American Bach revisited, and more

Michael J. Miles announces that his new recording, American Bach revisited, will be officially released this coming Friday (4 Aug.). A special concert to mark the release will be held at Space Evanston in Evanston, ILL, on 17 Sept., featuring Michael (banjo, guitar) and Jill Kaeding (cello). The album can be pre-ordered on BandCamp.

Michael also announces his coming schedule of one-off workshops for playing country and classic pop/ rock on clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar. Full details are in his latest e-newsletter.

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On Tues. 25 July the IBMA presented a webinar discussion on the topic of generative AI (artificial intelligence) within the music industry, its copyright implications, and its future relationship with human creators. A one-hour-and-fifty-minutes video of the discussion can be seen on the IBMA Facebook and on YouTube.

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The BIB sends a belated 'Happy birthday' to master fiddler Robert Caldwell 'Bobby' Hicks (left) of western North Carolina, whose 90th birthday was on Friday 21 July. Sandy Hatley describes on Bluegrass Today the celebrations in Marshall, NC, with three photos, a video (also on YouTube), and quotations from those present, including fiddlers Michael Cleveland and Aynsley Porchak. One of the places around the world where Bobby has been is Dublin, where he played c.1996 as a member of Ricky Skaggs's country music band, on rhythm guitar and banjo as well as fiddle. He was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2017; the photo above is taken from his Hall of Fame bio article.

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The Birthplace of Country Music Museum (BCMM) in Bristol, TN/VA, announces a special screening of the film '"I've endured": the music and legacy of Ola Belle Reed' on Mon. 28 Aug., associated with their ongoing 'Women in old-time music' exhibit. A three-minute-plus trailer of the film can be seen here. More details are on the BCMM newsletter.

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Finally, more IBMA news: the Keynote Speech at this year's World Of Bluegrass in Raleigh, NC, will be delivered by fiddle/ violin maestro Matt Glaser on Tues. 26 Sept., under the title 'Hidden threads: bluegrass in the American musical tapestry'. More details are on the IBMA press release, and still more about other aspects of World Of Bluegrass in the IBMA July 2023 newsletter.

© Richard Hawkins

Over the Moon (CAN) to tour GB and Ireland in June/July 2024

The UK Brookfield Knights agency (BK) announces that a tour is being planned in these islands for the Canadian duo Over the Moon (above). Craig Bignell and Suzanne Levesque had a very successful UK tour last year, when they were also nominated for the Canadian Juno Awards for Best Traditional Album; this year, they have been nominated for Ensemble of the Year in the Canadian Folk Music Awards and for Album of the Year in the Alberta Country Music Awards.

BK quote a reviewer, Jeremy Searle: 'They are naturals on stage, interspersing entertaining tongue-in-cheek banter with stories of their lives in the tiny community of Longview, Alberta. The pair also achieve that most important thing, establishing and maintaining a REAL connection with the audience.'

BK add: 'We will be touring them over here from June 14 to July 14 next year and we are hoping to start the run with a string of Irish dates (June 14 to 19 inclusive). Please let us know if you’d like to grab them for a slot.'

© Richard Hawkins

More detached notes

The image on the right illustrates Alison Brown's online banjo teaching on the ArtistWorks website. On this link you can also listen to a 50-minute podcast interview of Alison Brown by Chris Pandolfi in his 'Inside the musician's brain' series. A Spotify playlist of Alison Brown recordings is included in Bluegrass Unlimited's weekly newsletter no. 142.

A week ago (21 July) the Bluegrass Situation online magazine published 'First & latest: Special Consensus' 40+year career', an interview by banjo-player Justin Hiltner with Greg Cahill, founder and leader of the Special Consensus, with YouTube recordings of Special C. numbers from their first and most recent albums.

Following yesterday's BIB post, we note that the Bluegrass Situation (BGS) published yesterday 'It's a great time to be on the Golden Highway', a new interview by Lonnie Lee Hood with Molly Tuttle, BGS's Artist of the Month, and others of her band Golden Highway. The photo above of the band is by Chelsea Rochelle.

For guitarists, the Bluegrass Situation presents a video (also on YouTube) of Jake Eddy and Jordan Tice playing the Norman Blake composition 'Orphan Annie' on their new Yamaha FG-9 guitars. More details are in the BGS article.

Canada's high-powered old-time trio the Lonesome Ace Stringband have a new album, Try to make it fly, scheduled for release in October, and released a single, 'Sweeter sound', which can be heard on YouTube and represents (as John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today puts it) 'a more Americana style of songwriting'.

Finally, another feature by Lonnie Lee Hood from the Bluegrass Situation a week ago: a compilation of seven videos illustrating occasions when the Father of Bluegrass, instead of playing mandolin, played acoustic or electric guitar, sang harmony, or danced (solo or with Emmylou Harris).

