New Year greetings from past visitors

Thanks to Caleb Klauder and Reeb Wilms (seen above with their Country Band) for their 'Happy New Year to all!' greetings-newsletter, which goes a long way towards ensuring a Happy New Year by confirming that the Foghorn String Band will indeed be on tour in Scotland and Ireland from 25 April to 15 May 2023 inclusive. No details are on the Foghorns' online tour schedule yet. The Country Band is scheduled to make a European tour in August and September.

*

Thanks also to Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers (Omagh headliners in 2019) for their own New Year greeting, which looks back (with photos) on the eventful year they had in 2022, with special reference to the induction of Joe's father Paul 'Moon' Mullins into the Bluegrass Music Hall Of Fame, and the success of the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival.

© Richard Hawkins

Watery Hill Boys: a new album in preparation

Thanks to Jim McArdle of the Watery Hill Boys of Drogheda, Co. Louth, for this news:

It's been a long time, what with Covid etc., Liz leaving us, and all the other vicissitudes of life. The Watery Hill Boys have never stopped playing, and our bass player Sean Og has finally got his double bass fixed up and it sounds great, so much so that we have started recording Album No. 3.

We are playing regularly in Clarke’s, Drogheda, and other local venues. Unfortunately, Carbery’s Pub is closed at present due to Aine’s illness. Wishing you all the compliments of the Season...

The image above is from a recent poster for a gig by the Watery Hill Boys (also on Facebook) at Clarke's, which is at the junction of Peter St. and Fair St. in central Drogheda.

© Richard Hawkins

Eve Morris of FOAOTMAD

We learn with regret of the death shortly before Christmas of Eve Morris, membership secretary for many years of FOAOTMAD, the UK's association for old-time music and dance, who was also the association's only life member. The FOAOTMAD news blog of today's date gives full details, received from her family, of the arrangements for her funeral and a 'wake'/ celebration of life, to be held in Somerset on 13 January 2023.

© Richard Hawkins

'Brightest and best' from Keith & Kristyn Getty with Ricky Skaggs

'Ricky Skaggs joins Keith & Kristyn Getty on Confessio' is the title of John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today, and the photo at the head of it shows all three together in performance. Keith & Kristyn Getty (also on Facebook) are from Belfast and now divide their time between the North and Nashville, TN, where their daughters live. Their latest album, Confessio, has been nominated for a Grammy award in the 2023 category of Best Roots Gospel Album.

The official music video of their recording, with Ricky Skaggs, of the hymn 'Brightest and best' (written in 1811 by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)) can be seen on YouTube, where you can also find a lyric video, recorded live at the Opry House in Nashville. John Lawless writes: 'Their music carries the sound of Celtic folk tunes', and the recorded 'Brightest and best' certainly sounds more Celtic than one might expect from a Yorkshireman who was later anglican bishop of Calcutta, and whose many other hymns include 'From Greenland's icy mountains' and 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty'.

Keith & Kristyn Getty will be in Belfast in June for the conference (Fri. 16th) and concert (Sat. 17th) in their Sing Europe 2023 schedule. Tickets can now be booked for the concert.

© Richard Hawkins

Christmas greetings from the BIB

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

© Richard Hawkins

Greetings from the Dublin Bluegrass Jam

The Bluestack Mountain Boys / Dublin Bluegrass Collective, hosts of the weekly Dublin Bluegrass Jam Session at Mother Reilly's, 28-32 Upper Rathmines Road, Dublin, post this photo by Gerry Geoghegan on their Facebook, with the greeting:

Happy Christmas and have a safe and Happy New Year! See you all back New Year's Day!

© Richard Hawkins

A stocking filler from Bluegrass Today

John Lawless reports on Bluegrass Today on an intercultural cooperation between Dr Haiqiong Deng (right) and the Bottom Dollar Boys of Florida. Dr Deng is a master of the Chinese 21-string guzheng and 7-string guqin, has also studied Indian classical music, and engages with traditional forms of music from other cultures. In a video on Bluegrass Today and YouTube, she and the guzheng join the Bottom Dollar Boys in an impressive version of 'Duelling banjos'.

