More news of past US visitors

The McLain Family Band (l-r): Daxson Lewis, Alice White,
Raymond W. McLain, Ruth McLain, Al White

On Monday Bluegrass Today published an article by Olyvia Neal on the retirement of Raymond W. McLain as director of the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University, KY. Sonny Osborne considered Raymond the most under-appreciated banjo-player of his time; audiences in Ireland had a chance to enjoy his musicianship as leader of the McLain Family Band from Berea, KY, whose two-week tour here in July 2018 was organised by John Nyhan. In addition, Neal's article admirably illustrates the importance of his twenty-plus-years work as an educator, and of his approach to the place of music in life.

As previously mentioned on Bluegrass Today by Sandy Hatley, the Malpass Brothers (right) - for whom three Omagh festivals were the first bluegrass festivals they played at - have taken over as hosts of the festival at Denton FarmPark, NC, after the retirement of Doyle Lawson. The first Malpass Brothers Bluegrass & Country Music Festival was held last weekend, with very positive responses as shown in Hatley's recent article.

Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers are delighted by the advent of spring; by their busy May schedule; by the prospect of their next Inductrial Strength Bluegrass Festival in November, about which news will be anounced on 17 May; and by the time they had on the Grand Ole Opry on 5 April. Learn more from their e-newsletter and website.

Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters, who headlined the 2018 Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival, recently had their new album The Devil and the deep blue sea featured in an article by Kim Ruehl in the Bluegrass Situation online magazine. They will be playing in concert at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, TN/VA, on 20 May in the Museum's 1927 Society concert series. Tickets can be bought here or here.

© Richard Hawkins

US news - mainly about past visitors

Fast Track have had a new single, 'Heartbreak and trouble', released by the Engelhardt Music Group (EMG). The song can be heard on John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today and on YouTube. More details are on the press releases from EMG and Wilson Pickins.

Two excellent on-stage sets by Fast Track, filmed early in 2020 when Jesse Brock was with them on mandolin, can be seen on YouTube: 1 and 2. In the BIB editor's view, this is pretty well exactly how a bluegrass band should act and sound.

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For admirers of the late Tom T. Hall and the music of Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, the band has recently had a video released by Pinecastle Records of the song 'Who’s gonna tell the story', written by Mark Brinkman and David Stewart. It can be watched on Bluegrass Today and YouTube.

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Bob Denton, co-organiser with Andy Lambert of the three Irish Old Time Gatherings held so far in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, announces on the FOAOTMAD news blog (23 Apr.) that he will be in London 10-18 May and keen to play both old-time and Irish music.

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Later this year Charlie Poole (1892-1931) will be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. He was one of the most popular among commercially-recorded rural musicians of the 1920s; his three-finger banjo style was influenced by 'classical'/ ragtime banjo-playing; and the controlled, tight-knit sound of his North Carolina Ramblers band contrasted with his haphazard lifestyle. John Lawless's news item on Bluegrass Today includes two recordings from YouTube.

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Ken Perlman, master of 'melodic clawhammer' banjo, announces that the last two online live instructional banjo workshops in his current 'Clawhammer Clinic' series will be 'Arranging a song or simple melody for performance, clawhammer style' on Mon. 2 May, and 'Up-the-neck "melodic" fingering forms that feature 5th-string fretting' on Mon. 23 May. Ken can also be seen on 1 May in a free online live-stream concert from the Greenwich Village Folk Festival.

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Kyle O'Brien of the state of Colorado announces that he and Chance McCoy (who toured Ireland in June 2019) recorded, mixed, and mastered ten original songs in two weeks at McCoy's West Virginia home studio and farm, to produce the new album Country pie, which can now be pre-ordered. McCoy was formerly a member of Old Crow Medicine Show, whose latest album, Paint this town, is reviewed on No Depression by Henry Carrigan.

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Chicago's Henhouse Prowlers, in their 'Bluegrass Ambassadors' role, will be introducing schoolchildren to the music of North Carolina masters this week at the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, NC, and rounding off their stay with a concert at the Center on Thurs. 28 Apr.

© Richard Hawkins

Tony Trischka on Deering Live TONIGHT (29 July)

The Deering Banjo Company announce that the featured artist on Deering Live tonight will be Tony Trischka, outstanding as banjo performer, composer, mentor, and communicator, as well as being a Deering artist. Deering announce (links added by BIB): 'In this episode, we delve deep into Tony's current album, Shall we hope. We will also talk about the ArtistWorks platform and how it can help you become a better banjo player.' The interview can be watched live on YouTube at 11.00 p.m. Irish time.