© Richard Hawkins

Nickel Creek at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, 30 Aug. 2023

The National Concert Hall, Dublin, announces the highlights of its programme for August, among which the Nickel Creek concert on Wed. 30 Aug. is prominent. The concert will take place at 8.00 p.m. on the Main Stage, with support by the Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno. Tickets are €45, €40, €35, and €27.50, depending on location, with a 10% discount for Friends of the NCH or for Groups of ten or more. The NCH blurb reads:

Nickel Creek are the trio of Chris Thile, Sarah Watkins, and Sean Watkins. After a nine-year absence, the platinum-selling, Grammy award-winning trio are set to return in 2023 with the highly anticipated album, Celebrants. Together a sum of more than their staggering parts, the trio revolutionized bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognize as Americana music. [...]

Celebrants is a bounty of 18 disparate but loosely connected songs written collectively during a creative retreat in Santa Barbara in early 2021. The result is perhaps the most audacious yet accessible release of the Grammy-winning trio’s 34-year career.

The entire enterprise is, naturally, shot through with the trio’s virtuosic picking and shiver-inducing harmonies. The lyrics - addressing love, friendship, time, and the universal travails of travel - combine the poetic and plain-spoken, hitting a sweet spot of ethereal and relatable as bridges are built, crossed, burned, and rebuilt.

© Richard Hawkins

IBMA awards nominations, and more (update)

Dark Shadow Recording's latest press release announces that artists on its roster have four nominations for IBMA awards: Rick Faris, whose single 'The power of love' is nominated for Song of the Year; Becky Buller, with 'Tell me the story of Jesus' nominated for Gospel Recording of the Year; the Henhouse Prowlers, for New Artist of the Year; and Ned Luberecki for Banjo Player of the Year. The first three of these have all previously toured in Ireland. Rick's album Uncommon sky is reviewed on Bluegrass Today by Braeden Paul.

Other former visitors nominated for this year's IBMA awards include Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers ('The glory road' for Gospel Recording of the Year); Michael Cleveland (Album, Collaborative Recording, Instrumental Recording, Instrumental Group, and Fiddle Player of the Year); and Greg Blake (left; Male Vocalist). Greg Blake also features on the list of nominees from the Compass Records artists roster, and many other familiar names can be seen there.

The full list of IBMA award nominees in every category can be seen (among other places) on the Bluegrass Situation (BGS). The official list of IBMA's Industry and Momentum awards is here, and also on Bluegrass Today.

Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway are nominated for Entertainer, Instrumental Group, Song, Album, Collaborative Recording, Guitar Player, and Fiddle Player of the Year. Molly Tuttle is the BGS Artist of the Month, and a long conversation/ interview with her by Cindy Howes and Lizzie No can be read on the BGS.

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The BIB also notes with regret the recent deaths of two major figures of the introduction of bluegrass music and traditional instrumental playing styles to the northern US cities and the urban folk revival: Roger Sprung of New York and Paul Prestopino. of New Jersey. Obituaries of both men, written by Richard D. Smith (biographer of Bill Monroe), are on Bluegrass Today, with photos and videos from YouTube.

Update 29 July: Many tributes to Roger Spring by those who knew him can be read on Banjo Hangout. A short article on him at the age of 38, written by Lionel Kilberg and first published in the January 1969 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited, can be read here.

© Richard Hawkins

More on the Joachim Cooder tour, 29 Aug.-1 Sept. 2023

Following upon the BIB posts of 19 June and 12 July about the tour a month from now by Joachim Cooder, backed by Mark Fain (bass) and Rayna Gellert (fiddle), the BIB thanks Nigel Martyn, whose Old Flattop agency has organised the tour. Nigel sends the poster image (right) and a link to a five-minute YouTube video about the making of Over that road I'm bound, Joachim Cooder's album of Uncle Dave Macon songs. Nigel also draws attention to Cooder's use of an electric mbira, sounding like the offspring of a banjo and an autoharp. Links for booking tickets are given on the BIB calendar.

Richard Hawkins

Editorial hiatus starting 20 July

The BIB editor will be out of the editorial chair for a period starting on Thursday 20 July and lasting no more than a week; so please keep sending in news, but don't expect it to appear before Wednesday 26 July at the earliest.

Red Wine (I) receive IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award

Congratulations to our old Genoese friends Red Wine (above, l-r: Silvio Ferretti, Martino Coppo, Lucas Bellotti, Marco Ferretti), who have just received an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award. Red Wine announce on their Facebook:

We're super thrilled, honored and shocked to be awarded by IBMA with a Distinguished Achievement Award!!! Thanks IBMA and thanks to all our friends and fans who have supported us through these 45 years!!!

