To BIB users

The BIB editor writes:

This is to let you know that I intend to give up work on the Bluegrass Ireland Blog (BIB) within the coming three months - in any event, not later than 18 September. This is not a sudden decision: I have had it in mind for over a year. By September, it will be twenty-seven years since I took over the editing of the Irish Bluegrass Music Club Newsletter, and almost eighteen years since the BIB was launched. I believe the blog has served a useful purpose, but the time has come for a change.

Running a blog is essentially easy. However, the way I chose to do it requires a good deal of input, and I am now finding that keeping this up is becoming too heavy a responsibility. Moreover, the blog as it now stands may not be what is needed in the present and foreseeable circumstances of bluegrass, old-time, and related music on this island. A news medium should be in touch with as many people as possible who are active on the scene, and should keep abreast of the ways in which the music is developing.

If any person (or persons - a team might be the best solution) should appear in the near future, prepared to maintain a news medium for this purpose, I shall be happy to hand over to them at any time; but in any event, my own commitment will end on 18 September.

Richard Hawkins

JigJam in the USA - spring, summer, and autumn

JigJam send their schedule (above) for touring in the USA and Canada during this coming August and into mid September, culminating in the Winfield festival in Kansas, where Shane Hennessy will also be playing (see the BIB for a week ago).

Shane Hennessy's debut on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN, was a day before St Patrick's day this year, and JigJam's came a day after (18 Mar.). An eleven-minute behind-the-scenes video of the preparations for their debut can be seen on YouTube. The band were also in the recording studio earlier this month: Native Sound Studios in St Louis, MO, where they recorded music that will be available to fans during their summer tour.

© Richard Hawkins

Fog Holler's experiences in Ireland

Kianna Mott-Smith, manager of Fog Holler, has been compiling a chronicle of the band's two-month tour of Europe, and the BIB has reported the appearance of previous instalments on Bluegrass Today. Yesterday the fourth instalment of the chronicle was published; it describes at length and in detail their time in Ireland, and is headed by the photo above, which (though not captioned) will be recognised by all who know the Red Room, Cookstown.

While Fog Holler and their manager seem to have had good times throughout their European tour, this instalment is an outstanding endorsement of the Westport festival and the Red Room - the latter considered not just as a venue, but as the whole environment that Arnie and Sharon Loughrin have created. The instalment includes two videos (one from the Westport concert, and one from an earlier show in the Netherlands) and sixteen photos.

© Richard Hawkins

Ian Alexander at the Dufferin Arms, THIS FRIDAY (30 June)

Thanks to Ian Alexander for the news that he will be playing and singing at the Dufferin Arms, 35 High Street, Killyleagh, Co. Down BT30 9QF (also on Facebook), from 8.00 p.m. tomorrow night (Friday 30 June), with the same two-man lineup as at Bluegrass Omagh a month ago. Ian's press handout reads:

Ian Alexander serves up a feast of bluegrass songs ranging from the uplifting to the darkest murder ballads. As a young fella he took his mandolin and travelled the southern states, playing festivals and jamming with the old hands, while keeping his ears firmly open. Personal encounters with Bill Monroe, Doc Watson, Peter Rowan, and a Who’s Who of bluegrass legends left their mark on the young Ian Alexander. Catch him on Friday June 30th at 8.00 p.m. playing original songs and classic bluegrass favourites.

On the basis of experience at Omagh, the Dufferin Arms gig can be warmly recommended. Ian's Facebook is also well worth a visit, if only for a look at his 1993 Lowden guitar, O32 ('Old Faithful').

© Richard Hawkins

Brian Crawford remembered in classic night at The Oarsman

Following yesterday's post on the Dublin bluegrass jam sessions, thanks again to Patrick Simpson, who writes:

Last night [Tues. 27 June] we must have had the best turnout we've ever had in The Oarsman for Bluegrass Tuesdays. Luke Coffey (Mules & Men) on fiddle and banjo, John Denby (Dangerfield) on mandolin, Camille Champarnaud on fiddle, Carl Lombard (Whistle) on banjo, TJ Screene on double bass, and Simon Humphries on banjo.

It was great to have so many great musicians show their support of the session, and of course it was in memory of Brian Crawford, who was there in spirit. I dedicated the Jimmy Martin song 'Truck driver's queen' to Brian as a small gesture to his support and interest in the Bluestack Mountain Boys all these years. I think I first met Brian Crawford in Athy 2010 and he was such a very nice knowledgeable man and very kind to us. We all will miss him.

Other highlights of the night included 'Think of what you've done', sung by John Denby and Luke Coffey featuring twin fiddles with Camille Champarnaud, and of course the blistering banjos of Carl Lombard and Simon Humphries on 'Old Slew Foot' (sung by Luke Coffey, in memory of Jesse McReynolds), 'I remember you love in my prayers', 'Little cabin home on the hill', 'Home run man', and 'Freeborn man' among others.

We really enjoy the acoustics in The Oarsman, the music sounds great in the old pub, and it's a lovely quaint audience that are very receptive to our songs that we really appreciate. We hope to see any visiting musicians in Dublin join us for our brand of 'stonkin' bluegrass'. They are always welcome. We look forward to more jams like it in the future. Thanks to all who support us.

© Richard Hawkins

Danny Burns releases 'Come to Jesus' (update)

The Bonfire Music Group announces that Danny Burns (raised in the north-west of this island, making an active career in Americana and bluegrass in the USA, and on tour here as recently as the eve of the pandemic) has just brought out a single, 'Come to Jesus', from his forthcoming album Promised land. The single features Sam Bush, who also takes part in another track on the album, 'Dirty old town'.