Some readers may remember the fine, high-powered, and very entertaining band Takeharu Kunimoto & The Last Frontier, in which the Japanese shamisen (samisen) joined a four-piece bluegrass group. A sample of their music can be heard here, and more is on YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

Jussi Syten (FI) & the Groundbreakers release single and video

Very few bluegrass bands from Europe can count on getting A-list US musicians as guests on their recordings, and warmly favourable reviews from the US bluegrass media. Finland's Jussi Syren & the Groundbreakers, who play what a Bluegrass Unlimited reviewer has called 'that true traditional sound, the one that probably drew the vast majority of us to bluegrass', are among the select few.

John Lawless reports on Bluegrass Today that they released a week ago (16 Dec.) a video for the song 'Across the rolling tide', written by Jussi Syren and due to appear on their forthcoming album Bluegrass voice. The fiddling on the recording is by Michael Cleveland. The video can be seen on the band's Facebook page.

The cover art (above right) is worth seeing close up; it appears on Facebook, where - thanks to a question from Tony 'Bluegrass Boy' Friel of Donegal Bay Radio - we learn that it was painted by Jussi Syren's wife Hanna.

© Richard Hawkins

Roots music choices from No Depression readers and BGS staff

On 12 Dec. the BIB reported that no bluegrass or old-time albums are among the 'twenty-two Best Southern albums of 2022' listed by the Bitter Southerner online magazine. The balance has now been somewhat redressed by the results of the 'No Depression 50 Favorite Roots Music Albums of 2022' poll, in which over 4,000 readers voted; Billy Strings's Me and Dad came in at third place, Molly Tuttle's Crooked tree at fourth, and other musically related recordings appear further down the list.

The latest Weekly Dispatch, issued by the Bluegrass Situation (BGS), is entitled 'Christmas time's a-comin'', and opens with a video (also on YouTube) of the Del McCoury Band singing the Tex Logan classic, as part of the BGS 'Del in December' series of features. It continues with a staff article featuring the ten top videos from the 'Sitch Sessions' series over the past ten years, opening with 'Burn them' by Greensky Bluegrass, the most popular video the BGS has ever presented. However, the video which is 'probably' the BGS staff's all-time favourite is of Tim O'Brien singing 'You were on my mind' with banjo (and the one your editor most enjoys hearing and watching shows the Earls of Leicester doing 'The train that carried my girl from town').

The feature ends with a link to another - Justin Hiltner's choice of 'Eight of our favourite underrated Sitch Sessions', which includes a link to a further video (also on YouTube) of Alice Gerrard singing 'Bear me away', unaccompanied.

© Richard Hawkins

17th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, 9-11 June 2023 - tickets now on sale

From the organising team of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival comes this welcome announcement:

On the weekend of 9–11 June 2023 the town of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland, will once again welcome music lovers from all over the world to what is widely regarded as one of the leading folk & bluegrass events in the country.

Fifteen acts from the US, UK, Spain, Czech Republic, and of course Ireland, will take to the stages in ten different venues over the three-day musical celebration. The programme will consist of concerts, pub gigs, sessions, workshops, a square dance, gospel hour, and much more.

Among the acts will be some of the best emerging American bluegrass acts - The Kody Norris Show and Fog Holler (this will be the band's first ever Irish appearance), Bill and the Belles, Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman (of Front Country), and jam band The Pond, as well as top Czech band Rustic Robots and a Pan-European Band led by banjo maestro Lluís Gómez.

Folk-singer Niamh Dunne will lead the Irish representation of the lineup, alongside festival favourites Tim Rogers and The Rocky Top String Band.