Richard Hawkins

No Depression's choice of roots albums for 2023 (so far)

Following the BIB post of last Sunday (16 July), which reported on the Bluegrass Situation (BGS) staff's 'favourite albums of 2023 (so far)', we note that No Depression has published its own list of 'Best roots music albums of 2023 (so far)'. Several albums appear on both lists, as might be expected; but of the bluegrass-related records that are on the BGS list, only one appears on No Depression's: Brennen Leigh's Ain't through honky-tonkin' yet. As the BIB reported on 21 June, the album has been reviewed by Noah Berlatsky on No Depression, with two embedded videos, also on YouTube: 'Carole with an E' and 'Running out of Hope, Arkansas'.

© Richard Hawkins

Chris Pandolfi on Deering Live TONIGHT (18 July)

The Deering Banjo Company announce that Chris Pandolfi, banjo-player with the Infamous Stringdusters, will be interviewed on episode 91 of Deering Live today, and can be watched there or on YouTube at 11.00 p.m. Irish time. He will be talking about (among other things) the influence of Earl Scruggs's banjo playing and the 'general vibe' of Flatt & Scruggs.

Deering also draw attention to ProPik Heritage fingerpicks, endorsed by Chris Pandolfi and replicating picks used by Earl Scruggs; and to their Golden Series of banjos, designed to reproduce the qualities of the 'golden era' of Gibson instruments.

© Richard Hawkins

The Common Good - for Dunmore East 2023

As an introduction to their appearancez at the coming Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival (25-27 Aug.), thanks to Richie Foley of Youghal for this descriptive review of The Common Good, written by Niall Toner after they played at this year's Kilkenny Roots Festival:

The Common Good are a recently formed six-piece band consisting of top-notch musicians and singers from Counties Cork and Waterford, with a unique approach to a wide range of covers and originals, a great mix of vocals and instrumentals, and a wonderful fun approach to their live performance. The main focus is on a twinning of mandolin, played by Richie Foley, and acoustic guitar played by Ted Farrell, which gives a 'folksy' sound, but there's nothing twee here, as their complex and exciting solos are backed up by an ensemble that can truly rock. This solid rhythm is provided by Barry Lawlor on bass and the youthful Paddy Moloney on (very) solid drums. Kieran Ahern plays rhythm guitar and sings, and Karl Prendergast is superb on keyboards and vocals. With three great singers, and a very high standard of musicianship all round, all combined with great humour, The Common Good epitomises truly what a great band should be.

Even the relatively obscure instrumentals, like those by Bela Fleck and Cory Wong, or the more well-known piece from Horslips, were delivered in a truly entertaining way, with one vocal highlight being a cover of Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby's 'The way it is'.

This is a combination of guys whose common aim is to entertain, and that they certainly did to a full house at the Left Bank as part of Kilkenny Roots 2023. Highly recommended for every occasion!

Niall Toner. May 2023

Titbits from the bluegrass media

In memory of the late Bobby Osborne the staff of the Bluegrass Situation (BGS) present a 2022 podcast interview with Bobby by radio presenter Tom Power in his 'Toy heart' series. The interview covers many episodes from Bobby's career, including his combat service with the US Marine Corps in the Korean war. A note to BGS staff: though Sonny Osborne retired and died before Bobby, he was not Bobby's older brother, but nearly six years younger.

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Also on the BGS, Rachel Baiman (past-visitor and almost-visitor to Ireland) talks to Tim O'Brien about the themes of his latest album, Cup of sugar, about writing songs from the perspective of animals or other people, the way in which his own writing has developed over decades, and more. The interview includes four songs from YouTube.

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Justin Hiltner presents BGS's 'favourite albums of 2023 (so far)', and there's a strikingly high proportion of bluegrass and bluegrass-related material among them, including Rachel Baiman's Common nation of sorrow, Michael Cleveland's Lovin' of the game, Ashby Frank's Leaving is believing, Haas by Brittany and Natalie Haas, Brennen Leigh's Ain't through honky tonkin' yet, Darren Nicholson's Wanderer, Nickel Creek's Celebrants, Mighty Poplar's Mighty Poplar, and City of gold by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway. Videos of songs from each of these albums and a corresponding Spotify playlist are in Justin Hiltner's feature.

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As the BIB mentioned on 11 June, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Folkways Records by reissuing many classic Folkways LPs on vinyl, including The New Lost City Ramblers with Cousin Emmy (1968). Smithsonian's e-newsletter says the album 'rekindled traditions of southern mountain music, introducing them to wider audiences'. By 1968 the Ramblers had been a performing group for ten years and this was their twentieth album, so it seems likely that they were already doing a reasonable job of rekindling traditions.

