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