More acts to be added in the coming weeks. Tickets for the main events are now on sale via the Festival website, http://westportfolkbluegrass.com/

The Kody Norris Show (above); Bill and the Belles (below)

Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman (above); Fog Holler (left)

The Pond (above)

Rustic Robots (CZ; above); the Lluís Gómez Bluegrass 4tet (E; below)

Niamh Dunne (left), Tim Rogers (right), and the Rocky Top String Band (below)

Tim O'Brien and Jan Fabricius in Ireland, 26 Jan.-5 Feb. 2023

Thanks to the Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo town for making us aware that Tim O'Brien (USA) and his wife Jan Fabricius (above) will be on tour in Ireland in late January and early February 2023. The tour opens on Thursday 26 January with Tim performing solo as a special guest of Dervish at the National Stadium, 145 South Circular Road, Dublin 8, as part of the 'Great Irish Songbook' project. All subsequent dates shown at present on the website are by the duo, as follows:

• Fri. 27th: Moynihan's Bar, 30-34 Upper Gladstone St., Clonmel, Co. Tipperary (Clonmel World Music)
• Sun. 29th: White Horse, West Village, Ballincollig, Co. Cork (Ballincollig Winter Music Festival)
• Thurs. 2nd Feb.: Cleere's Bar & Theatre, 28 Parliament St., Kilkenny city
• Sat. 4th: Clew Bay Hotel, James St., Westport, Co. Mayo
• Sun. 5th: Hawk's Well Theatre, Temple St., Sligo town

The Special Consensus are due to play at the Hawk's Well three days later (Wed. 8th Feb.).

© Richard Hawkins

EWOB applications to be in by this coming Friday (23 Dec.)

The organisers of the European World Of Bluegrass (EWOB) festival, which has been held in the Netherlands since 1998, announce that band applications to take part in the 2023 EWOB should be sent in by the end of 23 Dec. 2022 - this coming Friday. Applications should be made and submitted using this form, which includes full details and an FAQ section. Ireland was represented at EWOB in 2022 by Long Way Home (below) - Owen Schinkel (NL) and Kylie Kay Anderson (USA), based in Co. Cork, who have been making a very active contribution to the scene in this island.

© Richard Hawkins

Foghorn Stringband and de Groot & Hargreaves at 2023 Baltimore Fiddle Fair

Good news for old-time music enthusiasts: at its main event in the coming year (4-7 May 2023) the Baltimore Fiddle Fair at Baltimore, Co. Cork, will be presenting (among many other artists) two leading acts from the old-time scene in the USA: the Foghorn Stringband (above) from Portland, OR, and the fiddle-and-banjo duo of Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves. About the Foghorns in particular, the Fiddle Fair website writes:

These guys are like gods here in at the Baltimore Fiddle Fair and are quite possibly the most popular band we've ever had at the festival. Its been 6 whole years since they were here so watch out!

At present the Foghorns' online tour schedule indicates no other dates around the time of the Fiddle Fair.

Update 31 Dec.,: It is now confirmed that the Foghorns will be on tour in Scotland and Ireland from 25 April to 15 May 2023 inclusive, details TBA.

© Richard Hawkins

New online clawhammer classes (beginner and intermediate) from Ken Perlman

The BIB reported a week ago on the January 2023 online classes in the 'Clawhammer clinic' series from Ken Perlman, master of 'melodic clawhammer' banjo. Ken now announces that on Tuesdays in January and February he will be teaching two new online instruction courses, both beginning on 10 Jan.

Each course costs $165.00 and consists of six weekly classes. The 'Get started at clawhammer' course is (quote) 'for complete or near beginners to clawhammer style (it’s OK if you’ve never even touched a banjo before)' (unquote). The 'Intermediate clawhammer banjo' course is for players with at least six months' to a year's experience of playing clawhammer. Each class will be an hour and a quarter long; beginner classes run from 6.30 to 7.45 p.m. EST, and intermediate classes from 8.00 to 9.15 p.m. EST (EST is five hours behind Irish time).

