Fretboard Journal launches first subscription drive

The Fretboard Journal's editor, Jason Verlinde, writes:

For nearly fifteen years, the Fretboard Journal has had just one mission: to connect you with musicians, instrument makers, and stories you won’t find anywhere else. To date, we’ve covered a lot of ground. What started as a keepsake print magazine has evolved into videos, podcasts, and daily online content. The channels evolve but our commitment to storytelling hasn’t. [...]

As a reader-supported magazine, subscriptions are our lifeblood. And, as the world of advertising continues to be tumultuous, subscriptions ensure that we’ll keep growing. So we’re throwing our first-ever subscription drive. Consider it an excuse to support us if you haven’t yet (or, if you have, a good reminder to share the FJ stories with your friends).

The FJ recently extended into a digital edition, available at a much lower cost than the print edition. Details of subscription rates, together with goodie packages including T-shirts and guitar strings, are here. The image above shows the cover of issue #44, with Mandolin Orange featured in 'Bluegrass like breathing', an article by Todd Lunneborg. The previous issue included features on Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and Lowden Guitars.

A video made by Bryan Sutton in aid of the FJ can be seen here.

Balla Bluegrass Festival, 26-28 Oct. 2019

From Co. Mayo, the BIB receives this welcome release on the eleventh Balla Bluegrass Festival, starting a month from now:

Balla Bluegrass Festival in Co. Mayo returns for the eleventh year this October bank holiday, and as in the past, it will mark the end of the Irish bluegrass festival season.

The Festival has been slightly reshaped, and although the festival organising team would like to see bluegrass fans making their way west, the gigs will only start on the Saturday (October 26) and not the Friday. This year is an all-Irish lineup and features some of the finest bluegrass acts currently on the scene.

The Rocky Top String Band

Mules & Men

On Saturday we will have Mayo's own Rocky Top String Band, which will make a welcome return to Mannion's Pub, and Dublin's leading bluegrass outfit Mules & Men will play the Olde Woods.

The Rocky River Bluegrass Show

Pilgrim St

Sunday will see two exciting bluegrass bands making their first appearance at the festival. Galway trio The Rocky River Bluegrass Show will play Mannion's pub, and Navan natives Pilgrim St. will head west and play the Olde Woods.

As always, Balla's own Colonel Bullshot Rides Again, led by the festival organiser Tommy 'T-Bone' Lyons, will bring the festival to a close on Monday evening with a bluegrass gig at Mannion's pub.

This is sure to be a great festival and last chance of the year for bluegrass fans to hear some great music and catch up with friends in the beautiful surroundings of Balla, Co. Mayo.

Colonel Bullshot Rides Again

Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa (USA): tour begins TOMORROW NIGHT

Thanks again to the indefatigable John Nyhan for a reminder that the highly regarded Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa from North Carolina, with Donnie Little on banjo (see the BIB for 17 Sept.) are playing three dates in Ireland this week, on their way back from performing as headliners at the 11th Moniaive Michaelmas Bluegrass Festival this weekend in Scotland. Their tour begins tomorrow night (Mon. 30 Sept.) in Tuohy's Bar, Pound St., Rathdowney, Co. Laois, at 9.00 p.m. (tel. 087 967 5752).

On Tuesday (1 Oct.) the band will be playing at the Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, at 8.00 p.m. (tel. 087 792 1771). John points out that this will be a very special occasion, as it will also be World Bluegrass Day. This is held every year on 1 October, with the aim of celebrating bluegrass throughout the year by increasing exposure, raising international awareness, promoting consciousness of roots and heritage, and fostering community involvement.

The final show in this all-too-brief tour will be on Wednesday 2 Oct. in Merry's Bar and Restaurant (upstairs), Main St., Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, 8.00 p.m. (tel. 087 064 0542).

First Earl Scruggs Music Festival announced for 4-5 Sept. 2020

The Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC, and WNCW announce that the first Earl Scruggs Music Festival will be held on 4-5 Sept. 2020 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC. Over twenty acts will be taking part, including Marty Stuart & his Fabulous Superlatives, Jerry Douglas, Alison Brown, Dom Flemons, Radney Foster, the Barefoot Movement, Darin and Brooke Aldridge, the Po' Ramblin' Boys, and Unspoken Tradition. More details are given in this Hearth Music e-newsletter.

[Update 10 June 2020: The Festival has now been postponed to 3-4 Sept. 2021.]

The announcement comes shortly before the publication of a major new work on Earl Scruggs. The University of Illinois Press are about to issue Thomas Goldsmith's Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown: the making of an American classic in their 'Music in American Life' series. The scope of the book is far wider than 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' itself: based on research including interviews with Earl, his wife Louise, and musicians ranging from Béla Fleck and Jerry Douglas to Curly Seckler and Mac Wiseman, it sheds light on such topics as Earl's musical evolution and his relationship with Bill Monroe.