Update 13 July: The official video for 'Come to Jesus' is now out; it can be seen on John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today and on YouTube.

The ten tracks of the album include other guest artists: Tim O’Brien, Bryan Simpson, and Aine Burns. One of the tracks is 'Danny boy' (see the BIB for 21 April 2023). The track listing on the Bonfire Music Group press release gives 'Danny boy' as '(traditional)'. That certainly applies to the tune, but Fred Weatherly of Somerset, who wrote the words, should not be forgotten - see the BIB for 15 June 2015.

© Richard Hawkins

Eilis Boland on Westport 2023

L-r, top row: indoor old-time session, Rustic Robots, Fog Holler; middle row, Kody Norris Show, Jacob Groopman & Melody Walker, outdoor old-time session; bottom row, Bill & the Belles, workshop, Lluis Gomez Quartet

'The small team in Westport have pulled off yet another successful production, their seventeenth, to continue the high standards of what has been rightly declared as one of the top boutique festivals in Ireland' - the first sentence of Eilis Boland's report for Lonesome Highway on this year's Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival. Read the whole of the report here, and look also at the post on the Lonesome Highway Facebook.

© Richard Hawkins

Bobby Osborne, 7 Dec. 1931-27 June 2023

Following closely upon the death of Jesse McReynolds (see the BIB for 24 June), the bluegrass world has now lost another member of the founding generation of the music with the death yesterday (27 June) of Bobby Osborne at the age of 91. A photo of the two great singer/ mandolinists together is on Bobby's Facebook.

Bobby and his younger brother Sonny were inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1994, a year after Jim & Jesse. Like them, the Osbornes were original and innovative, and often controversial in using 'non-bluegrass' instruments on recordings, and playing amplified mandolin and banjo on live shows. Like Jesse, Bobby Osborne remained vigorously active in recording and performing after Sonny retired in 2005. John Lawless's obituary/ biography of Bobby on Bluegrass Today includes a video of the Osbornes playing 'Rocky Top' in 1967, and one of Bobby's recording - fifty years later - of 'I've got to get a message to you'.

John Lawless remarks on the Osbornes' 'ill-fated association' with Red Allen (1956-8), which however was also the time when their trademark trio-harmony-singing style evolved, with Bobby's phenomenal voice taking a high lead. They went on to win successive vocal group awards on the country music scene. John Lawless's obituary concludes: '[Bobby's] death leaves a gaping hole in the hearts of every bluegrass fan, and we aren’t likely to see his kind again.'

© Richard Hawkins

Dublin bluegrass jam sessions in full vigour!

Thanks to Patrick Simpson of the Bluestack Mountain Boys for the news that the two weekly Dublin bluegrass open jam sessions (Sundays at Mother Reilly's, 32 Rathmines Rd Upper, Dublin 6, 7.00-11.00 p.m., and Tuesdays at The Oarsman, 8-10 Bridge St., Ringsend, Dublin 4 (D04 N294), from 8.00 p.m.) are continuing in vigorous life.

The photo above (which now heads the Bluestack Mountain Boys Facebook page) was taken at The Oarsman by a family from the USA with Patrick's phone camera. The photo below was taken on the June Bank Holiday weekend in Mother Reilly's, when Irish singer/ songwriter Mundy (seated with back to the camera, with 12-string guitar) dropped in and finger-picked songs in Doc Watson style.

© Richard Hawkins

'Weathered and worn' from Cup O' Joe

On 16 June Co. Armagh's Cup O' Joe' released on video 'Weathered and worn', a single from their forthcoming album, with Tabitha Benedict singing lead and playing clawhammer banjo. It can be seen and heard on their Facebook or on YouTube. The album is scheduled for release on 24 August, and can be pre-ordered as a digital album (£10) or a physical CD (£15) on BandCamp. Ten of the eleven tracks are original compositions, the exception being the closing track - the traditional 'The old churchyard'.

Tabitha Benedict also plays banjo on 'Chasin' indigo', the latest single by US singer, songwriter, and fiddler Carley Arrowood, which was released last Friday (23 June). More details are on the Mountain Home Music company press release.

© Richard Hawkins

Brian Crawford

The BIB editor writes:

Carol and I learn with great regret that Brian Crawford - singer, guitar player, trucker, central figure in innumerable music sessions, and a man with whom conversation was always a pleasure - died during the night of 25/26 June. Thanks to Sharon Loughrin of the Red Room, Cookstown, for the sad news. A moving tribute to Brian is on the Red Room's Facebook, with a video of him singing 'The rose of Allendale'. The video can also be seen in a further tribute to Brian on the Bluestack Mountain Boys Facebook. Our deepest condolences go to Brian's widow Kate and their family. Everyone who knew Brian will feel the same.

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Thanks to Uri Kohen for the photo of Brian at the head of this post, and for this link to a video of Brian at the ninth Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival (June 2015), singing the John Scott Sherrill song 'Wild and blue' and backing up 'Whiskey before breakfast'.

© Richard Hawkins

Jesse McReynolds, 9 July 1929-23 June 2023 (update)

Jesse McReynolds, one of the last of the founding generation of bluegrass music, died yesterday (23 June) of natural causes, at home in Nashville, just over two weeks short of his 94th birthday. He and his elder brother Jim had been the most successful and long-lasting exponents of the 'brother duet' harmony tradition. They were also innovative, both in Jesse's personal mandolin style and in recordings such as their 1965 album of rock songs, Berry pickin' in the country. They were inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 1993, and were made National Heritage Fellows by the US's National Foundation for the Arts in 1997.

