

Kate Lissauer sends an announcement of the coming spring's Old Time Music Week (19-26 May 2018) in La Fuente, Andalusia, in southern Spain. Instrumental classes for fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and ukulele - as well as group and individual singing classes - will be taught by a faculty headed by Dave Bing (of the Bing Brothers of West Virginia), with Alan Green, Johnny Whelan, Lucy Ray, Kate Lissauer, and other tutors. More details are here.

More on the Gathering!

The organisers of the First Irish Old Time Appalachian Music Gathering (also on Facebook), taking place in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, on 16-18 Feb, 2018, have sent to the FOAOTMAD news blog the poster image above and this explanation:

The idea is to bring together the various OT musicians and enthusiasts scattered across Ireland – just as happens at Gainsborough and Clifftop. We also expect some musicians from the US and UK, including the celebrated Dan Levenson. (Note that we have chosen the weekend after Gainsborough in case any overseas visitors fancy a trip to one of the most scenic areas of Ireland, near the iconic Cliffs of Moher.)

It takes place at a great venue – winning awards for its food and craft ales – with excellent low-price accommodation nearby, good transport links, and of course wonderful people getting together for tunes, song and dance. All for less than the price of 2 Dublin pints! Come and join us at this historic occasion.

'Old time music' - a broad church and a big tent

The BIB editor writes:

An important point needs to be made about the First Annual Irish Old Time Appal-achian Music Gathering (to be held in Lisdoon-varna, Co. Clare, on 16-18 Feb. 2018) - a point that was omitted in the BIB feature of 4 December. The word 'Appalachian' should not be taken in any narrow or excluding sense. The organisers' first contact with the BIB explicitly stated:

We want to be inclusive in how we go about this event and how it develops.

This is just what the two main magazines of the old-time music community, Old Time Music (RIP) and The Old Time Herald (still with us), have always done, because 'old-time music' is a much more inclusive, wide-ranging, and (yes) vague label than 'bluegrass'. Both magazines are as serious about traditional Appalachian music as anyone could wish; but from the outset OTM went well beyond that to take in the whole range of commercially recorded 'hillbilly' music, western swing, cajun, country blues, and early bluegrass. OTH, with a similarly broad view, gives a lot of attention to dance and brings into the big tent the old-time music of other immigrant communities and other regions.

So if your fiddle tunes come from Texas, the Mid-West, or New England rather than Appalachia, or your banjo picking is up- rather than down-, don't hang back; the Gathering is meant to bring people together, not to separate them.

The Greg Blake Bluegrass Band (USA): 'Songs of heart & home' Irish tour, 20 Jan.-4 Feb. 2018

Thanks to John Nyhan for this tour schedule for the star-studded Greg Blake Bluegrass Band (Greg Blake, guitar, lead vocals; John Reischman, mandolin; Mark Schatz, bass; Sally Van Meter, dobro; Blaine Sprouse, fiddle; Keith Reed, banjo) six weeks from now. More details of the 'Celebration' weekend at Ballydehob will be coming soon.

January 2018:
19th Shannonside Winter Music Festival (18-22 Jan.), Sixmilebridge and Bunratty, Co. Clare; tel. 086 870 7739
Sat. 20th: Bunratty Folk Park: Castle (Main Guard), 12.00 noon; Barn, 4.00 p.m.

Sun. 21st: Ó Gliasáin's Concert Room (new venue), Sixmilebridge, 3.00 p.m.

Mon. 22nd: Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, 8.15 p.m.
Tues. 23rd: Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, 8.15 p.m.; tel. 087 792 1771

Thurs. 25th: Rossmore Theatre, Rossmore, Clonakilty, Co. Cork, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 086 448 1086

Fri. 26th: Glen Theatre, Banteer, Co. Cork, 8.30 p.m.; tel. 029 56239

Sat. 27th: St Matthias Church, Church Rd, Ballydehob, Co. Cork, 8.00 p.m.: part of a celebration, 'Heart & Home: a celebration of Old Times, Good Times & Bluegrass', 26-28 Jan. Also performing: Propane Brothers, Hubert Murray Bluegrass Band. Tel. 086 837 0518; e-mail

Sun. 28th: Old Schoolhouse, Clashmore, Co. Waterford, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 087 414 8651

Tues. 30th: Clonmel Folk Club, Town Hall, Parnell St., Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 085 850 2289

Wed. 31st: St Johns Theatre, Listowel, Co. Kerry, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 068 22566

February 2018:
Thurs. 1st: Mannion's Pub, Balla, Co. Mayo, 9.00 p.m.; tel. 087 229 6018

Fri. 2nd: Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, 8.30 p.m.; tel. 0044 7736 837779

Sat. 3rd: Nesbitt Arms, Ardara, Co. Donegal, 8.30 p.m.; tel. 087 690 0714

Sun. 4th: Finn's Ale House, Borrisoleigh, Co. Tipperary, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 087 977 8347

For further enquiries on any of the above, tel. 087 792 1771 or e-mail.