Past visitors win IBMA awards (update)

Last night (or early this morning by Irish time) Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers (left), who headlined the Omagh festival four weeks ago, received two IBMA awards - for Entertainer of the Year and Collaborative Recording of the Year. Sideline, who toured here in July, also received an award: their recording 'Thunder Dan', written by Josh Manning, was Song of the Year (see this release by their record label).

Among other former visitors to Ireland, Missy Raines has now won Bass Player of the Year eight times and also headed the group that won this year's Instrumental Recording award; Michael Cleveland won Fiddler of the Year for the twelfth time and his band Flamekeeper is Instrumental Group of the Year; Brooke Aldridge won Female Vocalist; Phil Leadbetter won the Dobro award for the third time; and Claire Lynch's Gonna sing, gonna shout won the Gospel Recording award. A full list of the awards has been posted by John Lawless on Bluegrass Today.

Update 28 Sept.: More artists who have performed in Ireland in the past can be seen in the fine photos taken by Frank Baker at the awards show and published on Bluegrass Today.

Update 2 Oct.: Thanks to Dave Byrne jr of mygrassisblue.com for gently pointing out that 'Thunder Dan' was written by Josh Manning and not 'John' as this post erroneously stated when it was first published.

IBMA awards show streaming from 00:30

The 'biggest night in bluegrass music', the IBMA Awards Show, takes place tonight from 7.30 p.m. at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, NC. The hosts will be Del McCoury and Jim Lauderdale, and you can see them both psyching up for the evening in this brief YouTube video. Better yet, the entire event is being streamed live on the IBMA Facebook. The time difference between Ireland and North Carolina is five hours, so start watching at half past midnight (or earlier, if you're keen to soak up the atmosphere).

News from IBMA's World of Bluegrass (updates)

Blue Summit: (l-r) Sullivan Tuttle, A.J. Lee, Jesse
Fichman, Chad Bowen

Back on 30 January the BIB carried the news that Blue Summit (USA), one of the ten international acts scheduled for the 2019 Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, had received the Northern California Bluegrass Society's Best Bluegrass Band award, with A.J. Lee as Best Female Vocalist and Best Mandolin Player, and Sullivan Tuttle as Best Male Vocalist and Best Guitar Player.

John Lawless now reports on Bluegrass Today that in yesterday's Momentum Awards at IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC, A.J. Lee took the Vocalist of the Year award. Canada's Slocan Ramblers, who will be on tour here next month (22-27 Oct.), were playing as part of the Momentum Awards programme.

Update: See also this post from earlier this week on the Westport Festival Facebook. Good wishes are taking effect!

Update 27 Sept.: Mike Armistead, who was touring very recently in Ireland as a member of Leroy Troy & his Hillbilly Trio, has received the IBMA's Industry Award for Graphic Designer of the Year; see report and photos on Bluegrass Today. The splendid poster images Mike created for the Trio's tour can all be seen on the mygrassisblue.com website.

EᐯƎR⅄TᕼING IS ИOЯMAL from Wookalily

Wookalily announce the release of their latest album, EᐯƎR⅄TᕼING IS ИOЯMAL EXCEPT THE LITTLE THINGS INSIDE MY HEAD, available through bandcamp, which can also be reached via a link on their website.

The band will be playing at the Tap Room, Donard Bar, Newcastle, Co. Down, this coming Sunday (29 Sept.) at 4.30 p.m., and the album launch party will be held at the Ulster Rugby Club, 96-98 High St., Belfast BT1 2BG, the following Sunday (6 Oct.) at 7.00 p.m. Tickets can be booked here.

The album can be pre-ordered as a ten-track CD at £10 (or more) or digitally with two bonus tracks at £8 (or more). All songs are written by Adele Ingram, except for 'Vampyre’ by Clair McGreevy and Stephen O’Hagan, and ‘Whiskey and wine’ by Lyndsay Crothers. More band news and general entertainment are available on their regular e-mail newsletter, the 'Wooka Times', for which you can sign up to the band's mailing list.

'Last wolf on the mountain' from Niall Toner and Paddy Kiernan (update)

Thanks to Niall Toner for the news that 'Last wolf on the mountain', a song written by himself and Paddy Kiernan, can now be seen on YouTube (and above). Niall introduces the song on YouTube:

Wolves were very common in Ireland for at least forty thousand years, until in the 1700s, due to complaints from sheep farmers, a bounty was placed on their heads, and hunters came from all over Europe to seek them out and kill them for cash reward. They were eventually wiped out totally, and the last wild wolf in Ireland was killed near Fenagh, County Carlow.