After Jim's death in 2002, Jesse remained a keen and active musician and performer, and recently completed seventy years in the music profession. John Lawless's obituary and biography on Bluegrass Today includes videos from YouTube of three of the most popular recordings by Jim & Jesse.

Update 3 July: Jesse's funeral was held on Wednesday 28 June in Hermitage, TN. His family have asked that in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Opry Trust Fund, One Gaylord Drive, Nashville, TN 37214.

© Richard Hawkins

Brit (and former Westport performer) joins high-profile US band

John Lawless announces on Bluegrass Today that the Tennessee Bluegrass Band (whose founder members include fiddler Aynsley Porchak, a leading disciple of the late Kenny Baker, and banjo-player Lincoln Hensley, keeper of the heritage of the late Sonny Osborne) has taken on two new members, both from family-band backgrounds.

Anissa Burnett (bass) is a distinguished alumnus of the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) bluegrass, old-time, and roots music course. Geary Allen (guitar) comes from the Allen Family Band based in Margate, England, who made a solid contributions to a past Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival. A 2014 photo of the Allen Family. showing Geary as he was then, can be found on the BIB.

The story of how both new members came to join the Tennessee Bluegrass Band is told in detail in the Bluegrass Today article, which includes two YouTube videos of them making their indvidual contributions to the band's sound. In the photo above, Anissa and Geary are first and second from the right respectively.

© Richard Hawkins

Shane Hennessy wows the Opry

Carlow's own world-class guitar wizard Shane Hennessy reports in his latest e-newsletter on his Grand Ole Opry debut on 16 Mar. 2023, with a 90-second video showing some of the impact of his fingerstyle solo on Chet Atkins's 'Effervescent' - the whole solo can be seen here. The photo (right) shows Shane with the Opry parking space marked with his name.

Apologies for omitting the news that Shane will be playing a 'pop-up gig' at 8.00 p.m. on Friday 30 June at Mills Inn, Ballyvourney, Co. Cork. Tickets (€20/€15) can be booked here.

Shane will be returning to the USA in early August for a tour of ten dates culminating in the Winfield festival in mid September. Two bookings for him in North America for next March have already been announced. He is also in the process of recording a new album; his 2020 album Rain dance, released as a physical CD, can be bought as a digital download here for €20. Tabs for the title tune and for 'Jumbo' are €3.50 each from MusicNotes.

© Richard Hawkins

More releases by past visitors

Brennen Leigh, who has toured Ireland several times with Noel McKay (the duo headlined the bluegrass section of the 2019 Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival), has released a new album, Ain't through honky-tonkin' yet, which is reviewed by Noah Berlatsky on No Depression, with two embedded videos, also on YouTube: 'Carole with an E' and 'Running out of Hope, Arkansas'. Berlatsky writes: 'For her part, Leigh gleefully captures the broken-hearted corny/clever wordplay that powered so many Jones and Lynn and Haggard jukebox classics.'

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Also on No Depression, Nancy Posey reviews what is, amazingly, Tim O'Brien's first all-original album, Cup of sugar; he has been such an original voice for so long in other respects. In this review, the two embedded videos (also on YouTube) are 'Bear' and 'Little lamb, little lamb'. The album was released last Friday (16 June).

© Richard Hawkins

Kinnaris Quintet on tour in Ulster, 29 June-2 July

Thanks to the Moving On Music (MOM) agency for the news that the Glasgow-based Kinnaris Quintet (above) will play a brief tour in Northern Ireland from 29 June to 2 July.

The quintet comprises Laura Wilkie and Fiona MacAskill (fiddles), Aileen Reid (5-string fiddle), Jenn Butterworth (guitar), and Laura-Beth Salter (mandolin, tenor guitar). They emerged as a band in 2017 with a unique, emotive, energetic, and powerful sound, and won in 2019 the prestigious Belhaven Bursary for Innovation in Music. Their music, combining Scottish and Irish traditional music with bluegrass, classical, Scandinavian, and Appalachian influences, has been described as 'euphoric', 'uplifting, fresh, honest and powerful'. MOM states:

Unable to hide their joy at making music together, the quintet perform with an enthusiasm that is infectious, as anyone who has seen them live will attest.

Their dates in the North are (with links for online booking):

• Thurs. 29th June: The Playhouse, Derry city
• Fri. 30th: Portico of Ards, Portaferry, Co. Down
• Sat. 1st July: Market Place Theatre, Armagh city
• Sun. 2nd: Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim

Plenty of the Kinnaris Quintet's music can be heard on YouTube, and a playlist on their website includes brief snatches of the John Reischman composition 'Saltspring' and of 'The road to Poynton' by Rob Harbron of the English neo-traditional band Leveret.

© Richard Hawkins

Don't try this at home

Molly Tuttle and her bluegrass band Golden Highway are scheduled to release a month from now their next album, City of gold, on Nonesuch Records. John Lawless on Bluegrass Today gives more details (including an overview of her career to date) and includes official video releases of two singles, 'Next rodeo' (also on YouTube and 'El Dorado' (also on YouTube. The second video shows (in monochrome) the band recording the song in the studio; the first, however, is a full-colour fantasy of marital retribution. Molly Tuttle writes: 'We had so much fun filming this video', and John Lawless says: 'It truly is a fun romp.' All the BIB can say is: 'Don't follow the examples shown here.'

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As a corrective, we warmly recommend the new single, released last Friday (16 June) by Danny Roberts, 'My brown eyed darling', featured on Bluegrass Today. For its part, the BIB doesn't often feature US artists without an established or prospective connection with this island, but in Danny Roberts's case the link is that the lead vocals on this song are by his wife Andrea, who was over here as bass player on a Special Consensus tour some twenty years ago, having previously recorded the song with the band Petticoat Junction. The new recording, as John Lawless says, 'shows just how rhythmically powerful medium-tempo bluegrass can be in the hands of seasoned pros'. It can be heard on Bluegrass Today and SoundCloud.