Note: Each course will use exercises and pieces from Ken's Centerstream/ Hal Leonard publication Clawhammer style banjo (see image above), so access to a copy will be an asset for anyone taking either course.

© Richard Hawkins

More detached notes

Hank Smith (right), who has many videos of banjo advice and instruction on the Deering Live channel, now opens a new series, 'Thinking pianistically'. The first instalment shows:

how to take chord inversions all the way up the neck of the banjo utilizing open strings to make your position shifts more fluid. This technique will give you freedom to move all over the fingerboard and you can use this in improvising, composing, and more.

Hank, who is co-leader with Pattie Hopkins of the progressive bluegrass band Hank, Pattie & the Current, plans to travel to Ireland at the end of this month with Billie Feather (the Current's guitarist, who is also an educator) as a duo, and to be in Dublin from 29 Dec. to 7 Jan. Hank is also a friend of Dublin's Paddy Kiernan.

*

John Lawless reports on Bluegrass Today that Boston's Mile Twelve (left) have released a video of the song 'Johnny Oklahoma', written by the band's guitarist Evan Murphy. It is the second single to be released from their forthcoming album Close enough to hear, and can be seen on Bluegrass Today and on YouTube.

*

The Fretboard Journal (FJ) reports on the success of its 2022 Chicago Fretboard Summit, and announces next year's event for 24-26 Aug. 2023; VIP three-day all-access passes are now on sale. Meanwhile, issue 51 of the FJ is being posted to subscribers; and, more to the point for bluegrass people, the FJ website carries a podcast interview with mandolinist Sierra Hull and a video (also on YouTube) of her playing the composition 'Over the mountain'.

*

The Compass Records Group announce the coming release of two albums by former visitors to Ireland: Living in a song by Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley (headliners at the 2016 Dunmore East bluegrass festival), due out on 10 Feb. 2023; and The lovin' of the game by Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper (see the BIB for 10 Dec.), which is due out on 3 Mar. 2023. Both albums can be pre-ordered.

*

Kristy Cox, award-winning Australian singer who toured Ireland with her band in 2019 (thanks to mygrassisblue.com) and since moved to Nashville, TN, has a new single out on Billy Blue Records: a duet with Marty Raybon, 'Kentucky's never been this far from Tennessee'. It can be heard on Bluegrass Today.

*

Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol is playing at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX, from 8 Dec. to 8 Jan. Dickens's classic story is moved to a 1930s Appalachian coal-mining area. The Guardian's reviewer finds its treatment over-sweet, but ends: 'If you come for Parton’s songs, you will most likely enjoy this show and the live band, whose instruments include the banjo, mandolin [and fiddle, guitar, and bass] and at one point the spoons. If only there were more music, less book.' Tickets can be booked here.

© Richard Hawkins

'Del in December' on the BGS

The staff of the Bluegrass Situation (BGS) online magazine announce 'Del in December', a week-long programme of items celebrating the great Del McCoury (above; photo by Daniel Jackson) which will include a decade-by-decade recap of his career, an interview about his latest Grammy-nominated album, a photographic report on his 80th-birthday party, and several videos - among which is the four-and-a-half-minute 'Soundcheck' video about his duo act with Sam Bush, including a snatch of Del's banjo-playing (see also the BIB for 2 Feb. 2022).

© Richard Hawkins

Christmas Pickin' 2022 in Mother Reilly's!

Thanks to Patrick Simpson of the Bluestack Mountain Boys / Dublin Bluegrass Collective , who host the weekly Dublin bluegrass jam at Mother Reilly's, 32 Rathmines Rd Upper, Dublin 6. Patrick sends the fine photo above by Gerry Geoghegan, and reports:

We have really been enjoying the music and vibe at "Ma's" on Sundays and wanted to let you and your readers know that we will have Christmas Day off this year, so we plan to celebrate our 'Dublin Bluestacks Christmas Pickin' Party' this Sunday, December 18th, from 7.00 to 11.00 p.m. with a Festive Open Bluegrass Jam Session. We Ho Ho Hope y'all can make it! Thank you and all the pickers who have supported the jam in 2022, we look forward to being back on again on New Year's Day 2023! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!

