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

Travelers rest reviewed on Bluegrass Today

Travelers rest, the first full-length album by The Foreign Landers (comprising David and Tabitha Benedict), was released late last year and has now been reviewed by Braeden Paul on Bluegrass Today, with a playlist giving samples of all ten tracks. Track 4, 'Johnny's peacock / The red-tailed hawk', is described as 'one of the most authentic tracks on the album', which (though well meant) is a somewhat left-handed compliment to the others. All the tracks can be heard in full on Bandcamp, where the album can be bought for $10 or more in digital format and $15 or more as a CD, all musicians are listed, and the Foreign Landers' instruments are identified.

© Richard Hawkins

Detached notes

Master fiddler Michael Cleveland (above; photo: Amy Richmond) is the Bluegrass Situation's Artist of the Month for March, and the BGS staff have marked this with an article that heralds his latest album Lovin' of the game (released last Friday), together with a video of the title track and a playlist of his recordings. There is also a link to a 2018 interview (well worth reading) in which he explains why Benny Martin is his favourite fiddler.

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For fans of Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, the Fretboard Journal features them in a one-hour podcast in which they talk about many things, including their latest album Living in a song. The FJ includes a link to the YouTube video of them playing and singing 'Moonshine run'.

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The Compass Records Group - in addition to Compass itself, a major bluegrass label - has a world-class catalogue of recorded Irish and Celtic music, on which the Group is holding a St Patrick's day sale with 20% off selected titles. The scores of albums in the sale can be browsed and shopped here.

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The Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, TN/VA, announces its new special exhibition, 'I’ve endured: women in old time music', which will begin on 23 March and continue till the end of 2023. More details are in John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

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Today's bluegrass world is fortunate to have a crop of astounding young musicians. In the 1970s a similar wave of outstanding young talent included Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley, Tim O'Brien, Carl Jackson, Jerry Douglas, and Mark O'Connor. Mark O'Connor, who won the Grand Masters fiddle championship at the age of 13, is now releasing two books on his life and a CD of his early recordings. John Lawless on Bluegrass Today gives an overview (with video and audio recordings) of 'his meteoric rise from a teenaged phenom to a bluegrass music powerhouse in little more than a decade'.

© Richard Hawkins

'Wayfaring Stranger' - and more - back on BBC4 TV, Fridays

Thanks again to Des Butler, who first drew our attention five years ago to the three-part TV series 'Wayfaring Stranger', presented on BBC2 by Phil Cunningham (right), on the passage of music from Scotland to Ireland and from Ireland to America. Des now writes:

You may be aware of it, but if not I just wanted to let you know that the series 'Wayfaring Stranger' with Phil Cunningham is being rerun on BBC4 on Friday nights at 21.00 hrs. starting last Friday, and is followed by two half-hour sessions of "Transatlantic Sessions". I think it is well worth watching again.

Next Friday also has a follow-up of Reginald D. Hunter's "Songs of the Border".

For those of us who missed the repeat of episode 1 of 'Wayfaring Stranger', it's available here.

© Richard Hawkins

Transatlantic Sessions tickets still available at Celtic Connections 2023

The organisers of Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland, who will begin their thirtieth anniversary programme next month, announce that limited tickets are still available for the twentieth Transatlantic Sessions concert, to be held in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (2 Sauchiehall St., Glasgow G2 3NY) at 7.30 p.m. on Sunday 5 February:

As ever, the show’s über-seasoned house band – most of them Transatlantic Sessions stalwarts, helmed by joint masters of ceremonies Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas - is a crème-de-la-crème selection of Celtic and Americana roots talent.

(Links added by the BIB.) Tickets can be bought online.

© Richard Hawkins

Some of the 'Americana' artists in Celtic Connections 2023

The organisers of Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland, announce the release of their thirtieth anniversary programme for next year's event (19 Jan.-5 Feb. 2023). Tickets can be bought today by anyone in the festival's 'Celtic Rover' supporters club, and will go on sale to the general public tomorrow (12 Oct.).

The festival's roster of 'Americana' (which includes the Chris Thile and Sam Amidon concert on 13 Nov.) lists shows by Sierra Hull and Rachel Baiman (20 Jan.), the Lonesome Ace Stringband and the Magpies (21 Jan.), and Nickel Creek and Lau Noah (29 Jan.).

Update 12 Oct.: Three weeks ago the BIB reported that the Special Consensus (USA) would be at the festival, and the band's online tour schedule shows them as playing there on 29 Jan.