I wrote this song with Paddy Kiernan, a wonderful young banjoist from Dublin, and it tells the story from the wolf's perspective. The original inspiration came from a beautiful piece of writing by John McKenna on RTE Radio One's 'Sunday Miscellany'.

Niall also announces that the next Dublin gig by the Niall Toner Band will be at the Wild Duck theatre bar and music venue at 17/20 Sycamore St., Temple Bar, Dublin 2, on Sunday 20 October.

Update 3 Oct.: See this more detailed feature about the song, by Richard Thompson on Bluegrass Today.

James Henry at Blue Ridge Banjo Camp

Thanks to Colin Henry for this news of his son James, who attended this year's Blue Ridge Banjo Camp in Brevard, NC (14-18 Aug.):

James had a fantastic time at Blue Ridge. Needless to say he got to meet and study up close with Béla, Tony, and all the best in the business. His highlight I think was being asked (twenty minutes before the performance) to play on stage with Noam Pikelny and another student before the entire camp! [above] They played 'Temperance reel'. Noam is James's all time hero and he met with Noam last year in Dublin when Noam asked him backstage before the show, and Noam remembered him at Blue Ridge so it was a big moment for him. He said he was pretty nervous but both James and the other student pulled it off!

The instructors: (l-r) Kristin Scott Benson, Tony Trischka,

Béla Fleck, Noam Pikelny, Alan Munde

Béla and James

Roger Ryan's 'Country Cuts', Oct. 2019

Thanks to Roger Ryan of the Country Music Association of Ireland for the October 2019 issue of his 'Country Cuts' e-newsletter, which can be read in full here.

A reminder of the Slocan Ramblers (CAN) tour, 22-7 Oct. 2019

Following upon the BIB post of a week ago, thanks to Geraint and Deb Jones of G Promo PR for a release on the forthcoming tour of Toronto's hot young traditional bluegrass band the Slocan Ramblers in these islands next month, organised by the UK's True North Music agency.

The dates they'll be playing in Ireland, as shown in the release, are the same as those shown on the BIB post and on the BIB calendar - except that G Promo PR, like True North and the band's own tour schedule, assume that the Balor Arts Centre must be in a town called 'Balor'. (To be fair, this is not the most misleading location to appear recently on a visiting band's schedule.)

The release makes up for this with links to videos of the Ramblers playing 'Mississippi heavy water blues', 'Sun's gonna shine in my back door someday', 'Mighty hard road' (with clawhammer banjo), and 'First train in the morning', and audio tracks 'Hill to climb' and 'Just to know' from their album Queen city jubilee.

The Ramblers have a lively schedule at IBMA's World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC, with two showcases today, five performances tomorrow (Wed.), and a major concert on Thursday.

See past visitors in action

Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers (left), who headlined the Omagh festival just over three weeks ago, present a new video, 'Bacon in my beans', showing Joe's struggles with the demands of fitness and healthy eating. It can be seen on the band's Facebook or through the link on their e-newsletter, which also shows their appearances at IBMA's World of Bluegrass, beginning tomorrow in Raleigh, NC.

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As well as solo work, Greg Blake plays in four bands, one of which is fiddler Annie Savage's group the Savage Hearts. A brief video (which opens with Greg's powerful voice) of them performing at Roots and Blues last month can be seen and heard here, or through the link on their latest e-newsletter, which also shows their appearances at World of Bluegrass.

Winfield results, JigJam, and Satan

The 48th Walnut Valley Festival was held over this weekend in Winfield, Kansas, centring on the championship contests: the International Autoharp, International Fingerstyle Guitar, National Mountain Dulcimer, National Flat Pick Guitar, National Hammered Dulcimer, National Bluegrass Banjo, National Mandolin, and Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championships.

The first three to place in any contest receive valuable instruments as prizes. Winners have now been announced, and it's interesting to see what instrument goes to each successful contestant. Our eyebrows rose at seeing that the second place winner in the mandolin contest received a 'Pava F5 Satan Mandolin', but a check on the Pava Mandolins website reassured us - for 'Satan', read 'Satin' (referring to the finish on the instrument).

The many bands and artists playing during the festival included our old friends Special Consensus; new friends Chris Jones & the Night Drivers; Della Mae, who will be in Dublin for Tradfest in January; and Tullamore's own JigJam.

PS: Lists of winners' names appear on Bluegrass Today.

A special treat for Feb. 2020

Anyone who regularly follows the Irish Old Time website or Facebook will have known the following for over six months, but the BIB is glad to publish the information now about the Third Annual Old Time Appalachian Music Gathering, to be held next February in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. Bob Denton, co-organiser of the Gathering with Andrew Lambert, has announced:

A special treat for 2020. We will be having Clay Buckner, fiddler from the Red Clay Ramblers, as our 'artist in residence' for 2020. The dates have been set for February 21st through 23rd. Clay is also an accomplished Irish fiddler and will be a great resource for those moving from ITM to OT.