Shall we hope was reviewed on Bluegrass Today last month by Tabitha Agnew Benedict (see the BIB for 9 June).

Deering also feature their range of banjo heads, which now includes a Skin Tone head in 11" size, giving a sound intermediate between Fiberskyn and Renaissance, at $50.

© Richard Hawkins

Deering celebrates Pete Wernick's 75th birthday TONIGHT

The Deering Banjo Company invites everyone to take part in celebrating the 75th birthday of Pete 'Dr Banjo' Wernick on Deering Live tonight (25 Feb. 2021). Viewers can also ask Pete questions in the live chatroom or reply to this e-mail with their questions. The show starts at the usual Deering Live time of 6.00 p.m. ET/ 3.00 p.m. PT/ 11.00 p.m. GMT.

Pete Wernick has been one of the prime movers of the worldwide bluegrass scene since the 1960s as performing and recording artist, radio presenter, bandleader, interviewer, educator, communicator, administrator, historian, innovator, and guardian of tradition. He was a frequent attender, as performer and teacher, at the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festivals of the Noughties, and before that had played in Ireland as a member of Hot Rize and performed with his wife Joan at the Athy Bluegrass Festival, which he described as 'small but mighty'.

In the BIB editor's view, it is one of the most-to-be-regretted what-ifs of bluegrass history that Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka have not got together to write the biography of Earl Scruggs.

An important correction (update)

L-r: Chubby Wise, Curly Bradshaw, Bill Monroe, Sally Ann Forrester,

Clyde Moody, Dave 'Stringbean' Akeman, c.1943/4

The December 2020 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine included the article 'The birth of bluegrass music' by BU editor Dan Miller. The membership of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys on stage at the Grand Ole Opry on the historic night of 8 December 1945 was given as Monroe (mandolin), Lester Flatt (guitar), Howdy Forrester (fiddle), Joe Forrester (bass), and the new banjo player, Earl Scruggs.

BU's February 2021 issue published an important correction from Murphy Hicks Henry, longtime BU contributor and author of Pretty good for a girl: women in bluegrass (2013). Murphy pointed out that accordionist Wilene 'Sally Ann' Forrester, who had been in the band longer than any of the other members besides Monroe and did not leave till March '46, should have been included. Dan Miller apologised for the omission; he had tried to establish who was on stage that night, but no source he consulted had mentioned Sally Ann's presence. (It's fair to note that in Pretty good for a girl (p. 18) Murphy had not found it possible to give a firm 'Yes!' to the question 'Did the first bluegrass band [i.e. the band on stage on 8.12.45] include a woman?')

Sally Ann's memory is honoured and perpetuated in the Bluegrass Foundation's Sally Ann Forrester College Scholarship, a $1,000 fall semester scholarship awarded to one female bluegrass musician annually.

Update 22 Feb.: A 2000 article by Murphy Henry on Sally Ann, with emphasis on her recorded work with the Blue Grass Boys, is in the 'Archives' section of the BU website.

Chris Eldridge takes a chair at Oberlin

Chris 'Critter' Eldridge (right), who as guitarist for the Punch Brothers (USA) has played several times in Ireland, has been appointed Visiting Associate Professor of Contemporary American Acoustic Music at the prestigious Oberlin College & Conservatory in Ohio. Bio information is on both his own website and Oberlin's.

Chris Eldridge graduated from Oberlin in 2004 and became a founder member of Punch Brothers the following year. In 2019 he was the Americana Music Association's Instrumentalist of the Year. He will be teaching three semesters at Oberlin from January 2021, giving courses on American string-band music and private lessons to guitarists and singer/ songwriters.

'Bluegrass Ambassadors Field Trip' from the Henhouse Prowlers (USA)

Chicago's Henhouse Prowlers, bluegrass world-travellers under normal conditions, and previous visitors to Ireland, are fundraising for an ambitious new online educational project, 'Field Trip', as part of their ongoing 'Bluegrass Ambassadors' campaign. John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today describes it as:

a multi-genre virtual music program created for kindergarten through grade 2, including bluegrass of course, with supplemental videos and a passport workbook, highlighting music from around the world. They have also developed a one-hour presentation for middle and high school students, called Bluegrass 45.

The Field Trip is introduced in a concise YouTube video, well presented by Prowlers Ben Wright (banjo) and Jake Howard (mandolin), which can also be seen on Bluegrass Today and on their fundraising web page.