Update 1 Nov.: The latest Celtic Connections e-newsletter includes the Special C. in the lineup, along with many others.

© Richard Hawkins

'Rainy Sunday sessions' of fiddle music, from the McKernans

The BIB editor writes:

Many thanks to our friends in Australia, the McKernan family, whose 'browngrass' music has often been featured on the BIB in the past - and particularly to Joe McKernan, who sends this link to the one-minute video seen above, in which his son Donal introduces a new series of videos on the YouTube channel of the Bruderhof religious community to which the McKernans belong. The notes under the introductory video describe the original 'Rainy Sunday' on which the family began their music sessions. The series comprises all-instrumental recordings of fiddle tunes, which (as the notes state)

... spring from Appalachian, Cajun, and Celtic roots, including several 17th century Irish compositions from the blind harpist Turlough O’Carolan. May they lift your spirits, as they did ours, on that ‘Rainy Sunday’. We will be posting them here over the next few weeks.

Update 25 Aug.: Joe sends word that a new tune is posted on YouTube every Thursday at 6.00 a.m. 'Aussie time' (i.e. eight to ten hours ahead of GMT/UTC, and so at 2.00 to 4.00 p.m. here). This week's tune is the Carolan composition 'Loftus Jones', played by Geordie McKernan (fiddle), Nancy McKernan (whistle), and Johann Bazeley (guitar).

© Richard Hawkins

Thirtieth anniversary of the Baltimore Fiddle Fair, 5-8 May 2022

Tickets are now on sale for this year's Baltimore Fiddle Fair, to be held in Baltimore, Co. Cork, from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 May inclusive. Previous Fairs have often hosted major acts from the other side of the Atlantic such as the Foghorn Stringband, the April Verch Band, and Dirk Powell. The travel restrictions of the past two years have hindered this, but on Saturday 7 May Mairi Rankin and Eric Wright, who were Instrumental Group of the Year in the 2019 Canadian Folk Awards, will be in concert with multi-instrumentalist Tim Edey (BBC Radio Two's Musician of the Year 2012), 'showcasing the very best of Cape Breton fiddling, old-time cello, and simply awe-inspiring guitar and melodeon playing'. The Fair's website says: 'Don’t miss the chance to see this thrilling musical combination'. Aside from musical events, the programme also includes 'sessions, workshops, walks, films, exhibitions, and much more'.

© Richard Hawkins

Folk-tune arrangement for 5-string banjo

In a substantial new post on the Deering Banjo Company blog, UK banjoist Jamie Francis writes:

This article is designed to guide you through the entire process of arranging folk tunes on the fingerpicking 5-string banjo. I’ll be talking you through the thought processes, and techniques, that I would use, as well as helping you to build up some useful skills along the way. I’ve always felt there was a bit of a leap between the simplified versions of tunes that you might learn initially, and the complex, inventive arrangements that a skilled folk band would put together. Hopefully, I can help you bridge this gap.

The Irish jig in D which is used here as a working example is approached in four stages with several sets of exercises in tablature and video demonstrations for each stage. This is a foretaste of Francis's new book, The complete tune playing toolkit for 5-string banjo, published by Mel Bay and also available from Deering. Twelve of the forty tunes listed in the contents are American old-time tunes.

© Richard Hawkins

Ken Perlman online workshops, 28 Feb. and 21 Mar. 2020

Ken Perlman (USA), master of 'melodic clawhammer' banjo, announces that the next two online live instructional banjo workshops in his 'Clawhammer Clinic' series will be 'Harmonized scales: using 3rds & 6ths to spice up your clawhammer arrangements' on Mon. 28 Feb., and 'Playing Celtic reels with taste and authority, clawhammer style' on Mon. 21 Mar. The latter should be of special interest to players in this island. Tunes in this workshop will include 'The wind that shakes the barley', 'The black mill', 'Far from home', 'Drowsy Maggie', and 'High road to Linton'.

© Richard Hawkins

Celtic Connections 2022: latest news

The organisers of Celtic Connections, 'the UK's premier celebration of Celtic music', announce that this year's event in Glasgow, Scotland, is continuing to 6 February, with over sixty vibrant live shows on offer.

Acts in the 'Americana' section of the programme have suffered from the continuing pandemic, and cancellations include the Lonesome Ace Stringband, Aoife O'Donovan, and Rachel Baiman with Cahalen Morrison. However, the Transatlantic Sessions on 4 and 6 Feb., Heidi Talbot & Dirk Powell with Kim Carnie on 5 Feb., and The Dead South on 21 Mar. are all still shown as going ahead.