© Richard Hawkins

'Thank you! Roll on June 7-9, 2024' from Westport committee

The Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival committee would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who took part in this year's event.

To the musicians and music fans who came from all over the world, the host venues, the accommodation providers in the town, media partners and all of our sponsors and collaborators, we could not do it without you.

Although we are still on a high from this year's very successful event, we are already working on producing our festival for next year!

Saturday night concert: the Kody Norris Show, Fog Holler, Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman

The 18th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival will take place the weekend of June 7-9; we encourage you to book accommodation well in advance, and to keep an eye on our social media pages for updates regarding tickets releases.

Friday night concert: Bill & the Belles, Austin & Courtney Derryberry with Greg Reish

Many videos from this year's event are already on our YouTube channel and we will continue to post pictures on the festival's Facebook page.

Old-time jam in Blouser's

So once again, big thank you to each and every one of you, continue to support live music, and see you in Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland June 2024!

[Picture captions added by the BIB]

© Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival

Joachim Cooder (USA) at Whelan's, Dublin, 31 Aug. 2023

Thanks to Whelans of Wexford St., Dublin 2, for the news that Joachim Cooder will be playing there on Thursday 31 August, backed by Mark Fain (bass) and the splendid Rayna Gellert (fiddle). Tickets (€27.50) can be booked here.

Joachim Cooder, as son of Ry Cooder, has been immersed in roots and world music all his life. His 2020 album Over that road I'm bound was a 'repurposing' and 'reimagining' of the music of Uncle Dave Macon. A single from the album, 'Come along buddy', can be seen on Whelan's press release and on YouTube, with his father playing 5-string banjo. The title track, 'Over the road', is on YouTube in two versions: one showing the song being recorded, and a brief version with animation (and banjo).

A brief note to Whelan's - Uncle Dave was not exactly an 'Appalachian banjo picker'; he was raised in central Tennessee, and the time his family (of French Huguenot descent) had spent in the mountains was passing through on the journey from North Carolina.

© Richard Hawkins

Fog Holler - on the road in Belgium

Our friends at Bluegrass in Belgium announce that Fog Holler, who played at Westport last weekend and at other venues in Ireland since then, began yesterday (Fri. 16 June) a series of five dates in Belgium, ending on Fri. 23 June in Mechelen. They will then finish their European tour in the Netherlands at the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival. Details of the dates in Belgium are on the Bluegrass in Belgium website.

© Richard Hawkins

AC-12 range of banjos from Gold Tone

The BIB mentioned on 2 May the new Gold Tone AC-Galaxy banjo (formerly the AC-1, given a black colour scheme). 'AC' stands for 'Acoustic Composite'. Gold Tone now announce their AC-12 range of open-back 5-string banjos, all with 12" pots: the standard AC-12, with 26 3/16" scale length, 18 frets, and frailing scoop; the AC-12A, with 23 1/2" scale length, 17 frets, and frailing scoop; and the AC-12FL fretless model, with the same scale length as the AC-12, no scoop, and 22 fret positios marked on the fingerboard. The AC-12 and AC-12A sell for $269.99, the fretless for $20 extra. The AC-12 range can be seen (with full information) on the Gold Tone website or on the press release.

© Richard Hawkins

New! International Pavilion at IBMA WOB 2023

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) sends out a call to all bluegrass musicians from around the world, and announces the formation of the International Pavilion as part of this year's World Of Bluegrass® (WOB) in Raleigh, NC (26-30 Sept.). The Pavilion will be in the WOB Exhibit Hall, and IBMA states:

International artists and groups, as well as those with international ties, are encouraged to participate in this FREE opportunity! Artists with international connections include the following:

• Foreign nationals living overseas.
• Foreign nationals living and working in the United States.
• U.S. nationals with strong international connections such as working with the State Department as cultural ambassadors or having been on multiple overseas tours.

Foreign artists with a P or an O visa may perform Wednesday through Saturday. Foreign artists without a visa may perform during the Conference attendee portion of the Exhibit Hall (Wednesday-Thursday), but not during the public attendee portion (Friday-Saturday).

More information is on the IBMA press release.

© Richard Hawkins

Omagh 2023: a personal note

The BIB editor writes:

The BIB published last week (7 June) a comprehensive report on Bluegrass Omagh 2023 by Declan Fox, and a link to Eilis Boland's equally solid report on the Festival on Lonesome Highway. Both reports came from responsible journalists who took care to see all the acts on the bill. The following, in contrast, is a jumble of personal impressions; and if it mentions only a few of the acts, this should not be taken as any derogation of the others.

My general impression of the Festival was overwhelmingly positive; the only serious criticism I heard from others was how long the queues were for food and drink. Over the decades Omagh has built a reputation for presenting A-listers of the bluegrass world. Budget constraints prevented this in 2023, and some fans may have been disappointed; but not me. The PA systems made everyone sound good: understandably, I specially enjoyed the tone of the banjos of Michael Ashe (Broken Strings) and Ben Krakauer (Zoe & Cloyd) - the latter's style was a remarkable combination of a left hand that matched the melodic complexity of klezmer music, and a right hand that brought out the banjo's essential percussiveness.

Any mention of instrument tone at Omagh has to include the powerful mandolin sound of Matteo Ringressi (Truffle Valley Boys) - Buzz Busby might have envied it - and the banjo of Germano Ciavone. There was a sound in the audience's response to the Truffle Valley Boys that suggested that a fair number of people welcomed their music and their stage presence at least as much as I did.