The mountain minor: latest news

WRITER/ director Dale Farmer, heading the team responsible for The mountain minor, the film drama of Appalachian migration and old-time music, sends the project's latest newsletter. Dale reflects on having completed the film only to have the whole programme of screenings cancelled, leaving no prospect of recouping the investment. Releasing the film free on Amazon Prime came about this way:

In our first meeting with our publicist, Fred Anderson, he asked Susan and me what we wanted most: to make the most money or to have the most people see the film. We pretty much answered in unison that we wanted the most people to see it. That became our mission for the film and has informed our decisions going forward.

The decision has its own rewards, as explained in the newsletter. Meanwhile a soundtrack album is being prepared with thirty-seven songs and tunes from the film, five bonus tracks including a 1980 field recording, plus a twelve-page booklet.

The mountain minor had its broadcast premiere on the Heartland TV network on Sat. 6 June and subsequent showings with the last still to come this Saturday (27 June). It will also be shown on educational stations, beginning with Kentucky Educational Television. Much more information is on the newsletter, together with a reminder that the full-time musicians who took part have lost their income during the lockdown.

Keeping traditions alive and growing

Anyone interested in the survival and transmission of cultures and traditions - or even just in Cajun music - should enjoy reading Jonathan Olivier's long article 'Lâche pas les langues de la Louisiane' ('Don't let go of the languages of Louisiana') in The Bitter Southerner online magazine. The Louisiana dialect of French was for much of the twentieth century discouraged by official educational policies. Preserving it, and the traditions it embodies, is not a simple matter: French-language immersion courses (for both children and adults) have had to use teachers from Canada, France, Belgium, and francophone Africa who don't speak the dialect themselves - let alone the related Creole dialect Kouri-Vini. At the same time, many people want to ensure that the traditional forms are not just preserved but alive and growing. There are plenty of issues here that fans of old-time and bluegrass music will find familiar.

The Sliding Dutchman now resident in Ireland

Owen Schinkel (photo: Ben Bateson)

One of the many unexpected bonuses of last weekend's Shannonside Winter Music Festival was finding the talented young Dutch dobroist Owen Schinkel, the 'Sliding Dutchman', playing as a guest on the sets by the Sons of Navarone.

The BIB first learned of Owen in July 2017, when he had just won a scholarship to East Tennessee State University. Lee Zimmerman's feature and interview with him on Bluegrass Today last April showed both that he was using his time in the States to the best advantage, and that he intended to return to this side of the Atlantic. We can now expect to see much more of him - his website states:

Recently Owen has moved to Ireland to pursue his musical career together with mandolinist Kylie Anderson, who is also his partner. Together Kylie and Owen are working on a duo group called 'Long Way Home'. They’re planning to record an EP and perform in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United States in 2020 [bold type added by the BIB]. The website from Long Way Home will soon be available at the website from Long Way Music.

PS: Owen can be seen for a split second in the Sons of Navarone's video on Facebook of the end of their final show at Sixmilebridge.

Sore Fingers - the future, 2019-20

Thanks to John and Moira Wirtz, organisers of the UK's Sore Fingers Summer Schools, which over the years have benefited many pickers from Ireland, for their mid-summer news update:

As we write this, anyone could be fooled we were in the middle of November, gales, heavy rain... But it’s still August, and as the festival season takes a short break before Didmarton kicks it all off again, time for an update!

October Weekend 2019
Bookings for October are open and the forms are available from the website at this link: http://www.sorefingers.co.uk/booking.php?id=19. Bookings are steady and we are pleased to report that the Improvisation class is booking well. So if you want to get onto that, please book without delay. Plenty of places left on other classes. See website for courses and tutor bios.

Easter Week 2020
See below for the buildup to Twenty-Five Years of Sore Fingers Week! Yes, it’s been twenty-five years since we last spent Easter anywhere other than Kingham Hill School! Yes, by the time we close out on 17 April 2020, that will make twenty-five Sore Fingers Weeks and close to 150 different tutors from across the pond will have travelled over to teach you good bluegrass and old time music! They were ably supported by nearly forty individuals from the UK, plenty of talent there too. Quite an achievement, we think.

Dates are 13-17 April 2020, and the forms are now up on the website ready for you.

The really good news is that we are able to hold our prices and not apply an increase for 2020. That will be good news for everyone.