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The July issue of the Bluegrass Standard, which can be seen online, has a subtitle to the cover, 'Preserving the tradition of bluegrass music into the future'. This is not an inward-looking message, as is shown by several articles about Folk Alliance International, the International Council for Traditional Music, Mari Black, the 'multi-style violinist', country singer Marty Falle, and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

© Richard Hawkins

Festival poster and lineup for Dunmore East, 25-7 Aug. 2023

Thanks to Mick Daly, director of the Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival in Co. Waterford, for the poster image above with the present lineup for this year's event (25-7 August), the 28th since the Festival's foundation in 1995. Bands taking part include two from the USA - the Boxcar Preachers (Dunmore East veterans) and Water Tower (formerly the Water Tower Bucket Boys) - the Eskies, the Mons Wheeler Band, The Common Good, the Backyard Band, Woodbine, and Whistle. More acts are to be announced.

© Richard Hawkins

Fog Holler (USA): end of their tour in Europe

Kianna Mott-Smith, manager of Fog Holler from Portland, OR (who played at this year's Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival), concludes her chronicle of the band's two-month tour in Europe with the fifth instalment, an account on Bluegrass Today of their final shows in Belgium and the Netherlands, ending with the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival (23-25 June) and the beginning of the journey home. It's a rewarding description of what was clearly a rewarding experience, and includes two videos from their Rotterdam sets.

© Richard Hawkins

Two Time Polka: gigs 23 July-6 Aug. 2023

Ray Barron of Two Time Polka sends news of the band's forthcoming gigs:

Sun. 23rd July: Emo, Co. Laois; Fleadh Stage, 8.15 p.m.; see festival website for tickets (part of Forest Fest)

Fri. 28th: Greyhound Bar, Kilkee, Co. Clare, 9.30 p.m., adm. free

Sat. 29th: Blue Haven Bar, Kinsale, Co. Cork. 10.00 p.m., adm. free

Sun. 30th: Crane Lane Theatre, Cork city, 11.55 p.m., adm. free

Sat. 5th Aug.: O’Connell St., Waterford city, open air, 4.00 p.m., adm. free (part of Waterford Spraoi)

Sun. 6th: Market St., Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry; open air, 3.30 p.m., adm. free (part of Cahersiveen Festival of Music & the Arts)

Check our website for all gig details.

Regards & thanks,

Ray & TTP

© Richard Hawkins 

Niall Toner and Andrea Booth at Arklow, 22 July 2023

Thanks to Brendan O'Regan for the news that he is back organising gigs, and the first of these will present Niall Toner and Andrea Booth, with support act Brendan O'Regan, at the Ballyraine Cafe, Vale Road, Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Y14 HR53, on Saturday 22 July at 8.00 p.m. Tickets are available from the Ballyraine Cafe and from Beat That Records in Arklow, or can be booked by e-mail.

© Richard Hawkins

IBMA 2023 International Band Performance Grant for Country GongBang (KOR)

The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announces that the 2023 International Band Performance Grant (see the BIB for 1 Dec. 2022) has been awarded to Country GongBang (컨트리공방) from South Korea. The band have already played festivals in Japan (2015) and France (2022), and contributed a Zoom performance to the IBMA's 2020 World Of Bluegrass and a livestream show to the California Bluegrass Association's 2021 Jam-A-Thon. Three videos of their music can now be seen on Bluegrass Today.

© Richard Hawkins

High Fidelity, high satisfaction (update)

The BIB editor writes:

When the BIB mentions US bands, it's normally because they're either coming to Ireland, or have come in the past, or have achieved a historic status that concerns all bluegrass fans anywhere. However, after the reception given to Italy's Truffle Valley Boys at Bluegrass Omagh 2023, it's appropriate to mention High Fidelty - an excellent example of a young bluegrass band with the sound, the feel, and the spirit of the founding generation of bluegrass music.

Learn more about them in John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today on their latest single, 'The mighty name of Jesus'. The song was written by their fiddler Corrina Rose Logston; Lawless writes about it:

Had they said that the song was found on an old radio transcription by an unknown group from 1955, we would have believed it. Corrina has perfectly captured that style in this cheerful and engaging number.

The photo above shows High Fidelty with the late Jesse McReynolds. A video of the band performing 'Tears of regret' with Jesse is on their website and on YouTube.

Update 18 Aug.: High Fidelity's official video of 'The mighty name of Jesus' can now be seen on Bluegrass Todat and on YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

Steep Canyon Rangers (USA) release 'Deep end' (update)

The Steep Canyon Rangers (former Omagh headliners and the very last US band to play in Ireland before the 2020 lockdown) have released a new single, 'Deep end', from their coming album Morning shift, which is due out two months from now (8 Sept.)