© Richard Hawkins

New video from Mules & Men: 'I've tried'

Dublin's Mules & Men released four days ago their new video of 'I've tried', written by Luke Coffey and Lily Sheehan, arranged and performed by the band and Benjamin Burns, and filmed live in the studio by Brian Gleeson. The song, sung by Lily, is very different material from that of M&M's album A tribute to Johnnie Whisnant (and other bluegrass legends), but anyone who appreciates their wide-ranging talents should enjoy it. Mules & Men are also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

Dale Ann Bradley - plans for 2023

On 5 Oct. the BIB reported that Dale Ann Bradley had been taken to hospital after a heart attack and would undergo triple bypass surgery. John Lawless at Bluegrass Today now sends very good news: Dale Ann herself announces that she has been 'patched up', gives thanks for the support she has received, and hopes to be back on stage in February. The GoFundMe site that was set up to help her with an initial target of $15,000, in the event raised over $28,000.

© Richard Hawkins

Transatlantic Sessions tickets still available at Celtic Connections 2023

The organisers of Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland, who will begin their thirtieth anniversary programme next month, announce that limited tickets are still available for the twentieth Transatlantic Sessions concert, to be held in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (2 Sauchiehall St., Glasgow G2 3NY) at 7.30 p.m. on Sunday 5 February:

As ever, the show’s über-seasoned house band – most of them Transatlantic Sessions stalwarts, helmed by joint masters of ceremonies Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas - is a crème-de-la-crème selection of Celtic and Americana roots talent.

(Links added by the BIB.) Tickets can be bought online.

© Richard Hawkins

Update on 'Banjo month' at BU

The latest newsletter from Bluegrass Unlimited magazine announces that BU is calling December 2022 its 'Banjo month' - not only does the current issue have Earl Scruggs on the cover, but in this month's four podcasts some of the best Scruggs-style players now living will be talking about Earl. The first of these is Jim Mills, who will be asked about his music career as well as Earl Scruggs, J.D. Crowe, and his own vintage Gibson banjo business. The podcast can be heard here.

Similarly, this month's Spotify playlist presents thirty-nine instrumentals which Earl has recorded over the years; the BU archives yield up three articles from 2002, 2003, and 2004 by Jim MIlls, with information that later went into his book on original pre-war Gibson flat-head 5-string banjos; and BU editor Dan Miller demonstrates in a twelve-minute video (also on YouTube) how to develop variations on 'Little darling, pal of mine'.

© Richard Hawkins

Bluegrass and old-time not among best Southern albums

The Bitter Southerner online magazine has produced its list of the twenty-two Best Southern albums of 2022, accompanied by a Spotify playlist. Nothing on it counts even remotely as bluegrass. The Bitter Southerner has since added a supplementary list of a further twenty-two favoured albums, and Jake Xerxes Fussell, who played at this year's Kilkenny Roots Festival and a few other gigs in Ireland in May, and at Whelan's in Dublin in late October, is the only artist there who comes close. It looks as if bluegrass and old-time music may not be Southern enough.

© Richard Hawkins

Ken Perlman online clawhammer clinics for Jan. 2023

Ken Perlman (right), master of 'melodic clawhammer' banjo, announces that the next two online live instructional workshops in the current season of his 'Clawhammer Clinics for old-time banjo' series will be 'Creating variations via scale formulas on clawhammer banjo' (9 Jan.) and 'Demystifying 'crooked' tunes in old-time music' (30 Jan.). Each clinic lasts an hour and a half. All Ken's previous Clinics are available as videos from his website at $25 each, and he can also be contacted for private lessons by Zoom.