We are reintroducing Songwriting with the highly talented Wil Maring and may extend the Improvisation course into a week-long class next Easter.

So far, we have confirmed a few tutors with the remainder to follow when we secure their services. As usual, it’s building up to be another great lineup. You can look forward to the usual high standards of music and teaching. This is how it looks: Autoharp – Les Gustafson, Bass – Missy Raines, Banjo – Ned Luberecki, Dobro – TBA, Fiddle – Becky Buller, Guitar - Peter McLaughlin, Mandolin – Mike Compton (TBC), Old Time Banjo – TBA, Old Time Fiddle – TBA, Singing – TBA, Songwriting – Wil Maring

Keep checking the website for updates and see you in October!

Heading for the 25th Sore Fingers Week
Sore Fingers Summer Schools is about to enter an interesting twelve-month period. The Easter 2020 Sore Fingers Week will be the twenty-fifth event and even though we say this ourselves, it’s quite a milestone to reach! Back in the early days, I remember reading an article in Bluegrass Unlimited about the Augusta Heritage Workshops - which inspired our predecessors Mike and Andrea Preston to kick off a similar event on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. They were celebrating their thirtieth event. I thought at the time, that we had an awful lot to do to put Sore Fingers on the worldwide bluegrass map.

We all have to be grateful to Mike and Andrea for having that vision back in 1996! Moira and I have been involved since the very first Sore Fingers Week, initially as the sound crew. We remained with the event to this day, taking over the reins in 2003.

Naturally, due to its location on this side of the pond, the event has been most significant to people living in the British Isles and Europe. But it hasn’t gone unnoticed in the country where bluegrass emerged as an influential art form back in the 1940s. Sore Fingers Week is rated as one of the choice bluegrass and old time camps worldwide. Quietly makes us proud.

We are running the usual October weekend and we have assembled a stellar line up of musicians to come and teach. It should be amazing! We also have a new course: IMPROVISATION. This will be taught by the fantastic Andy Mackenzie who is perfectly qualified to take your instrumental skills to a higher level, towards ability to improvise breaks for all occasions. This new course is largely the brainchild of regular student and SF Scratch Band mentor Trevor Hyett, who has been running Improvisation electives to great acclaim at previous Sore Fingers Weeks. This has just got to be a runner!

Funding Initiative
It is vitally important to introduce new and young people to bluegrass, old time, and acoustic music. The future depends on it! Since the very beginning in 1996, SFSS have actively encouraged the presence of young people at its events. Several have gone on to professional careers in the music business and of course, some have become established tutors in their own right. A very worthwhile cause and the young people bring energy and creativity to Sore Fingers, we love them!

For many, funding is an issue and parents already burdened with lots of costs are sometime unable to justify the fees. So, SFSS contribute towards their attendance and we actively seek funding from outside parties and individuals. Over the years, folk have been very generous. A quick word of thanks to all those who have helped and we hope this continues.

Earlier this year, we ran a very successful appeal for contributions to our sponsor student fund and several generous people came forward to help. With added funding from Sore Fingers itself, we were able to assist several highly talented young people from various backgrounds to enjoy Sore Fingers Week 2019 and learn a lot too. Many people volunteered to contribute for next year’s event and we have identified a bank account for this purpose. The details are below and include data to enable a international transfer too. Please reference all transactions as follows: 'SPONS firstname lastname'. Then we can make sure the funds are properly allocated and we know from whom they came.

Bank details are: Sort Code: 30-93-40 – Account Number 27110368.
If transferring from abroad, you will need the following data too:
IBAN: GB61TSBS30934027110368 - BIC: TSBSGB2AXXX

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In these unusual times, with uncertainty over so many aspects of life from food prices to job security, from the cost of flights to exchange rates, there is understandable caution… some folk are thinking twice about what, where, and how they spend their hard-earned cash. Despite these external circumstances, way beyond our control, we are determined to see SF through these difficult times and continue to offer the best value-for-money, high-quality learning opportunities over here in Britain and Europe.

If you share our belief in what SF has done for the scene and can continue doing the same for a long time into the future, support us by booking early and continuing to attend these amazing events until we return to better times. And anyway, where else can you get served a fine cup of tea by the inimitable Ron Block!

Another gong for Greg!

Last weekend the lineup at the 22nd Milan Bluegrass Festival in Michigan included our friends of the Special Consensus. The report by Bill Warren on Bluegrass Today includes two photos of the Special C. on stage, and one of their leader Greg Cahill, who received a new honour on that occasion. Bill Warren explains that Greg

was inducted into the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Honor for his work in the area through IBMA’s Bluegrass in the Schools initiative. Greg did over 90 assemblies in area schools. Other bands followed his example, also doing assemblies in the area.