More details, including how the title was chosen, are on their latest e-newsletter; the official video for 'Deep end' can be watched via the newsletter or on YouTube. The BIB would be glad of an assurance from the band that no guitars were injured in the making of the video and the image above.

Update 28 July: The video can now also be seen in John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

© Richard Hawkins

Level Best (USA) return to Ireland, 20-28 Oct. 2023 (update)

Level Best (l-r): Ed Lick, Lisa Kay Howard-Hughes, Wally Hughes,

Joe Hannabach, James Field

The end of autumn suddenly seems a good deal brighter. Thanks to Lisa Kay Howard-Hughes of the Virginia-based band Level Best for the news that they will be returning to Ireland late in the coming October for a tour of eight shows:

• Fri. 20th Oct.: The Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
• Sat. 21st: The Beehive Bar, Ardara, Co. Donegal
• Sun. 22nd: The Moorings, Bellanaleck, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh
• Tues. 24th: Gleeson's Bar, Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare
• Wed. 25th: Richhill Castle Marquee, Richhill, Co. Armagh
• Thurs. 26th: Matt Molloy’s, Bridge St., Westport, Co. Mayo
• Fri. 27th: Sligo Bus Station, 3.00 p.m. (part of Sligo Live International Music Festival); Knocknashee Community Hub, Lavagh, Tobercurry, Co. Sligo, F56 W744 (evening show)
• Sat. 28th: Richhill Apple Fayre, Richhill, Co. Armagh

Level Best, who toured in Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic earlier this year, will comprise for the coming tour Wally Hughes (dobro, fiddle, vocals), Lisa Kay Howard-Hughes (mandolin, vocals), James Field (guitar, vocals), Ed Lick (banjo, vocals), and Joe Hannabach (bass) - the same lineup as in their 2019 tour of Ireland except for Ed Lick on banjo in place of Terry Wittenberg.

© Richard Hawkins

Bluegrass Sundays Birthday Bash Jam, 16 July 2023

Thanks to Patrick Simpson of the Bluestack Mountain Boys, hosts of Dublin's two weekly bluegrass open jam sessions, for this news:

The Bluestack Mountain Boys aka Dublin Bluegrass Collective will be celebrating our 1 year anniversary at Mother Reilly's Bar & Restaurant this Sunday from 7.00 to 11.00 p.m. Come join the "Bluegrass Sundays Birthday Bash Jam" for cocktails and bluegrass music! It's been a great year and we've had so many fantastic musicians join us, so I'd like to say thanks to all the musicians that keep it alive, and thanks to the bar for supporting us! Hope to see you there!

Mother Reilly's is at 32 Rathmines Rd Upper, Dublin 6. The Bluestack Mountain Boys' Facebook recently displayed these two attractive new images for the Sunday and Tuesday sessions:

©Richard Hawkins

Further dates in Ireland for Joachim Cooder (USA), 28 Aug.-1 Sept.

On 19 June the BIB noted that Joachim Cooder will be playing at Whelans of Wexford St., Dublin 2, on Thurs. 31 August, backed by Mark Fain (bass) and the splendid Rayna Gellert (fiddle). Tickets (€27.50) can be booked here.

Joachim Cooder's online tour schedule now shows that in the course of a European tour, including festivals in Denmark and Britain, he (together with Rayna Gellert and Mark Fain) will be playing the following shows in Ireland:

• Tues. 29th Aug.: Campbell's Tavern, Headford, Co. Galway, 7.30-11.30 p.m.
• Wed. 30th: The Black Box, Belfast, 8.00-11.00 p.m.
• Thurs. 31st: Whelan's, Wexford St., Dublin 2, 8.00-11.00 p.m.
• Fri. 1st Sept.: Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo town, 8.00-11.00 p.m.

Online booking links are on the tour schedule.

© Richard Hawkins

In memory of Ron Spears

John Lawless reprts on Bluegrass Today that a celebration of the life of the late Ron Spears (see the BIB for 23 Mar.) will take place from 2.30 to 5.00 p.m. on Sunday 27 Aug. at the Station Inn, Nashville, TN. Music and memories will come from many who knew Ron during his extensive career, including his friends and colleagues in Fast Track, the last band of which he was a member. Donations in aid of Ron's family will be gladly accepted. More information is available from Fast Track.

© Richard Hawkins

9 July - centenary of great mandolins

Bill Monroe's 1923 Lloyd Loar Gibson F-5 #73987, on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (photo: Mandolin Archive)

On 8 Feb. 2017 the BIB carried a post on C.J. Lewandowski of the Po' Ramblin' Boys (USA) and his mandolin, the Lloyd Loar Gibson F-5 #72058, shipped out of the factory five months earlier than Bill Monroe's iconic instrument. The BIB particularly commended the two articles (1, 2) that C.J. had contributed to Bluegrass Today, of which we said: 'It's a long story, but instrument freaks will not wish it a word shorter.'