© Richard Hawkins

'Lonesome state of mind' and 'Lovin' of the game' from past festival headliners

Blue Highway, who topped the bluegrass section of the bill in the 2009 Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival at Longford town, have released the first single from their forthcoming album. 'Lonesome state of mind', described by co-writer Tim Stafford as 'a straight-ahead bluegrass song', can be heard on YouTube and John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today. The band's lineup on the recording is Tim Stafford (guitar), Wayne Taylor (bass, lead vocal), Shawn Lane (mandolin, harmony vocal), Jason Burleson (banjo), and Gary Hultman (resophonic guitar).

Similarly, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, who headlined the Omagh bluegrass festival in 2008, have now released their recording of 'The lovin' of the game', a song recorded by Judy Collins in 1975. The single will be the title track of the band's new album, due out in March 2023. It can be heard on YouTube and on Bluegrass Today. The band now consists of Michael Cleveland (fiddle), Josh Richards (guitar, lead vocal), Nathan Livers (mandolin), Chris Douglas (bass), and Josiah Strode (banjo).

© Richard Hawkins

Compass Records holiday sale

The Compass Records Group, with their ample catalogues of Americana, bluegrass, Celtic music (including I Draw Slow), and beyond, have opened their Holiday Sale with 25% off 'sitewide', including hoodies, T-shirts, hats, bags, CDs, LPs, digital music, books, and more - the only items excluded from the sale are last month's releases and bundles. The sale can be browsed here. Compass Records was fouded and is run by Alison Brown, who has produced the recent recordings by the Special Consensus. Banjo-players interested in the gear she uses for performing and recording can see the details here.

© Richard Hawkins

Foreign Landers at the Earl Scruggs Center, 2 Apr. 2022

On 3 Jan. this year the BIB reported that the Foreign Landers duo (David Benedict, formerly of Mile Twelve, and Tabitha Agnew Benedict of Cup O' Joe and Midnight Skyracer) were scheduled to play at the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC, on 2 April as part of the Center's monthly Center Stage Concert series. The photo above, which appears without caption in the Center's latest news bulletin, shows the Foreign Landers and audience in the concert hall on that occasion.

© Richard Hawkins

Tristan Scroggins interviews Sam Bush on John Hartford on BGS

A month ago the BIB reported on Stacy Chandler's review on No Depression of Radio John: songs of John Hartford, Sam Bush's new album commemorating John Hartford (1937-2001) as an individual and innovative songwriter and instrumentalist, and a strong influence on the development of 'newgrass'. The review was accompanied by videos, photos, and Bush's testimony to how much Hartford's songs and friendship had meant to him.

Tristan Scroggins (veteran of several tours in Ireland as mandolinist with his father Jeff's band Colorado and with Chris Jones & the Night Drivers) has now contributed to the Bluegrass Situation (BGS) a major interview with Bush, 'On a loving tribute album, Sam Bush salutes John Hartford's songwriting'.

The interview as published includes six videos of Hartford songs - three from live Bush performances and three from the album, on which Bush played nearly all the instruments (including banjo; there's a good deal here about his banjo playing). It's illuminating on Sam Bush's own musical development and on what went into the making of the album.

© Richard Hawkins

For banjo players in particular

The Dec. 2022 Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (BU) has Thomas Goldsmith's nine-page cover story 'Earl Scruggs: a giant of music, in 1945 and for all time', followed by a mass of banjo- and banjo-player-related content: articles by Tim Newby on Chris Pandolfi and Mike Munford; by Dan Miller (BU editor) on Lincoln Hensley; Dan Miller again on ProPik finger- and thumbpicks; Derek Halsey on the first Earl Scruggs Music Festival; and, in the ample review section, Casey Henry's review of Kristina R. Gaddy's new book Well of souls (see the BIB for 26 Nov.). Even the four BU podcasts for December are all on banjo-players. There is, nonetheless, plenty of good non-banjo content.

*

Michael J. Miles sends his 'Blue Light Special' e-newsletter, with news of his latest composition, the 'Chicago Roseville Suite'; of his many CDs and music books; of his January and February programmes of workshops for clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar; and of his teaching schedule at three banjo camps in the first half of 2023. Two videos show him playing Bach (banjo) and 'Christmas time is here' (guitar).