© Richard Hawkins

Detached notes

The Del McCoury Band (whose last visit to Ireland was far too long ago) will be releasing early next year a new album, Almost proud, on their own McCoury Music label. The single 'Running wild' can be heard now on YouTube, and the album (scheduled for release on 18 Feb. 2022) can be pre-ordered here; their press release is here.

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On 20 Oct. the BIB mentioned that Rick Faris, well known over here from touring with the Special Consensus, is soon to release the second album of his solo career, The next mountain. The Dark Shadow Recording label now announces that Rick is preparing for the album launch with the release of two new singles: his own composition 'Laurel of the mountains' and (co-written with Rick Lang) 'Evil-hearted you'. The other musicians on the recordings include Jaelee Roberts (harmony vocal), Laura Orshaw (fiddle), Harry Clark (mandolin), Russ Carson (banjo), and Zak McLamb (bass). More details are on the Dark Shadow press release.

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The Mountain Fever Music Group announce the release of many singles by singers and bands on their artist roster, among whom the best known to Irish fans are Cedar Hill and Seth Mulder & Midnight Run. Mountain Fever remark:

Seth Mulder & Midnight Run have been tearing it up in many ways! Showing up on the bluegrass charts, touring, recording, basically staying busy which is a brave feat in today's challenging environments. We're proud of these boys!

A five-minute video of Midnight Run playing at the world-famous Station Inn can be seen on YouTube and on the Mountain Fever press release.

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Last Friday (22 Oct.) the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre (SEAC) celebrated twenty years of vigorous cultural activity with a video concert a hundred minutes long, entitled (of course) '20 years a-growing (Fiche blian ag fás)'. BIB readers will recall many memorable concerts by visiting bluegrass and old-time artists in those twenty years. American music, however, is represented in the video by the Boston folk-rock band Session Americana. The concert can be seen on the Centre's YouTube channel.

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For those interested in the links between the traditional musics of these islands and North America, the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, TN/VA, announces an event in its 'Virtual speaker' series: on 9 November historian and musician Jennifer Licko will present 'Appalachia and Scottish folk songs'. The event is free, but pre-registration is required.

© Richard Hawkins

Celtic Connections 2022 - lineup and ticket sales imminent (UPDATE)

The organisers of Celtic Connections, 'the UK's premier celebration of Celtic music', announce that next year's event will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 20 January to 6 February inclusive. The lineup will be announced at 7.00 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday 5 Oct.), and may include some US artists who might also be planning to visit Ireland...

You can become a Celtic Rover and enjoy priority booking for shows in the Main Auditorium of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Tickets for Celtic Rovers go on sale tomorrow at 7.00 p.m., and for the general public at 10.00 a.m. on Wednesday. Celtic Connections is also on Facebook.

Update 5 Oct.: The Celtic Connections programme and lineup can now be seen online. Acts in the 'Americana' section include the Lonesome Ace Stringband on 22 Jan.; Aoife O'Donovan on 26 Jan.; Rachel Baiman on 1 Feb.; the Transatlantic Sessions on 4 and 6 Feb.; and The Dead South on 21 Mar..

© Richard Hawkins

Baltimore Fiddle Fair, 13-16 May 2021: tickets now on sale

The organisers of the Baltimore Fiddle Fair in Baltimore, Co. Cork, announce that tickets are now on sale for their 2021 festival on 13-16 May, their third online event since the pandemic began. Concerts this year will be recorded in Baltimore Castle. Most artists on the 2021 programme will be new to Baltimore; extra events including fun festival-survival videos and a Fiddle Fair Quiz on Zoom; and ticket buyers will be able to submit questions as part of the 'Artists Q&A Sessions'.

Irish music dominates this year's programme, but an international dimension is given by a special concert filmed before a live audience on board the nineteenth-century schooner the James Craig, docked at the Australian Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia.

© Richard Hawkins

Baltimore Fiddle Fair presents 'The 12 days of Christmas'

The Baltimore Fiddle Fair in Baltimore, Co. Cork, had, like nearly all other events, to replace its normal festival with online events this year - and the experience has been put to good use. The Fiddle Fair now announces:

As we reach the end of this year like no other, we thought it would be nice to bring some Fiddle Fair joy into your homes this Christmas. We have asked some of our favourite musicians, from Ireland and around the world, to record twelve exclusive concerts for a very special virtual festival and we’re sure you'll agree the lineup is pretty spectacular.