Clay Buckner has been fiddler for the Red Clay Ramblers of North Carolina since 1980, in succession to the legendary Bill Hicks.

The Cabin Sessions, Dundrum: special edition, 3 Oct. 2019

BIB editor's note: This post, with Gerry's special announcement, supersedes the one that appeared on the BIB on 18 Sept.

On 9 September the BIB reported that the next in the Cabin Sessions series will be held on Thursday 26 September. It is now known that Uncle Tom's Cabin will close after 3 October, with no assurance about its future [see below]. In these circumstances Gerry Fitzpatrick, founder and organiser of the Cabin Sessions, announces:

Hey Y' All,

I am sorry to announce that Uncle Tom's Cabin has been sold and will close its doors on October 3rd - The end of an era! To mark the occasion and to celebrate nine years of the Cabin we are hosting a Cabin Sessions Special on October 3rd. Guests who have played over the years are invited to join us for the evening. We haven't finalised the format but essentially we will call up people randomly and ensure that everyone who wants to sing gets a chance to do so. We'll kick off at 9.30 and I hope you can join us to celebrate what has been I think a unique feature on the Dublin music scene!

To all our guests over the years we thank you for your contribution and participation. To all our supporters who come along regularly - you have been such a brilliant audience and without you the Cabin Sessions would not have been possible.

Best wishes and hope we see you on October 3rd!

Gerry

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The Sessions have been held for nine years 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. Don't miss these last two historic evenings!

Update 25 June 2020: Thanks to Colm O Syllivan for the news that Uncle Tom's Cabin, 'bar and restaurant trading since 1890', is now entering a new phase as the home of Community Coffee (also on Facebook), 'an exciting new outlet serving an array of gorgeous coffees'.

News from the Mother Country

The American Banjo Museum (originally founded for 4-string players, but since extended to the 5-string) held its annual Banjofest on 5-7 Sept. 2019 in Oklahoma City. A high point in the weekend is the inductions to the Museum's Hall of Fame, and this year the inductees from the bluegrass world were Alison Brown for Five-String Performance, Janet Davis in the Instruction and Education category, and the late John Hartford in the Historical category. More details and photos are in Pamm Tucker's article on Bluegrass Today.

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Fermanagh-born Danny Burns, whose album North country was recently reviewed in Bluegrass Unlimited, will be performing next Thursday night in the Lincoln Theater, Raleigh, NC, as part of this year's IBMA World of Bluegrass.

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Sideline, whose July tour was organised by mygrassisblue.com, have today released two new singles, 'Return to Windy Mountain' and 'I'll live again'. More details are given by the Mountain Home Music Company and by John Lawless on Bluegrass Today, where there is an audio track of 'Return to Windy Mountain'.

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Finally, we learn with great regret that John Cohen, whose latest book, Speed bumps on a dirt road, was mentioned on the BIB on 11 Sept., died on Monday 16 Sept. at the age of 87, the last member of the original New Lost City Ramblers. An obituary by Anastasia Tsioulcas is on the npr website.

Lunch Special (GB) in Ireland, 18-19 Oct. 2019

Thanks to Neala Hickey of the London-based Lunch Special for the news that the band will be playing two dates in Ireland a month from now. Lunch Special (also on Facebook) are Neala Hickey (guitar, vocals), Vivian Li (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), and Luca Serino (dobro, guitar). Their website bio says:

The three met at a bluegrass picking session at a London pub, where they bonded over a passion for stringed instruments, harmony singing, murder ballads, chicken, beer, and all things American. They play and sing traditional bluegrass classics, lesser known old songs, and also their own originals. While they take inspiration from Appalachian music, bluegrass, and country, their diverse musical backgrounds bring together something that is their own sound.

The sound can be heard on Lunch Special's website: videos are on its video page and the band's YouTube channel. The dates they'll be playing here next month are:

Fri. 18th Oct.: JJ Harlow's, Roscommon town, 7.00 p.m. (Neala adds: 'Probably do some busking in Carrick-on-Shannon too but we'll see!')

Sat. 19th: Lyons Cafe, Quay St., Sligo town, 11.00 a.m. (Sligo Live Arrivals)

Lunch Special plan to be back for a longer tour next summer.

Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa (USA) in Ireland, 30 Sept.-2 Oct. 2019

Thanks to the indispensable John Nyhan, the highly regarded Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa from North Carolina (see the BIB for 20 June and 25 June) will be playing three dates in Ireland, starting at the end of this month, on their way back from performing as headliners at the 11th Moniaive Michaelmas Bluegrass Festival (27-29 Sept.) in Scotland. A video is on the Moniaive festival website and YouTube. The dates of the tour are:

• Mon. 30th Sept.: Tuohy's Bar, Pound St., Rathdowney, Co. Laois, 9.00 p.m.; tel. 087 967 5752
• Tues. 1st Oct.: Village Arts Centre, Kilworth, Co. Cork, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 087 792 1771
• Wed. 2nd: Merry's Bar and Restaurant (upstairs), Main St., Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, 8.00 p.m.; tel. 087 064 0542

The band comprises Wayne on guitar and lead vocals, Emory Lester on mandolin, Kene Hyatt on bass, and Donnie Little of North Carolina on banjo. A brief bio of Donnie appeared in the BIB post of 25 June; a longer bio, supplied by Wayne, is at the end of this post.

John points out that the Kilworth show will be a very special occasion, as it will take place on World Bluegrass Day. This is held every year on 1 October, with the aim of celebrating bluegrass throughout the year by increasing exposure, raising international awareness, promoting consciousness of roots and heritage, and fostering community involvement.

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Donnie Little, master musician

Donnie Little was born into a musical family, Christmas Day, 1959. His grandparents on both sides of the family played music. His dad Clyde Little and both of his brothers played guitar and mandolin. Donnie was fascinated by the sound of the banjo. At the age of three he begged his dad for a banjo until he finally got his first one Christmas day 1964 when he was five years old. His dad made a small-scale banjo and taught Donnie the fundamentals. Donnie also learned to play from listening to Earl Scruggs and Don Reno records.

Donnie started playing in public with his family band, 'The Little Family', at age 5 with his new little banjo. He played on their first record, which was recorded at Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, NC, in 1965. Don Reno played background banjo for them on this recording.

The Little Family traveled and performed bluegrass and gospel music extensively across the Carolinas. The group was the opening act for many notable bluegrass and country artists; to mention a few, Mother Maybelle Carter, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, the Stoneman Family, the Lewis Family, the Osborne Brothers, Don Reno, Jim and Jesse, George Jones, and Hank Williams Jr. They also opened for the Earl Scruggs Revue in the early 1970s.

In the 1990s Donnie played for five years with the Crowe Brothers from Maggie Valley, NC. They played many bluegrass festivals on the east coast. He met a lot of people throughout his musical career, and also had the opportunity to play music with many musicians in Nashville. He became friends with Brother Oswald and played and jammed with many great musicians at the Oswalds' Christmas Parties. Donnie played impromptu jam sessions with Roy Acuff, Brother Oswald, Mac Wiseman, John Hartford, Chet Atkins, Bobby Bare, Johnny Russell, and Lightening Jack (who played the bass fiddle on all of Patsy Cline’s records), Marty Stuart, Eddie Stubbs, Earl Scruggs, Grandpa Jones, Bob Osborne, and many others. For the last twenty years Donnie has played banjo and guitar with many local Carolina bands and has worked as a freelance musician.

Today, Donnie teaches students on four different instruments - banjo, guitar, mandolin and dobro - four days a week full-time and plays music on the weekends. He presently plays with five different bands. In his shop in North Carolina, Donnie is the 'go-to' guy for setting up banjos and also works with Warren Yates building new banjos for the Yates Banjo Company in Hickory, NC. Donnie has been playing banjo with Wayne Taylor for the last five years. Donnie Little has been and still is a very big influence on many bluegrass musicians in the Carolinas. Folks come from miles around to take lessons and learn from Donnie, one of North Carolina’s Master Musicians.

Slocan Ramblers (CAN) in Ireland, 22-27 Oct. 2019 (update)

The Slocan Ramblers: (l-r) Alastair Whitehead, Adrian Gross,

Darryl Poulsen, Frank Evans

Welcome back to Toronto's hot young traditional bluegrass band the Slocan Ramblers, who first toured Ireland two years ago, playing ten dates. Thanks to the UK's True North Music agency, they'll be in these islands a month from now, playing six dates over here in the middle of a tour beginning in Oxfordshire on 17 Oct. and ending in Whitstable on 3 Nov.

As well as their website (link above) and Facebook, more info and two performance videos are on their True North Music artist page. Their full schedule in this island is:

Tues. 22nd: Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal
Wed. 23rd: The Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
Thurs. 24th: Roe Valley Arts Centre, Limavady, Co. Londonderry
Fri. 25th: The Chamber, Bangor Castle, Bangor, Co. Down
Sat. 26th: Market Place Theatre, Armagh city
Sun. 27th: The Duncairn (Duncairn Arts Centre), Belfast

Update 19 Sept.: Next week the Slocan Ramblers will be taking part in eight events during the first three days of this year's IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC; see details here.