Rhythm guitar instruction from Stephen Mougin

The important role of rhythm instruments in playing bluegrass is often understated, so it's good news that Stephen 'Mojo' Mougin, 'one of the most respected jack-of-all-trades in acoustic music', has produced a new instruction video: 'Bluegrass rhythm evolution: rhythm approaches and techniques for bluegrass guitar'.

Chris Jones (who will be on tour in Ireland with his band in Feb.-Mar. 2018) produced a very helpful video on rhythm guitar some years ago, but this seems to be no longer available. Mougin's new guide also shows how bluegrass rhythm styles have been developed from the 1940s by leading musicians, and how a particular rhythm pattern will fit a particular song. An introductory video can be seen on YouTube, on the news section of Stephen Mougin's website, and on Bluegrass Today, where more details are given.

Honeycutters to headline Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival 2018

Thanks to Mick Daly, head of the organising team at Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, who sends the season's greetings to the BIB and its readers, and announces that the 24th Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival will be held on 23-24-25-26 August 2018, with Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters (USA; photo above) as the headline act.

The band has five albums out, the latest two of which were produced by Tim Surrett of the multi-award-winning North Carolina bluegrass band Balsam Range. As an introduction to the Honeycutters and their music, see Frank Gutch jr, 'An open letter to Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters' in No Depression, 7 July 2017, which includes nine audio tracks.

Less welcome news from Mick: 'We have lost Guinness as our main sponsor and are on the search for another company to brand the festival. If somebody can help, it would be appreciated.'

Whelan's Ones to Watch festival, 18-21 Jan. 2018

Whelan's of Wexford At., Dublin 2, are currently celebrating a quarter-century of presenting live music in central Dublin, and announce that their Ones To Watch festival will be held from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 January 2018, with over fifty acts appearing on three stages.

The festival, now in its eighth year, aims at finding the best emerging talent in the country, together with showcasing artists that have taken the next step and are planning releases in 2018. The whole spectrum of music is embraced; bands and solo performers that would like to take part can apply through the website. Whelan's say: 'If you’ve got an address in the thirty-two counties then why not apply, all you need is a thirty-minute set and the ambition to take it to the next level.' There is no closing date on applications.

Red Hat Acoustic Music Club at Naas, Fri. 8 Dec. 2017: CANCELLED

Thanks to Paul and Anne McEvoy, organisers of the Red Hat Acoustic Music Club, for the news that the Club's next meeting will be held this coming Friday (8 December).

Update 8 Dec.: Paul and Anne have since announced that the meeting has been cancelled because of weather conditions.

The Red Hat meets on the second Friday of every month at the Harbour Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare. Music starts around 8.30 p.m.; a donation of €3.00 covers coffee/ tea and sandwiches at the interval.

News from Brookfield Knights

The Brookfield Knights agency in Scotland announce that a tour in these islands for one of their most popular bands, Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters (based in Asheville, NC), is being planned for late August/ September 2018, with the first dates in Ireland (23-30 August). Their successful UK tour earlier this year had good reviews from UK roots and country media. YouTube samples ('Me oh my' and 'All you ever') are supplied, and the band's main asset is clearly Platt's lead singing and songwriting - on some of which a bluegrass treatment might work. To book them during 23-30 August, contact the agency.

Belfast Bluegrass celebrates seven years of sessions

Richard Leeman writes on the Belfast Bluegrass Facebook:

Hey folks, our next session is this Tuesday 5th December upstairs in the Errigle Inn at 9 p.m. It’s our seventh birthday as well - our first session was way back in December 2010. So that’s seven years of arguing and giving off at each other, interspersed with occasional outbreaks of bluegrass, where does the time go? And of course it’s our last get together before Christmas. Here’s a bit of Jimmy Martin to get you in the festive mood...

[Richard's post includes from YouTube a recording of Jimmy Martin's 'Daddy will Santa Claus ever have to die']

First Annual Irish Old Time Appalachian Music Gathering, 16-18 Feb. 2018

Many people here enjoy American old-time music (witness the kind of reception that Uncle Earl, the Foghorn Stringband, and Molsky's Mountain Drifters get), and there are bands, solo performers, and circles of devotees throughout the island. Up to now, though, there has been no event dedicated to old-time music, and aimed at drawing together the various communities in Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Sligo, Westport, Drogheda, etc.