*

Lincoln Hensley, mentored by the great Sonny Osborne, is now producing Krako banjos as part of Sonny's legacy (see Pamm Tucker on Bluegrass Today a month ago). He can also be seen on this seven-minute video, demonstrating the custom Stelling Sonflower banjo which Geoff Stelling made for Sonny in 1979. This unique banjo is now up for auction to benefit the IBMA Trust Fund; full details are on last Thursday's Bluegrass Today.

Update 12 Jan.: The auction brought in $23,500; see Bluegrass Today.

*

The story of one person's life since banjos took control is well told in a half-hour video interview focusing on Clifton Hicks, old-time player and banjo-maker, who at his first contact with the 5-string thought it was originally a Scots-Irish instrument. Discover the link between what made him an old-time player and what made him an archaeologist. His own YouTube channel is an abundant source of music, instruction, advice, and opinion.

© Richard Hawkins

Last chances to see We Banjo 3

Galway's We Banjo 3, originators of Celtgrass, send a reminder (see the BIB for 21 Nov.) that their coming six dates in the western USA during 27 Jan.-4 Feb. 2023 will be the last opportunities to see the band live. Their online shop is still open, with a 20% discount till 1 Jan.

© Richard Hawkins

Detached notes

The IBMA Foundation, devoted to 'a brighter future for bluegrass', has just released on its YouTube channel four videos, each of about ten minutes under the collective title 'Bluegrass Stagecraft 101', with good advice on stage management for bluegrass events, MC work (both for stage managers and for band spokespersons), and working with a sound crew. More details of the set are given by John Lawless on Bluegrass Today, together with one of the videos.

*

Ken Perlman, master of 'melodic clawhammer' banjo, sends a reminder of his next two ninety-minute online live instructional workshops in the current season of his 'Clawhammer Clinics for old-time banjo': 'Modes & pentatonics in old-time music', which is tonight (5 Dec.) and 'Creating variations via scale formulas on clawhammer banjo' (9 Jan.). See the BIB for 17 Nov.

*

Several US artists who have played in Ireland in the past are bringing out new recordings. They include Becky Buller, who was here in 2005 with Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, and has now released a full Christmas album, The perfect gift, on the Dark Shadow label; Ashby Frank, mandolinist with the Special Consensus on their 2009 tour, with his single 'Christmas in Virginia' from the Mountain Home Music Company; and frequent visitor Milan Miller, who has a new single 'Distractions' with a lyric video that can be seen on Bluegrass Today or YouTube. Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee, who toured here in the spring of 2018 as The Lowest Pair, have joined forces with another duo, Small Town Therapy, in the album Horse camp, which is reviewed by Rachel Cholst on No Depression with a playlist of all tracks.

And finally (for now), Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers, Omagh headliners in the autumn of 2019, send their Christmas greetings to all, with news of two Christmas singles, 'No room at the inn' and 'Old fashioned Christmas' (with Paul Williams). They have a new album scheduled for release on St Patrick's day 2023, and a single from it can be heard and seen in a live performance video via a link on their e-newsletter.

Update: Becky Buller's The perfect gift is reviewed by David Morris on Bluegrass Today, with a playlist of samples from all the songs. In addition, Valerie Smith's own Bell Buckle Records company has released Christmas songs by Valerie, Pam Setser, and Maria Levine.

© Richard Hawkins

IBMA International Band Performance Grants - apply now

In its latest newsletter, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announces that applications can now be made for a 2023 International Band Performance Grant, to be sent in no later than 23 Dec. 2022. From among the applications received, the grant steering committee will select one band to receive a modest financial grant to enable them to attend the 2023 IBMA World of Bluegrass and set up a 2024 follow-up tour in the USA. The photo above shows the 2022 grant winners, Curly Strings from Estonia. An application form can be completed and submitted here.

© Richard Hawkins