Hoth Brothers (USA): UK tour Nov-Dec. 2020

Loudon Temple of the UK's Brookfield Knights  agency reports that the Hoth Brothers from New Mexico, now touring the Netherlands and Germany, are planning on touring the UK fourteen months from now (13-Nov.-6 Dec. 2020).

The Hoth Brothers (also on Facebook) are Boris McCutcheon (guitar, vocals, harmonica, mandolin, baritone guitar), Bard Edrington V (banjo), and Sarah Ferrell (bass, vocals). Links to videos are on their Brookfield Knights artists page. It is not certain whether Ireland will be included in the 2020 tour, but anyone interested should contact the agency.

Beer, food, and bluegrass in Dublin, 21 Sept. 2019

The Dublin Bluegrass Facebook carries this poster image to announce that the Dublin Bluegrass Collective will be among the artists providing music at the Happy Days Festival of Beer and Food, sponsored by the Rascals Brewing Company. The festival will be held from noon to 10.30 p.m. on Saturday 21 September at Rascals HQ, Goldenbridge Estate, Tyrconnell Rd, Inchicore, Dublin D08 HF68; a location map is on the festival website.

Beer from eight breweries and food from three suppliers will be available, and four other acts besides the Collective will be playing. A ticket (€15) comes with a free pint of beer from the Rascals core range. Full details are here.

Level Best (USA): full updated tour schedule, 18-28 Oct. 2019 (update)

Level Best: (l-r) Lisa Kay Howard, James Field, Joe Hannabach,

Terry Wittenberg, Wally Hughes

Earlier this year the good news came that Level Best from Virginia will be touring Ireland this coming October. Thanks again now to Level Best's mandolinist Lisa Kay Howard for a full updated schedule for the tour, with two additional confirmed shows.

Lisa Kay has toured Ireland twice in the past two years with her husband Wally Hughes (fiddle, resonator guitar): in April 2017, backing Americana singer/ songwriter Brooksie Wells; and again in April 2018 as members of the dynamic six-piece band East of Monroe. Level Best comprises three members of East of Monroe: Lisa Kay, Wally, and Terry Wittenberg (banjo), together with Joe Hannabach (bass) and James Field (guitar), one of the most widely experienced musicians in bluegrass. James took part as a Charles River Valley Boy in the historic Beatle country album (1966) and has played festivals in Ireland as a member of the fine French band Blue Railroad Train.

Keen readers of Bluegrass Today will have seen Wally and Lisa Kay recently in Frank Baker's photos from the Gettysburg and Delaware Valley bluegrass festivals, where they were playing in Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike or instructing at workshops.

The dates for next month's tour are:

Fri. 18th Oct.: Dorney Bridge house concert, Ballinamallard, Co. Fermanagh
Sat. 19th: Moy River Folk Club, Clonacool, Tobercurry, Co. Sligo
Sun. 20th: Upstairs On The Square, Groucho's, Richhill, Co. Armagh
Tues. 22nd: Dublin Bluegrass jam, Sin É, 14-15 Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin 1
Wed. 23rd: Gleeson's bar (concert room), Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare (a Sixmilebridge Folk Club event)
Thurs. 24th: St John's Theatre, The Square, Listowel, Co. Kerry
Fri. 25th: Clew Bay Hotel, James St., Westport, Co. Mayo
Sat. 26th: Crusoe's Coffee Shop, 29a Sea Rd, Castlerock, Co. Londonderry

Note that as part of the tour Level Best will be dropping in 'to jam and see our pals' (as Lisa Kay says) on the weekly Dublin Bluegrass jam at Sin E on Ormond Quay, which holds out the promise of a night as classic as East of Monroe's visit there last year. For more information, e-mail Lisa Kay.

The band's new album

Update 16 Sept.: Thanks to Lisa Kay Howard for the additional photo of the band (below); and to Wally Hughes for his comment on this post, the BIB editor says: 'You're welcome!'

Level Best: (l-r) James Field, Terry Wittenberg, Wally Hughes, 

Lisa Kay Howard, Joe Hannabach

Last chances to see Leroy Troy & his Hillbilly Trio

Leroy Troy & his Hillbilly Trio (USA) are now nearing the end of their tour in Ireland. Tonight (Saturday) they are playing in Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick; tomorrow night they finish the tour with their show in Paul Lee's DC Music Club, 20 Camden Row, Dublin 8.

Once again, we're grateful to the mygrassisblue.com team for organising in every detail a tour for prominent US musicians - who in this case are also dedicated entertainers and carriers of tradition. By 'tradition' we have specially in mind the gymnastic armoury of banjo-twirling developed by Uncle Dave Macon (1870-1952), of which Leroy is now the acknowledged master. All the fine poster images designed by the Trio's Mike Armistead can be seen on the tour website.