The peak musical experience for me, however, came from hearing Janet Henry sing 'Sunny side of the mountain' - the words exactly the same as Jimmy Martin's, but at a tempo and with feeling that revealed that this can be a heartbreaking song. I gather that this treatment was inspired by the singing of Wil Maring (USA) - whose version, accompanied by the fiddle of Robert Bowlin, can be heard on YouTube. Good though they are, I would back Janet Henry's voice when it comes to music that can break hearts.

The photo above of Colin and Janet Henry, from the Ulster American Folk Park website, dates from before the Festival. They were supported there by Ivan Muirhead on lead guitar.

All possible thanks are due to Richard Hurst and his team, who have deserved them annually since 1992.

© Richard Hawkins

Welcome to BanjoRadio (update)

BanjoRadio, a new 24/7 bluegrass radio service, is to be launched in the very near future. The founder and director is Kyle Cantrell, formerly director of the Bluegrass Junction channel on Sirius XM, winner of the IBMA Broadcaster of the Year award five times and of the SPBGMA DJ of the Year award nine times, and member of the Country Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The BIB applauds his choice of a name for the new service. More detail is in John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today and the East Public Relations press release.

Update 14 July: BanjoRadio has launched today, after a period of testing its systems; see John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

© Richard Hawkins

Instrument technicians wanted by Gold Tone

The Gold Tone Music Group is looking for instrument technicians - 'talented musicians with craftsmanship skill sets", to quote the Gold Tone e-newsletter. Applications can be made through this link. The responsibilities of successful applicants will include inspecting and troubleshooting instruments; assembly and setup of instruments; detail and finish work; ensuring playability; and using standard workshop tools. There are corresponding benefits. A satellite photo showing the location of the Gold Tone plant at Titusville, Florida, is on the e-newsletter.

© Richard Hawkins

Ardara Bluegrass Festival, 21-23 July 2023

Thanks to Tony O'Brien for details of the Ardara Bluegrass Festival, which will be held in the highly agreeable town of Ardara, Co. Donegal, from Friday 21 July to to Sunday 23 July. The lineup includes Woodbine, Henry, Mules & Men, and Kevin & Geraldine Gill. The schedule of events is:

Fri. evening/ night: Opening jam session
Sat.: afternoon, jam session; evening, concert with the above artists, 8.00 p.m.
Sun.: afternoon, jam session; evening, Jamboree hosted by Woodbine, 8.00 p.m.
All events will take place in The Beehive Bar, Main St., Ardara.

© Richard Hawkins

'Dirk in Down' by Frank Galligan

Thanks to Frank Galligan for this review of the concert by Dirk Powell and his daughter Amelia (above) in Rathfriland, Co. Down, on Sat. 10 June:

Thanks once again to Andy Peters and Frontier Promotions. Another great gig in lovely Rathfriland where Dirk and Amelia Powell blew us away. They were on a busy Irish tour and heading early the following morning to Doolin in Clare, and we were so privileged to have them up north in a venue where I recently saw the versatile Richard Hurst, architect of Bluegrass Omagh, bring the house down with his one-man show 'The specialist', set in the Appalachian Mountains in 1929. Richard hilariously plays the title role of Lem Putt, expert in the art of privy making, who has to sell the idea of outdoor WCs to sceptical mountain folk! Another string to a well lauded bow for Richard.

The Appalachians play a huge part in Dirk Powell’s life too, as does Cajun music. Amelia’s mum is Christine Balfa, daughter of the legendary Dewey, about whom father and daughter spoke with great affection. Dirk recalled nervously playing his first set for Dewey Balfa, whose reaction prompted Christine to say: 'Dad, that’s mean!' Dewey replied: 'I mean to be mean!' They got on famously thereafter. Dirk plays accordion, fiddle, and banjo, while Amelia plays guitar and has a voice that soars, to complement the beautiful Mourne Mountains outside. When she sang the haunting 'Assume the worst', you could hear a pin drop.

What adds greatly to Dirk’s performances are his thoughtful and compassionate stories... you’re compelled to listen. Dirk’s fiddle was bought by his paternal grandfather, Kentuckian James Clarence Hay, for five dollars in 1920. He also discovered - to the delight of his audience - that his ancestors hailed from County Down, and that one, James Green, not only got thrown out of church twice for playing fiddle, but got blown up while operating a moonshine still!

Dirk soaked up the songs his grandad passed down — including tunes like 'Pretty Polly', 'Down in the willow garden', and 'Knoxville girl', all of which describe women meeting brutal deaths at the hands of their lovers. Although Powell adored his grandfather’s unique version of 'Pretty Polly' (the first song on his most recent CD), as he was singing it on a particular day, he realised such violence is often all too real. 'I thought about my daughters and my grandmother and other women in my life, and I just thought, "I’m not giving glory to these antihero violent men in these songs anymore." I just could not allow the words out of my mouth again. I stopped in the middle of the song.' Instead, he wrote 'I ain’t playing Pretty Polly', which he duets with Rhiannon Giddens, in which he vows: 'No more tales of women killed by drunken violent men/ They don’t deserve their stories told, I won’t raise my voice again.' Now, he travels with Amelia, and although the past permeates their voices and instruments, the present is acknowledged... and must be. For the old and beautiful to survive, the warts must be removed every so often.

As father and daughter reminded us that ‘Reuben’s train’ is ninety-nine coaches long, we all went full steam ahead with them, knowing we were in the safe hands of a damn good brakeman - described by Steve Earle as an 'artist of unique vision and unbending integrity'.