Our musicians welcome us into their homes to share their Christmas memories and talk about what the season means to them. As well as the chance to listen to some truly great music, this is also your chance to support our festival, and especially our wonderful artists who have had such a tough year in 2020.

For booking and information, see the Fiddle Fair website. It's worth a visit just to see the illustrations the Fair has provided for each of the twelve days; the BIB's favourite is the Three French Hens.

Update 22 Dec.: A 'Twelve days of Christmas' programme is also being presented by the Hawk's Well Theatre in Sligo town.

We Banjo 3 present 'A Winter Wonderful' online, 18 Dec. 2020

Galway's We Banjo 3, the originators of 'Celtgrass', invite you to 'cozy up, settle in, and holiday party' with them for a one-night-only festive holiday livestream, 'A Winter Wonderful', on Friday 18 December at 8.00 p.m. EST.

The evening will feature a special We Banjo 3 performance, plus musical sets by Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Skerryvore, The Whileaways, BackWest, and Ajeet. Event tickets are $20; limited-edition merch bundles with ticket included are also available and can be bought here.

Online old-time banjo festival THIS WEEKEND (2-3 May 2020)

THANKS to Oldtime Central (OTC) for the news that an Online Old Time Banjo Festival is to be held this weekend (Sat. 2 May and Sun. 3 May), under the auspices of the Mike Seeger Commemorative Old Time Banjo Festival and hosted by Cathy Fink and Brad Kolodner. The lineup, shown on the poster image above, includes a good selection of the top layer of today's old-time players.

Concerts will be streamed on YouTube from 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. EST on both evenings; workshops (for which prior registration is needed) will be held on Zoom from 2.00 to 5.30 p.m. EST on Saturday and 12.00 noon to 5.30 p.m. EST on Sunday. Details are on the OTC. The cost is $25 per workshop, payable via PayPal; for concerts, the rule is 'pay what you can', but a donation of $25 is suggested. For admission to all concerts and workshops, a full weekend pass is $150. A one-minute teaser video can be seen here. NB: EST is five hours behind BST.

For pickers interested in Irish music (or the tunes in 6/8 notated in Samuel Bayard's 1944 book Hill country tunes), Allison de Groot's Sunday workshop will be on playing jigs in 6/8 - to take this workshop, you must be able to drop-thumb.

JigJam - new awards, new US tour

Tullamore's JigJam (left) thank all the voters in the recent American Listener Supported Radio Celtic Music Awards whose votes gained them no less than three awards - Crossover Album of the Year, Album Cover of the Year, and Composers of the Year (Jamie McKeogh and Daithi Melia) - all in respect of their album Phoenix. The full list of winners also shows the awards gained by We Banjo 3.

Like We Banjo 3 (see the BIB for 1 Feb.), JigJam will be starting a new tour of the USA on 21 February. Theirs will continue into April: one show has already sold out, and ticket alerts are being issued for others.

Last days of Celtic Connections 2020

The organising team of this year's Celtic Connections in Glasgow, now in its final few days, send a reminder of what's still to come: tonight (31 Jan.) the annual Transatlantic Sessions are hosted by Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas, joined by special guests including Michael McGoldrick, Cathy Jordan, Tommy Emmanuel, and Phil Cunningham. Elsewhere, the Ciaran Ryan Band provide 'an electrifying high-energy mix of self-penned Irish trad-style tunes with elements of bluegrass and swamp-trad'.

Tomorrow evening (Sat. 1 Feb.) Dirk Powell (photo above) launches his new solo album, with guest artists. More details and online booking links are here.

4-string infiltration in bluegrass iconography

The BIB editor writes:

A long time ago it occurred to me that the logical development of melodic banjo-playing was to drop the 5-string and fingerpicks, and change to the full-length plectrum banjo. This has not yet, as far as I know, happened in bluegrass; though in the field of Celtgrass... is it just my eyes, or has Enda Scahill of We Banjo 3 taken up the plectrum banjo as well as the tenor?

However, images of 4-string banjos are creeping into bluegrass contexts. The one above (showing a Clareen Clarenbridge tenor from Co. Galway) is used by the Song of the Mountains show, based at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, VA. The image below (showing a 4-string with Gibson inlays) is used by Rebel Records, a pillar of the bluegrass record industry, based in Charlottesville, VA. Are these just signs of the growing vogue for Irish music, or is the bluegrass banjo world being softened up for a coming complete plectral takeover?