The final tour to be presented in 2019 by mygrassisblue.com will be the 12-20 Oct. tour by the powerful duo of Brandon Lee Adams and Johnny Staats: see the BIB for 4 Sept. and our calendar.

Gerry Madigan - still packing them in

Two days ago the Cotton Mill Boys were mentioned on the BIB as the factor that gave Stephen Rosney his love of bluegrass music.

We're delighted to hear from one of the Cotton Mill Boys' founder members, Gerry Madigan - the first person, to our knowledge, to play bluegrass banjo at professional level in Ireland. Gerry, who now lives in Canada and (fifty years after the Cotton Mill Boys launched their career) is still very active in music, sends this poster image, and writes:

I just did my first gig with my friend, Katie Windt, as Dublin2Durban at Gravity here in Calgary last night – a sold-out show, great audience, and magic atmosphere.

An account, mainly in Gerry's own words, of the years with the Cotton Mill Boys is in chapter 8 of Kevin Martin's A happy type of sadness: a journey through Irish country music (Mercier Press, 2018).

Kathleen MacEvilly

From the Westport Festival Facebook the BIB learns with regret that Kathleen MacEvilly, mother of Hubie and Sarah MacEvilly, died yesterday at her home in Killawalla, Co. Mayo. A requiem mass will be held at St Patrick's, Killawalla, at noon tomorrow (14 Sept.), followed by burial in Killawalla cemetery (details at rip.ie).

Hubie and Sarah have been stalwarts of bluegrass and old-time music in Mayo for many years, and of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival since it began. Our sympathies and condolences are with them, their father, their siblings, and other members of the family.

Stephen Rosney on Bluegrass Today

Stephen Rosney & the Back Axles, based in the midlands, are featured today on Bluegrass Today in Lee Zimmerman's 'Bluegrass beyond borders' series. In the article Stephen outlines his life in music since childhood, including a sentence that will resonate with older readers (are you there, Gerry Madigan?):

My love for bluegrass music came from listening to a great Irish country and bluegrass band called the Cotton Mill Boys, and from that moment on, I was hooked on bluegrass music.

The article includes one of the most recent videos from the band's YouTube channel, a solid, tight rendering of 'Little cabin home on the hill' with good tasteful work on fiddle and 5-string banjo. In other videos over the past year and in website photos, the banjo-player is Evan Lyons from Clonmel.

Stephen Rosney & the Back Axles are now beginning their 'Rust buckets & rashers' tour of these islands, together with two well-respected Nashville musicians, banjoist Mike Scott and fiddler Travis Wetzel. During 17-19 Sept. they will perform at the Irish National Ploughing Championships, and on 22 Sept. at the Tuar Ard Theatre in Moate, Co. Westmeath. More dates are shown on their website.

They have also been nominated for this year's Irish Entertainment Awards, which are due to be presented at the Tullamore Court Hotel on 4 Nov. A photo of Stephen appeared on the Offaly Press website three days ago, at the head of a report about the Awards.

The Back Axles, with Evan Lyons (far right) on 5-string banjo

Rawhide (BE) celebrate in Antwerp, 19 Oct. 2019

Thanks to our good friend Thierry Schoysman for news of Rawhide, the premier bluegrass band in Belgium, who played at the Omagh festival in 2013. Rawhide consists of Thierry (banjo), Jeff Cardey (mandolin), Dimi Laverno (bass), Dirk Fonteyn (fiddle), Dirk Peeraer (dobro), and Bert Van Bortel (guitar).

Dimi and Jeff joined Rawhide exactly ten years ago, so the band are celebrating by providing a concert and a free drink. If you're in Antwerp five weeks from now, both will be available at the Pius-X Instituut, Cyriel Buyssestraat 44, in the south-west of the city, on Saturday 19 October; doors open at 7.00 p.m. and the show starts at 8.00. Tickets (€10; €5 for under-18s) must be booked by e-mail.

Rhiannon Giddens: Ken Burns, Mike Seeger, and the Bitter Southerner

Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops won the 2016 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, deliverered the Keynote Address at IBMA's World of Bluegrass 2017, played in Ireland late in 2018, and returned earlier this year for a tour with percussionist Francesco Turrisi.

She can be seen this week in a variety of media contexts: first, filmed in 2009 for the Mike Seeger documentary due for release on 20 Sept. by Smithsonian Folkways (see the BIB for 16 Aug. 2019). Two video clips are on John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

Secondly, in his article 'Who's country?' on the Bitter Southerner online magazine, Rob Rushin interviews Ken Burns about his latest documentary TV series, 'Country music', which emphasises the genre's diverse and wide-ranging sources. Most of the interview is in fact with Rhiannon Giddens, who was one of Burns's major contributors and a narrator on the series; and like her IBMA keynote address, it's well worth reading.