So it is great news that Andrew Lambert in Clare and Bob Denton (award-winning US-based old-time musician, with long experience of Irish trad) are working to create the First Annual Irish Old Time Appalachian Music Gathering, scheduled for the weekend Friday 16-Sunday 18 February 2018, and centred on the Roadside Tavern and the adjoining Burren Storehouse in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. This makes it ideal for old-time fans who can't get to England for FOAOTMAD's Gainsborough festival, and a very welcome addition to the calendar.

Andrew reports: 'It’s intended as a "Gathering", not a festival, as the website explains [...] The venue is great and we have really good low-cost accommodation nearby. The cost is minimal.' Registration for the weekend costs just €15 per person - or €10, if you register by 15 January 2018. There will be workshops for fiddle, banjo, and dancing (fee TBA), and a barn-dance with caller on Saturday evening. Non-participants may attend the barn-dance and listen to jam sessions for €10 on Saturday night from 8.00 p.m.

Dan Levenson

Workshops will be given by Dan Levenson (USA), performing and recording artist, teacher, and author of instructional books and recordings. Dan is coming over specially for the Gathering, so it will be a great help to the organisers if gigs and/or house concerts can be arranged for him over here as well. If you can offer or suggest a booking or house concert for Dan, contact Andrew by e-mail.

The photo at top (which is also the cover photo of the Irish Old Time Facebook) shows (l-r) 'Mr Keith', Gid Tanner, A.A. Gray, and Henry West on Lookout Mountain, TN.

North Carolina musicians in Dublin, 15-19 Dec. 2017

Thanks to fiddler Julie Chiles (left) from Wilkesboro, North Carolina (home of MerleFest), for the news that she and her boyfriend, both players of old-time and bluegrass music, are visiting Dublin on 15 December and leaving on 19 December. Julie adds:

We are really hoping to meet and play with some of the local musicians in Dublin, but I also wanted to ask if you might know someone in the community who would be willing to put us up during our time there. If not, no worries, but I wanted to put out some feelers in case there is someone who might have some extra room for us.

If you have some extra room, please let the BIB editor know, or e-mail Julie direct.

For nearly ten years, Julie has made her living as a professional musician in the North Carolina mountains, teaching fiddle/violin, banjo, and guitar for after-school music programmes and private lessons, and regularly performing at weddings, music venues, restaurants, private parties, square dances, and festivals. She and Wilkesboro native Zeb Gambill often perform in a string band as The Grit Lickers. Zeb has won or placed in many guitar and mandolin contests across the south-eastern USA.

BIB editor's note: This post was first published with the date in the title wrongly shown as 2018; it should of course be 2017.

County Sales due to close, 17 Jan. 2018 (update)

Richard Thompson sends the staggering news that County Sales of Floyd, VA, distributors of 'the world's largest selection of bluegrass & old-time music' in CD, DVD, and book form, is due to close on 17 January 2018, according to its latest newsletter. At present the reasons for the decision are unknown to the BIB.

David Freeman (right) founded the County Records label in 1963, which ever since has played a unique role in making recorded old-time and bluegrass available worldwide. In 1965 he founded County Sales as a mail-order outlet for County Records. The late Rodney McElrea of Omagh, Co. Tyrone - Ireland's premier collector of books, recordings, documents, and memorabilia of country music - was active in encouraging this step. As David Freeman's Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame biography says, 'His first customers were in the British Isles, readers of the magazine Country News and Views' - of which Rodney was the co-editor. In recent years the business of County Records and Rebel Records has been conducted by Mark Freeman, David's son.

Update 2 Dec.: For more details, see John Lawless's 'County Sales going out of business' on Bluegrass Today. Quote (from near the end): 'there is no question that Dave Freeman deserves a great deal of the credit for keeping the music alive through some difficult early days.'

Update 5 Dec.: Thanks to Alec Somerville for these memories of County Sales:

What a place! I was there several times while playing festivals and 'conventions' in the Mountains... they had super stuff, last time I got a load of Mountain fiddler 'Snake' Chapman on cassette for Donegal master Martin McGinley, plus lots of Buddy Thomas and Ralph Blizard CDs. And even cassette recordings of champion Texas fiddler Bob Walters done in his living room. Martin, of course, immediately started to play it, including Owen 'Snake' Chapman's wild Kentucky crooked fiddlin'.

County Records has provided many people with recordings which were almost impossible to get anywhere else; of little-known musicians who helped to establish what we now call 'Old Time'... cassettes recorded in the parlour, from early US radio, and elsewhere. It is sad to see them go. I do believe that they coined the phrase 'Old Time Music - Better than it Sounds!' Which you would see on baseball caps and bumper stickers in the mountains...