The programme of 2019 inductees can be seen here. Congratulations to Greg, who is clearly going to need a bigger mantelpiece.

More than just Henhouse Prowlers

If you saw and heard the Henhouse Prowlers (USA) on their recent brief visit as part of a European tour, you may have heard about their Bluegrass Ambassadors scheme. The Prowlers are among the most widely travelled of bluegrass bands, and they have made their travels a mission to educate and inspire through cultural exchange and educational programmes. The core values of the project, as shown on the website, are:

• Education should be available to people of all economic backgrounds.
• Music binds us all together as a species.
• Cross cultural collaborations definitively break down misconceptions and misunderstandings between people of all persuasions.
• Diplomacy isn't just for diplomats. We've seen first hand how simple conversations between the people of different cultures fosters understanding and empathy.

Read more about Bluegrass Ambassadors on the website or on this Bluegrass Today feature by John Lawless.

Dutch dobroist wins US music scholarship

Owen Schinkel (Share America photo: Loletta Lita Grant)

Owen Schinkel, a young dobroist from Meppen, a small village in the eastern Netherlands, has just been awarded the 2017 Pearl and Floyd Franks Scholarship by the Share America Foundation, Inc. The $1,250 award, given to students excelling in the Appalachian musical arts, helps to support him at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), which has a long established Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music programme in its Appalachian Studies department.

Owen came to the US in January this year and is now resident in Johnson City, TN. Mountain music changed his life at the age of 16, when he found a video of Jerry Douglas and Dan Tyminski playing ‘The boy who wouldn’t hoe corn’ on the Transatlantic Sessions, and fell in love with the dobro sound. He enrolled in ETSU with the dual aims of becoming a master on his instrument and building up a network of contacts to increase the popularity of the music overseas. ETSU encourages students to form bands, and he's already a member of three bands in college and another outside.

'Encouraging the future of youth is the focus of what we do and our name "Share America" has never been more appropriate as we help a young man bring Appalachia with him when he completes his education and returns to Europe,' said Share America chairman Gary Knowles.

'Walking in sunlight' - Uncle Dave in musical drama, coming to Ireland

Thanks to Dr Virginia Donnell, professor emeritus of Theatre at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), and one of the production designers for the musical stage play 'Walking in sunlight: the life and legacy of Uncle Dave Macon'. The play is just finishing a run at MTSU's Tucker Theatre (see image below, and here). Dr Donnell writes:

We are touring the production in Ireland in May 2017. We are hoping to book school performances in the Dublin and Belfast areas. These are 'free/no costs' performances in keeping with our mission to reach children and youth. Any help or promotion would be greatly appreciated.

The MTSU Arts description of the play reads:

Walking in sunlight: the life and legacy of Uncle Dave Macon. A musical stage play: Eight youth find the answer to life decisions through the life and music of Dave Harrison Macon.

The legacy of Uncle Dave Macon, the first superstar of the Grand Ole Opry and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, includes more than his heartfelt and foot-stomping music. His life is a legacy of hope, the pursuit of joy for himself and others, and an indomitable spirit. In the play eight youth learn that we all suffer adversity, and we all receive inspiration. How we respond to each of these determines the trajectory of our lives. Uncle Dave was resilient, overcoming life’s unexpected and often painful hurdles, to live his dream and bring dreams to others. 'Walking in sunlight' connects the youth of today with a classic example of a good man's journey, enriched by the classic, old-time tunes of a past era which have again become popular in the present.

Any offers of engagements for school performances, or other suggestions of assistance, can be sent to Dr Donnell by e-mail.

Highlights from UKBluegrass.com

Thanks to UKBluegrass.com for posting an anthology of interviews and other features that have appeared on the website over the past few years. The list comprises:

A conversation with Punch Brothers

On tour with The Deadly Gentlemen

Flats and Sharps

The Steep Canyon Rangers

The Dixie Bee-Liners

Bluegrass in schools

Rabbi John

The ukbluegrass badge

Jaywalkers: BBC Young Folk Award

Cadillac Sky

The logo (above) was designed by Charlotte Carrivick of the Carrivick Sisters.

