Westport - hub of a new transatlantic partnership in music

Thanks to Uri Kohen, head of the organising team of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, for news of a ground-breaking project in which the festival will lead a transatlantic collaboration between major academic institutions:

Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival are excited to announce details of their new project.

For the first time ever, we have created a partnership between the festival and three major academic institutions: the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick; East Tennessee State University - The Home of Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies in Higher Education; and the Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University.

We will mark the start of this unique collaboration when all three universities will have representatives at this year's festival, where they will present literature about their own unique musical studies, have the opportunity to have face-to-face meeting with interested parties, and the chance to partake in some of the musical performances and sessions.

During the summer months, we will work with the universities to collaborate on an academic level and build unique programs for students and teachers exchanges, as well as the exchange of academic papers on the deep roots and connections between Irish traditional music and bluegrass and American old-time music.

In addition, we are already making plans for bands from the universities to be part of our 2024 program, both as individuals and as musical collaborators. This opportunity will allow such acts to present both styles of music to our audiences, and to highlight their differences and similarities.

The Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival organising committee believe that this first-of-its-kind project is vital for a better understanding of both the Irish traditional and bluegrass music, and the deep connections between these genres of music.

We are really looking forward to work with our new partners, and hope that this will be a great benefit for future festival-goers and the next generations for musicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

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For more details and interviews, please contact Uri Kohen, Festival producer; mobile 087 757 0958; e-mail.

Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival now has a very attractive six-page, full-colour, amply illustrated press kit, including very positive testimonials from Roni Stoneman, the Foghorn Stringband, headline artists from 2022, and some of the Festival's many partner organisations.

© Richard Hawkins