Last Sunday (9 July) was the centenary of the day on which a batch of new Gibson F-5s, including what was to become Bill Monroe's, were approved by the designer, musician and acoustic engineer Lloyd Allalyre Loar (1886-1943). Richard THompson has marked the occasion with a post on Bluegrass Today which is equally well worth reading for all instrument freaks/ nerds/ enthusiasts. It includes four carefully chosen YouTube videos, one of which is a recent shortie from C.J. Lewandowski, reporting on a Lloyd Loar F-5 from the 9 July 1923 batch which he has located (and bought) in Athens, Greece.

© Richard Hawkins

Kristy Cox: 'The devil was an angel too'

Award-winning Australian country and bluegrass singer Kristy Cox (right), who toured here with her band in May 2019 thanks to the mygrassisblue.com team, subsequently moved to the USA, and became an Australian Country Music Hands of Fame inductee early this year, has a new single, 'The devil was an angel too', released on Billy Blue Records. The song can be heard on Bluegrass Today.

© Richard Hawkins

Square dance instruction night at Taunton, England

The UK's national association for old-time music and dance, FOAOTMAD, announces on its news blog an Old Time Square Dance evening this coming Friday (14 July) at the Creative Innovation Centre CIC (CICCIC) in Taunton, Somerset, south-west England, with an old-time band (fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin) and guidance by an experienced caller. Full details are on the CICCIC website.

Not many BIB readers may be able to pop over to Taunton for the weekend, but the idea is one that might be borne in mind by event organisers here. Dance nights at the three annual Irish Old Time Appalachian Music Gatherings that have been held so far (2018, 2019, 2020) have been enjoyable affairs.

© Richard Hawkins

It needn't be all that hard

The BIB editor writes:

On 30 June I announced that I will be stopping work on the BIB not later than 18 September - earlier, if any person (or persons) should come forward to take on the task of providing a news medium for bluegrass and related music in this island. For anyone who may be thinking of doing so, I want to point out that there's no need for anyone to try to copy the way the BIB has been conducted.

The only essential function of such a news medium is to let readers know as much as possible of what's happening, where, and when. All that's needed for this is people who care enough about bluegrass to take the time to find the news and post it.

The laborious form that the BIB has taken is the result of choices I made which are not essential to this core function. I wanted the BIB to be a shop window, showing that the scene here is active and of high quality. I also wanted readers to feel that something new is always going on to the BIB, so it's worth looking at frequently. I wanted to share the kind of gossip about pickers and instruments that I'd be glad to hear myself. I wanted to remind people here that there's a wider world of bluegrass, with which Ireland already has many points of contact. I didn't want the bother of discussion and argument, so (taking a lead from the original Bluegrass Blog in the USA) I avoided giving it any 'forum' element. This may have been a mistake; if it was, no one else need make the same mistake.

Ideally, the news should come from contacts with everyone who is active on the scene here, and such contacts need to be made and cultivated. The ability to do this is much more useful than a show of knowledge of bluegrass history.

Richard Hawkins

More detached notes

Dark Shadow Recordings announce that Chicago's Henhouse Prowlers/ Bluegrass Ambassadors (veterans of several tours in Ireland) released yesterday (7 July) 'Subscription to loneliness', the third single from their coming album Lead and iron, due out in September. For the 1950s-style country feel, the band is augmented by the twin fiddles of Becky Buller and Laura Orshaw. More details are on the Dark Shadow press release.

Update 14 July: See also John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today, where you can hear an audio track of the song.

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Ronnie McCoury, eight times IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year, first played over here as a member of his father Del's band nearly thirty years ago. He talks at length about the experience of playing as a family, both in the Del McCoury Band and in the Travelin' McCourys, in an excellent interview with Lee Zimmerman on Bluegrass Today.

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Another perspective on playing music in a family context: Bluegrass Unlimited's Weekly Newsletter no. 139 continues the promised series of archive articles on the Osborne Brothers with this July 1984 article by Glenna Fisher, with ample, frank, and revealing contributions from both Bobby and Sonny, in their own words. Other good things in the newsletter include a link to Podcast 142 with Dale Ann Bradley.

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Ashby Frank, former mandolin player with the Special Consensus and now a respected songwriter and session musician, has released his version of the Tom Paxton song 'Where I'm bound' as a new single from his album Leaving is believing, with vocal guests John Cowan and Ronnie Bowman. More details are on Bluegrass Today, where you can hear an audio track. Audio CDs can be ordered direct from Ashby.