© Frank Galligan

New recordings from Rick Faris, Alison Brown (update)

Dark Shadow Recording announces the release of Uncommon skies, the latest album by Rick Faris, who wrote or co-wrote eleven of the twelve songs and contributes lead and harmony vocals and guitar. Other artists on the recording are Laura Orshaw (fiddle), Harry Clark and Ronnie McCoury (mandolin), Zak McLamb (bass), Jerry Douglas (resonator guitar), Russ Carson and Luke Munday (banjo), and vocalists Del McCoury, Ronnie McCoury, Dani Flowers, Stephen Mougin, Eddie Faris, and Ben James. The album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Stephen Mougin. More details are on the Dark Shadow press release.

As well as being an alumnus of Special Consensus and an award-winning musician in his own right, Rick is a highly respected luthier - does anyone in this country own a Faris guitar or have one on order?

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A week ago the BIB mentioned an interview with Alison Brown by Lee Zimmerman on Bluegrass Today. She has since been interviewed by Lonnie Lee Hood on the Bluegrass Situation (BGS), again with the focus on her new album On banjo, in which one of her aims was to show the instrument's power to tackle a range of music as wide as in the past. Asked 'What did you learn while making On banjo?', she replies:

The deep dive to find new melodies, and that process of discovery of the instrument, is the process of self-discovery. You get to the end and it teaches you something new about yourself.

Update 13/14 June: Alison Brown will be featured on episode 89 of Deering Live tomorrow (Wed. 14 June) at midnight, Irish time, when she will play, talk about the new album, and advise on ways of playing blues tunes. Her 'Sun and water' (a blend of George Harrison's 'Here comes the sun' and Antonio Carlos Jobim's 'Waters of March') can be seen on YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

Folkways at 75

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Folkways Records in NYC by Marian Distler and Moses Asch. The celebration will be observed in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on 6 July, and the Brooklyn Folk Festival in November; Smithsonian will also be reissuing many classic Folkways LPs on vinyl. Some of the details are given on the Smithsonian Folkways Facebook.

BIB editor's note: Folkways recordings (and their accompanying booklets) had an immeasurable influence on my own generation, especially those of us who were edging our way through the folk revival towards bluegrass and old-time music. I owe a particular debt to Pete Seeger's instructional albums on guitar- and banjo-playing; to the LPs recorded by Mike Seeger, American banjo: songs and tunes in Scruggs style and Mountain music bluegrass style; and to albums by the Country Gentlemen and the New Lost City Ramblers.

© Richard Hawkins

Close-ups of Westport from afar

For those of us unlucky enough not to be in Westport for this weekend's festival, photos, video shorties, and longer snatches of film are appearing on the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival Facebook, in which members of the leading acts can be seen on and off stage, as well as members of the festival organising team. Get a glimpse of what we're missing.

© Richard Hawkins

'Life of a musician' nominated for an Emmy award

On 12 Nov. last year the BIB carried a report by Dave Byrne jr of the mygrassisblue.com agency, on the launch of 'The life of a musician', a TV interview series featuring some leading figures in bluegrass and country music. The series, hosted by guitar wizard Brandon Lee Adams (right; his tour of Ireland with mandolinist Johnny Staats in the autumn of 2019 was organised by mygrassisblue.com), has now been nominated for an Emmy award.

More details are in John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today, where you can see a 27-minute interview with Sammy Shelor of the Lonesome River Band (past Omagh headliners). Adams and Shelor play three traditional tunes, 'Soldier's joy', 'Salt Creek', and 'Angelina Baker'. Sammy Shelor talks about the source of his sense of timing, his banjo, his use of different tunings, and more, including: 'The whole key of being a musician is to be able to play what you hear. And if you don't hear a lot, you won't play a lot.' Congratulations on the nomination to everyone concerned with the series.

© Richard Hawkins

Fog Holler (USA) en route to Westport

Kianna Mott-Smith, manager of Fog Holler from Portland, OR (who are playing at the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival this weekend) has now contributed to Bluegrass Today the third instalment of a commentary on their tour of Europe that began on 2 May. This covers dates in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and the band seem to have had a very good time everywhere. The instalment ends with Fog Holler about to set off for Westport; Kianna remarks:

We’re all very excited for this portion, though it will likely be strange to be around English speakers again. We’ll see what adventures, food and otherwise, await us there. Off to the land of shepherd’s pie and colcannon!

© Richard Hawkins

Double Header concert at Dungarvan, 13 June 2023

Thanks again to John Nyhan for this poster image and information on the Double Header concert to be held at the Copper Buoy Bistro & Wine Bar, 86 O'Connell St., Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, on Tuesday 13 June at 8.00 p.m. John adds these details of the musicians:

The Demolition String Band, based in Hoboken, New York, feature:
Elena Skye on mandolin, guitar, and vocals.
Boo Reiners on banjo, mandolin, guitar, and vocals.
Sam Barnes on fiddle.
Their music is rooted in bluegrass, country, and mountain music.
_________________________________
Ray Barron is the wonderful mandolin player and leader of the excellent Two Time Polka.
Hank Wedel is a great guitarist and singer. He is one of the finest exponents of roots music and a fabulous entertainer.
Robbie Barron (Ray's son) is a great guitarist and is much in demand as a session musician.
______________________________________
This double act should make an incredible concert. Booking is advisable.
Tel. 087 604 0542 or 087 792 1771

BIB editor's note: The Demolition String Band have often played in Ireland in the past. More information about them, with a video of their 'Sailor girl', is on the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival website. The dates for their current tour here (8-18 June) are on the BIB calendar.

