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On Bluegrass Today Michael Luchtan, who has covered Barcelona bluegrass events in the past, reports on the final meeting, on St George's day (23 Apr.), of a jam session that had been held in the city on the second and fourth Sunday of each month for the past six years. A video of the final song (need you ask? it was 'Will the circle be unbroken') can be seen on Bluegrass Today or on YouTube. Lluís Gómez, who many in Ireland will remember from the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival performances of his Barcelona Bluegrass Band, can be seen in the centre of things. To keep informed about the resumption of regular jams in Barcelona, check the Barcelona Bluegrass Jam Facebook.

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The new single of 'Danny boy' sung by Danny Burns with Tim O'Brien (see the BIB for 21 Apr.) can now be heard via John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today or on YouTube. It's a performance of 'this timeless classic' (Lawless) with emotional power.

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The Compass Records group announce that 'Snowbird', a new single by the Special Consensus from their latest album Great blue North, is to be released tomorrow (Fri. 28 Apr.) on all digital platforms. The single features Claire Lynch as a guest artist. The album can be pre-ordered on CD and digital, and all CD orders will be signed by the band.

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Concern is being expressed about recent developments in Artifical Intelligence (AI), and in his article 'The sadness of singing robots' writer Craig Havighurst sets out in detail why the consequences for music-makers could be particularly bad. Bluegrass is a music with such well-defined formulae that it's not hard to imagine AI replications taking it over completely. (Last December, Chris Jones wrote a good funny column on Bluegrass Today on his experience of writing bluegrass songs with a chatbot.)

© Richard Hawkins