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Turnberry Records announce the release of a new recording of the David Stewart song 'Tennessee rain' by Greg Blake (over here six months ago with Special Consensus), Rebekah Speer, and Jeff Brown. More details are on the Turnberry press release.

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Intriguing news for banjo players - the Gold Tone Music Group announce two new resonator 5-string banjo models, both with a 24-fret fingerboard, giving a range of three full octaves. This is achieved not by extending the fingerboard over the head (as on the Deering 'Julia Belle' played by Alison Brown or Noam Pikelny's top-tension banjo) but by combining the scale length with a bridge position almost in the centre of the head, with a corresponding effect on the tone produced. The Mastertone™ OB-3EF sells for $1849.99 and the OB-150EF Orange Blossom for $1149.99.

© Richard Hawkins

More from the BGS

The BIB editor writes:

This week's Weekly Dispatch from the Bluegrass Situation (BGS) includes the news from BGS staff that Molly Tuttle is their Artist of the Month. The feature includes two YouTube videos and a 'The essential Molly Tuttle' Spotify playlist. Sample quote from the text about her band's music: 'it’s a shredfest, but it’s also emotive and vulnerable and theatrical.'

Also in this week's Dispatch: Rachel Baiman contributes '10 old-time fiddle tunes with titles you won't believe' (or 'with outrageous names', as the Dispatch also puts it). The list won't make old-time fans feel outraged or incredulous; the real asset of the article is that for each of the titles there's a YouTube video, thus: 'Jaybird died of the whooping cough' (Foghorn Stringband); 'Dick's handspike'' (Hilarie Burhans); 'Bullfrog on a puncheon floor' (Mark Gilston); 'Sal's got a meatskin' (Snake Hollow String Band); 'Soapsuds over the fence' (Harry Bolick, getting a deep growl out of his fiddle); 'I'm a nice old man' (from Melvin Wine, but played here by Moira Bracknall on the Leicestershire smallpipes); 'Don't drink nothing but corn' (Hot Corn (SE)); 'Shove the pig's foot a little bit further into the fire' (Bruce Molsky & Big Hoedown); 'Big footed man in the sandy lot' (Lukas Pool); and 'Hell and scissors' (Moose Whisperers, with Jake Blount, banjo).

© Richard Hawkins

Detached notes + PS

Recordings recently released by Pinecastle Records include albums by Dale Ann Bradley and Lorraine Jordan. as well as singles by them and by Danny Burns and Danny Paisley. YouTube videos of the singles can be seen on the Pinecastle press release. 'I loved 'em every one', the new single by Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, had its radio debut on 30 June and will be available on digital platforms on 14 July.

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Bluegrass Unlimited's Newsletter no. 138 announces that in the coming weeks Jesse McReynolds and Bobby Osborne will be commemorated by archive articles and Spotify playlists. A 1977 article on the Osborne Brothers by Pete Kuykendall, BU editor, can be read here.

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Turnberry Records announce the release of an official video of Mike Mitchell's rendition of 'Love of the mountains', a song written by Allen Mills, bass player of the influential Lost and Found band. The song was sung by Larry Cohea of California's High Country at one of the first (possibly the first) of the Athy bluegrass festivals, and again two months ago by High Plains Tradition at the Durrow Mini-Bluegrass Festival. The Mitchell video can be seen on the Turnberry press release, on Bluegrass Today, and on YouTube.

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Finally, yesterday on Bluegrass Today Richard Thompson commemorated 4 July 1941, when Doc Watson, then 18 years old, played for the first time into a microphone, resulting in the first audio recording of his playing.

PS: John Lawless has reported on Bluegrass Today that Willie Nelson's next album will comprise a dozen of his classic songs, newly recorded with backing by first-class bluegrass musicians. A video of a debut single, 'You left me a long, long time ago', can be seen on Bluegrass Today and on YouTube. His admirers will be relieved to know that Willie's characteristic vocal delivery and sense of timing have not been bluegrassified.

© Richard Hawkins

Tributes and new music in the BGS

The latest Bluegrass Situation (BGS) Weekly Dispatch marks the recent death of Jesse McReynolds and Bobby Osborne with two tributes: a feature with a set of ten photos taken of Bobby on and off stage at the 2017 Bonnaroo festival, and a four-minute video (also on YouTube) of Jesse remembering his grandfather's fiddle, which his great-grandfather had brought over from Ireland.

Other features in the Dispatch include Justin Hiltner's 'Alison Brown and Sierra Hull swap licks on classical-flavoured tune', which includes the official video (also on YouTube) of the two playing 'Sweet sixteenths' - a piece which in form is very much the kind of piece that expert banjo and mandolin players might have played 120 years ago, but includes plenty of modern subtleties in the execution.