© Richard Hawkins

Detached notes

The BIB learns with regret of the death of Margie Louise Brewster Sullivan (22 Jan. 1933-31 May 2023) of the Sullivan Family bluegrass gospel group. The group at various times employed the young Carl Jackson and Marty Stuart, and the veteran Blue Grass Boy Joe Stuart. The extended family included Jerry and Tammy Sullivan, who took part in the 2008 Omagh bluegrass festival. A comprehensive obituary and biography of Margie Sullivan by Richard Thompson appears on Bluegrass Today, with twenty-two videos from YouTube and a discography comprising twenty-two items.

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Dailey & Vincent, Omagh headliners in 2011, will be holding their American Made Music Fest at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds on 14-16 Sept. 2023. The lineup includes the Malpass Brothers, Rhonda Vincent, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

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The Steep Canyon Rangers, Omagh headliners in 2007 and the very last American band to play in Ireland before the pandemic lockdowns, announce that their new album Morning shift is scheduled for release on 23 Sept. this year and can be pre-ordered. A video of a single from the album, 'Hominy Valley', can be seen and heard on YouTube, and was premiered two days ago on the Folk Alley website. The song tells a story from the time of the American war of independence, which has a resonance for present times. More details are on the band's latest e-newsletter.

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Brittany Haas, who with her sister Natalie gave your editor his peak musical experience of 2018, is to take the fiddle position in Punch Brothers vacated by Gabe Witcher. For the past few years she has been a member of the fine progressive string band Hawktail. John Lawless reports on Bluegrass Today that she is currently touring with her sister and will join Punch Brothers later in the summer.

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The BIB mentioned earlier this week that the Henhouse Prowlers, who headed the bill at the Saturday night concert of last year's Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, have a new single, the title track from their album Lead and iron. The video of it (on which Ben Wright plays a deep-toned cello banjo) can be seen on Bluegrass Today and on YouTube.

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For bluegrass people in Ireland who are contemplating a trip to Barcelona, the specially good news is that the Barcelona Bluegrass Jam now meets on the second and fourth Sunday of every month at the Blacklab Brewhouse Kitchen (on the front, near the Museum of Catalan History). Michael Luchtan, who sent a very positive review of the 2022 Dunmore East festival to Bluegrass Today, reports that in addition the Barcelona Bluegrass Jam have held a successful inaugural slow jam session at Centre Artesa Tradicionarius and plan to continue the slow jams on the third Sunday of every month. Read his full report on Bluegrass Today.

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The Deering Banjo Company announce a new limited-edition model in their Goodtime range: the Cherry Goodtime 5-string openback, with a 3-ply (cherry/maple/cherry) rim and a cherrywood veneer on the peghead. Only 100 of these will be made, and these will be available at $799 each from forty select dealers.

© Richard Hawkins

Ten minutes of the Del McCoury Band at DelFest

Brad Wagner on No Depression introduces a video series of No Depression Sessions, recorded at this year's Delfest, which took place on the same weekend as Bluegrass Omagh 2023. The first ten-minute video, which can be seen on the No Depression article and on YouTube, features (naturally) the Del McCoury Band (photo), playing three songs - two of them Del compositions. The video was shot in the press box over the grandstands, which results in excellent close-up views of the band working together around a single microphone.

Del has retired from touring, so unfortunately we cannot expect to see him and the band again in Ireland.

© Richard Hawkins

Bluegrass Omagh 2023: Eilís Boland on Lonesome Highway

L-r, top row: Viper Central with Jack Garton; Niall Toner; Truffle Valley Boys; centre, Zoe & Cloyd; bottom row, Blue Grass Boogiemen, Niall Toner Band, Ian Alexander (photos by Eilís Boland)

A judicious assessment of Bluegrass Omagh 2023 by Eilís Boland can be read on Lonesome Highway. Among other aspects of the event, Eilís mentions that the question of whether it should return to an autumn date has been raised by attenders.

There is a link to the review on the Lonesome Highway Facebook. Readers should note the highly positive comments there about the Festival from the American Beauty Radio Show Facebook, which has further photos.

© Richard Hawkins

Bluegrass Omagh 2023: a retrospect by Declan Fox

Thanks to Declan Fox for his review of this year's Omagh bluegrass festival (26-29 May) at the Ulster American Folk Park. Declan writes:

The best news I got this year was the e-mail from a good source telling me that NMNI had persuaded Richard Hurst to come out of retirement to organise the Omagh bluegrass festival one more time and Frank Galligan was returning as MC. People power, folks. Looks like our protests about last year's 'events' were heard and taken seriously.

It was a glorious weekend weather-wise and Richard surpassed himself putting together a great program on a very limited budget. There were bands from Canada, USA, Ireland (both parts), England, Holland, and Italy; we saw once again Richard's gift for mixing traditional bluegrass with folk/roots acts and once again our musical horizons were expanded.

It was great to see the number of Irish performers this time round and finally proper respect was paid to the dearly departed Geordie McAdam and Mel Corry. The bluegrass world also lost Aidan McGale and Wilbur Tharpe; Aidan and I were classmates, and my earliest musical memory of him is him playing and singing Van Morrison's Gloria at an end of term show in school around 50 years ago.

The launch party in the Silver Birch on Friday May 26 was a fine show with great sound courtesy of Billy Robinson and sundry McGurgans. First up was Niall Toner, the father of Irish bluegrass, with his excellent band. Then came the Honey Dewdrops, two young Americans with guitar, clawhammar banjo, mandolin, great vocals. Trad with a modern twist. They were followed by Zoe and Cloyd on fiddle and guitar with two PhD musicologists on bass and banjo. Where would you see the like of that? They mix bluegrass with klezmer (Jewish folk music) and a bit of jazz influence; the overall effect is — wait for it — klezmerising. Final band was the Truffle Valley Boys from Italy, doing fine old bluegrass with skill, panache, and humour.