Foundation for Bluegrass Music grants to honour Earl Scruggs and Warren Hellman - deadline now 22 Aug. 2012

The Foundation for Bluegrass Music, under the auspices of the IBMA, is funding grants this year in honour of two major innovators in the world of bluegrass music: Earl Scruggs (d. 28 Mar. 2012), father of bluegrass banjo playing, and Warren Hellman (d. 18 Dec. 2011), who created, funded, and grew his California-based 'Hardly Strictly Bluegrass' free event into one of the largest of its kind in the USA. Foundation president Greg Cahill says:

In remembrance of these two highly creative individuals who have left huge footprints in the history of American music in the areas of performance and event production, we will allocate funds to foster innovation in the world of bluegrass music. We are very pleased to honour the memory of these brilliant men in this way.

A fund of $8000 has been earmarked to support public projects that foster innovative development in the world of bluegrass music. Individual grants ranging from $2000 to $4000 will be given in memory of Earl Scruggs and Warren Hellman. Of special interest are bluegrass music-related projects and programs that involve education or youth.

This is a competitive application process, and candidates must meet the Foundation’s Grant Application Guidelines. The Foundation deadline for applications has been extended for a week from 15 Aug. to 22 Aug. 2012; grants awarded will be announced no later than 1 Oct. 2012, with funds available after 1 Jan. 2013. More information and a downloadable application form are on the Foundation website. The latest newsletter, announcing the new deadline, can be read here.

Foundation for Bluegrass Music grants to honour Earl Scruggs and Warren Hellman - deadline 15 Aug. 2012

The Foundation for Bluegrass Music, under the auspices of the IBMA, is funding grants this year in honour of two major innovators in the world of bluegrass music: Earl Scruggs (d. 28 Mar. 2012), father of bluegrass banjo playing, and Warren Hellman (d. 18 Dec. 2011), who created, funded, and grew his California-based 'Hardly Strictly Bluegrass' free event into one of the largest of its kind in the USA. Foundation president Greg Cahill says:

In remembrance of these two highly creative individuals who have left huge footprints in the history of American music in the areas of performance and event production, we will allocate funds to foster innovation in the world of bluegrass music. We are very pleased to honour the memory of these brilliant men in this way.

A fund of $8000 has been earmarked to support public projects that foster innovative development in the world of bluegrass music. Individual grants ranging from $2000 to $4000 will be given in memory of Earl Scruggs and Warren Hellman. Of special interest are bluegrass music-related projects and programs that involve education or youth.

This is a competitive application process, and candidates must meet the Foundation’s Grant Application Guidelines. The deadline for applications is 15 Aug. 2012; grants awarded will be announced no later than 28 Sept. 2012, with funds available after 1 Jan. 2013. More information and a downloadable application form are on the Foundation website.

Special C. in the schools

Too long to wait till the next visit from the Special Consensus? - of course it is. But in the meantime you can see and hear the Special C. in an important part of the band's professional life: performing in schools and giving the schoolchildren, through personal contact, an idea of what bluegrass and its instruments are, and how the instruments and the music work.

A twenty-minute sampler, shot on video by Fred Robbins while Special C. were on the job, can be seen on the original Bluegrass Blog. The band is in a fairly recent configuration, with Ryan Roberts on guitar, and Ashby Frank still on mandolin.

2nd 'Berklee in Dublin' - apply SOON!

Thanks to Nick Balkin of Berklee College of Music, Boston, Mass., for this welcome news:

Boston's renowned Berklee College of Music presents its second annual 'Berklee in Dublin' event, a week of improvisation workshops and scholarship auditions, 5-11 April 2010, at Newpark Music Centre, Newtownpark Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.

The application deadline is Friday 19 March. Apply here.

Ties between Berklee and Ireland have never been stronger. Dublin native Matt Halpin is the recipient of Berklee's highest honor, the full-ride Presidential Scholarship, and is an inaugural member of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, the college's new center for musical creativity and global activism. Grammy-winning Riverdance composer Bill Whelan serves on Berklee's board of trustees. In 2007, U2's The Edge was awarded an honorary degree by the college.

Nick Balkin
Publicist
Berklee College of Music
+1-617-747-2247
Twitter
e-mail

As mentioned in the BIB posts of March and April 2009, Berklee covers improvisation in all genres of music and has a distinguished and strongly bluegrass-friendly faculty.

Update 23 Feb.: The teenage mandolin phenomenon Sierra Hull is now in the first year of her presidential scholarship at Berklee. A snatch of her new DVD on AcuTab is on the Bluegrass Blog today.