© Richard Hawkins

Watch Crossover Festival (GB) on livestream

Uri Kohen of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival forwards this announcement by the organisers of the Crossover Festival of bluegrass, old-time, and Americana music (14-16 July). Uri adds: 'We are happy to support this event and their wonderful lineup.'

CAN'T MAKE THE FESTIVAL? LIVE IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY? We've got you covered!

The concerts at Crossover Festival will be livestreamed for your viewing pleasure! Thanks to the renowned 'Fat Pigeon' video company, you can expect top-notch sound and video quality that will make you feel like you're right there in the action.

While we're offering FREE access to the livestream via Facebook and YouTube, we kindly urge you to PURCHASE a livestream ticket (only £12.50 per concert) to support this event and the incredible musicians involved. Your ticket purchase directly contributes to covering the costs of running this immersive experience and ensures the artists receive the recognition they deserve.

You can buy a full weekend livestream concert ticket or any of the individual concerts. Schedule below:

Friday Night: 6:45 - 11 PM
Saturday Afternoon: 1 - 5 PM
Saturday Evening: 6:45 - 11 PM
Sunday Afternoon: 12 - 4 PM

Purchase your tickets now at https://www.crossoverfest.com/tickets-1 and get ready for a livestream experience that brings the festival atmosphere straight to your screens! Don't miss out on this chance to support the event and enjoy music from the comfort of your own home.

© Richard Hawkins

Niall Toner at the jam in Mother Reilly's, 2 July

More good news from the Dublin weekly bluegrass jam sessions! Thanks again to Patrick Simpson, who writes:

We had a great night of music and craic and a very special visitor join us for a listen. Many thanks to Niall Toner (Niall Toner Band) for dropping in on our jam session, which took place in the beer garden of Mother Reilly's last night.

This was the first night we decided to play outside, as the weather was great and there were a few more people to play for than inside the pub. It was a bit noiser in the beer garden, but we can't say for certain we will be out there for the rest of the summer. We like playing indoors at the fireplace as you can hear everything a bit better. So we will see next week if we will do it again, depending on how busy the bar is.

Also thanks to Camille Champarnaud (fiddle), Aiden Mollloy of Sun Shakers (guitar), Carl Lombard of Whistle (banjo), and of course Simon Humphries and TJ Screene respectively. We really appreciate the love and support we receive from all the talented musicians who make it out for Bluegrass Sundays from 7.00-11.00 p.m., and we look forward to doing it again for Bluegrass Tuesdays in The Oarsman, 8.00-11.00 p.m.

On stage in the photo ((l-r): Patrick, TJ, Niall

© Richard Hawkins

Cairncastle Ulster Scots Bluegrass Workshop and Concert, 28 July 2023

The Bluestack Mountain Boys (Dublin)

The Knotty Pine String Band (Omagh)

Thanks to Adrian Rolston of the Cairncastle Ulster Scots organisation for news of their Cross-Community Festival (see programme, right), to be held in the Halfway House Hotel, 352 Coast Road, Ballygally, Larne, Co. Antrim, on 27-30 July.

In particular, the bluegrass section of the Festival will begin at 2.00 p.m. on Friday 28 July with an admission-free workshop on the history of bluegrass music, and continue from 7.15 p.m. with an evening concert featuring Cormac Crummey (banjo), the Knotty Pine String Band (Omagh), and the Bluestack Mountain Boys (Dublin). Admission is £10. Further information will be posted on the hotel Facebook, and can also be got by phone (07889659165).

© Richard Hawkins

The new issue of BU

The cover story in the July 2023 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited is Mike Fiorito's seven-page interview article on Michael Cleveland, with heavy emphasis on his new album Lovin' of the game. Other features include substantial articles by Jon Hartley Fox on the Dillards and on Kathy Kallick; by Mike England on Alison Brown; by Derek Halsey on the multi-faceted Floyd Country Store of Floyd, VA; reports by BU editor Dan Miller on three US colleges with bluegrass study programmes, including Berea College, KY, whose Bluegrass Ensemble has toured Ireland several times, thanks to John Nyhan; and reviews of new records, including some by recent visitors.

© Richard Hawkins

Quote of the month

Songs of our grandfathers isn’t just nostalgia, heritage, lineage, legacy- and canon-building. It’s not just carrying on tradition for tradition’s sake. It’s effortlessly and wholly bluegrass because it innovates, it complicates, and it challenges its listeners to think outside of preconceived notions of what bluegrass, string band, and old-time music are. Because that’s exactly what bluegrass’s grandfathers, grandmothers, and grandparents were doing as they invented this music.

Justin Hiltner, in his interview with Zoe and Cloyd for The Bluegrass Situation, 'Zoe and Cloyd made a traditional album - but not the way you think'