Saturday started off with Frank Galligan and Niall Toner in conversation — two old friends having a yarn mixed with a few songs. Then back to the music with two outside stages, the Ship, and the main stage, plus the Geordie McAdam open mic sessions in the Wheelwright's, where Geordie used to play with anyone who turned up. A perfect tribute to a great musician and a lovely man.

The Irish bands all acquitted themselves very well: Niall Toner Band, the Watery Hill Boys, Woodbine, Henry, Broken String Band, Eilidh Patterson, Knotty Pine, Ian Alexander, and Cool Hand String Band. High points for me were Niall Toner's fine vocals on Saturday night and Ian Alexander with his mandolin and guitar playing. Ian steeped himself in traditional bluegrass as a young man in the USA, but his own compositions go way beyond anything from the pen of Monroe et al. Mesmerising mandolin playing and fine guitar picking, accompanied by Phillip Steele on bass. You can find him — and you really should — on Spotify and Youtube.

Our old favourites the Blue Grass Boogiemen from Holland mixed fine playing and singing with their traditional humour. It looked like they were very happy to be back in Omagh: Arnold just could not stop grinning. Bart did a two-harmonica thing with Johnny Cash's version of Orange Blossom Special. I'll have a video clip on Facebook soon. They also played lots of bluegrass standards and did them very well.

I saw two sets from Viper Central, a most amazing outfit from British Columbia. They originally got together hoping to shake up the BC bluegrass scene and these days they have a mix of musical styles and influences which defy easy description. This time they came as a four-piece — guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass — and they were joined by Jack Garton, another incredible West Coast talent, on vocals, accordion, and trumpet. Yes, you read that correctly. Their Saturday night set was very good but their Sunday afternoon set was a knockout. I put a video clip on Facebook of them doing one of Jack Garton's numbers called 'Move the mess around' and it was simply extraordinary.

Old Baby Mackerel arrived from Bristol and get the prize for the hardest-working band at Omagh this year. They are a very skilled traditional bluegrass band with a fine line in self-deprecating humour. They played four sets at the park plus the Rugby Club on Saturday night plus Bogan's on Sunday night followed by a 4.00 a.m. departure. I'm guessing there wasn't much sleeping done.

And finally, a special mention for Frank Galligan's masterly MC-ing, very much an integral part of the festival with his personality, humour, knowledge of the music, his ability to be sympatico with just about every band that ever came to Omagh, his Tyrone-isms, and always that sense that he was talking to you and you alone. Sure where would you get the bate of it?? On Sunday he added a black flat-brim hat to his usual suit and waistcoat and the effect was stunning, invoking memories of the Wild West and movies like 'High Noon'.

Postscript: Richard Hurst has now joined Paddy O'Kane in final retirement, leaving us with a massive hole to fill for future festivals. Given the amount of organisational talent in the Irish bluegrass world — you know who you are - surely we can pull together to keep this wonderful festival going? Do please post your ideas here and/or e-mail to me.

© Declan Fox

What's going on here?

The BIB editor writes:

Something decidedly odd is happening. The first indication I saw was on page xvii of Kristina R. Gaddy's Well of souls: uncovering the banjo's hidden history (2022):

Our biases have limited the banjo to being a secular instrument: it is in the hands of a lone white man on a porch, a backup instrument in a bluegrass band [bold type added by the BIB], or a driver of melodies for a square dance or clogging routine.

And a few days ago Lee Zimmerman wrote on Bluegrass Today about Alison Brown:

... as one of today’s most prominent banjo pickers, she has the respect and wherewithal needed to bring that instrument front and center, and give it the proper positioning it deserves. It is, as she herself says, more than merely a background instrument, and, as such, it deserves the respect it’s sometimes denied.

How has the idea of the banjo as 'merely a background instrument' crawled out of its grave? Who, since 8 December 1945, has seriously believed it? Did Earl Scruggs live in vain?

© Richard Hawkins

Dirk and Amelia Powell in Ireland, 7-17 June 2023

Thanks to Frank Galligan for making us aware of the imminent tour by Dirk Powell and his daughter Amelia (above), who were playing here in January. The dates shown on the home page of Dirk Powell's website for the duo are:

• Wed. 7th June: Gumbo Birthday Bash! The White Horse, Ballincollig, Co. Cork
• Thurs. 8th: The Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co. Louth
• Fri. 9th: Fumbally Stables, Fumbally Lane, The Liberties, Dublin
• Sat. 10th: Chandler’s House, Rathfriland, Co. Down
• Sun. 11th: Doolin Folk Festival, Doolin, Co. Clare
• Wed. 14th: Colfers, Carrig-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford
• Thurs. 15th: Cleeres, Kilkenny city
• Fri. 16th: World Music Club, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
• Sat. 17th: Clew Bay Hotel, James St., Westport, Co. Mayo

Thanks to Uri Kohen for supplying the name of the Westport venue.

© Richard Hawkins

Les Leverett, 23 Apr. 1927-2 June 2023

The BIB editor writes:

I learn with great regret of the death last week, at the age of 96, of Les Leverett, the leading photographer of country and bluegrass music. The image (right) shows his work for the cover of Porter Wagoner's album Confessions of a broken man, for which he was awarded a Grammy in 1966 - though it gives only the barest idea of his genius as a photographer. He received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the IBMA in 2001. On the strength of a few minutes of Les Leverett talking to me and Carol on that occasion, I am prepared to corroborate all that is said about what a thoroughly nice man he was, in the full obituary and biographical article by Richard Thompson on Bluegrass Today.

© Richard Hawkins