Thirdly, the Bitter Southerner backs this up by rerunning the Jenna Strucko article, 'So you think you know the banjo?', based on interviews with the Carolina Chocolate Drops and first published thirteen months ago (see the BIB for 7 Aug. 2018).

Update 12 Sept.: From 22 November to 10 December, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi will be on tour in Europe: eight dates in Britain, three in Germany, two in the Netherlands, one in Belgium, and one in France.

Brookfield Knights artists touring in 2020

Loudon Temple of the UK's Brookfield Knights  agency reports with regret that their planning of tour schedules for next year has been unavoidably delayed, and asks venues, clubs, and promoters who have not already have finalised plans for 2020 to contact him if they are interested in any of the following artists.

• Bronwynne Brent (trio) (England availability) – Thurs. March 5th and Sat. 14th
• CUA (Ireland) – June 8 to 28 – routing not yet planned – all dates open
• Pierre Schryer and Adam Dobres (Canada) – June 1 to 31 – most dates open
• The Lonesome Ace Stringband (Canada) – July to 31 – most dates open
• The California Feetwarmers (USA) – July 1 to 31 – most dates open
• Sam Reider & the Human Hands (USA) – July 17 to August 9 – most dates open
• Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards (USA) – August 1 to 30 – most dates open
• Cam Penner & Jon Wood (Canada) – September 1 to 20 – all dates open
• Alice Howe with Freebo (USA) - September 18 to October 18 – all dates open
• Nathan Bell (USA) - October 9 to November 15 – all dates open

Details on all artists (with links to their own websites) can be found here.

John Cohen, Speed bumps on a dirt road

John Cohen would deserve a place in history simply for his membership of the New Lost City Ramblers. His many other activities include photography and film-making, and his latest book of photographs, Speed bumps on a dirt road, published by PowerHouse Books three weeks ago, comprises over two hundred pages of photos documenting traditional American music, the first generations of recorded 'hillbilly' music and early bluegrass performers, and the culture around them.

More details are in John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today. The publisher's price in the US is $45; Amazon.co.uk offers it at £24.69 (hardback). Kenny's bookshop in Galway has it at €37.73.

Red Hat Acoustic Music Club at Naas, 13 Sept. 2019

Thanks to Paul and Anne McEvoy, organisers of the Red Hat Acoustic Music Club, for a reminder that the Club's ninth meeting of 2019 will be held this coming Friday (13 September).

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.

Session Americana (USA): more tour dates, Oct. 2019

Since the BIB post of 27 July, further dates have been added to the coming tour by Boston-based 'roots collective' Session Americana (USA). Thanks to G Promo PR in the UK for a press release and updated schedule.

The band (Ry Cavanaugh, Jefferson Hamer, Billy Beard, Dinty Child, Jim Fitting, and Jon Bistline) will be in Ireland for the first ten days (28 Sept.-7 Oct.) of a month-long European tour in support of their album Northeast. Due for release on 13 Sept., it includes songs by James Taylor, the Pixies, Morphine, Jonathan Richman, Donna Summer, and Tom Rush. The CD has eleven tracks, the download fourteen. The PR release says:

Session Americana’s new album Northeast is an exploration of popular and folk music from the north-eastern United States as filtered through the many tastes and voices of the Session Americana community. For the project they asked friends and collaborators from their home region to bring in great songs with New England roots, without guidelines as to era or genre. As diverse as it is compelling, the sublime results make for a richly rewarding contemporary spin on the region’s musical history over the past half-century.

Track listings and sleeve notes are on the band's website, together with venue links and online booking facilities. Audio recordings of ‘Riding on a railroad’, ‘You go your way’, ‘The night’, and ‘Roadrunner’ can be heard on Soundcloud.

The augmented schedule for Ireland is:

Sat. 28th Sept.: Leap Castle, Co. Offaly (near Roscrea, Co. Tipperary)
Sun. 29th: Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal

Wed. 2nd Oct.: Campbell's Tavern, Cloughanover, Headford, Co. Galway
Thurs. 3rd: Wexford Arts Centre, Wexford town
Fri. 4th: Séamus Ennis Arts Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin
Sat. 5th: Cork Folk Festival, Cork city
Sun. 6th-Mon. 7th: Levis Secret Song Festival, Ballydehob, Co. Cork

The tour will then continue with five dates in the Netherlands, two in Belgium, five in Italy, and one in Switzerland. For further information, interview, session or guest list requests, please contact Geraint or Deb Jones at G Promo PR; phone +44 (0) 1584 873211; e-mail