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

For record collectors

The Friends Of American Old Time Music And Dance (FOAOTMAD), Britain's national organisation for old-time music enthusiasts, announces on its news blog that 250 vinyl LPs from the collection of the late Paul Stephens will be among the items auctioned by Special Auction Services of Newbury, Berks., on 31 May as part of their Music & Entertainment Auction. FOAOTMAD report: 'Paul's music collection takes 17 lots of over 570 lots in the sale and most of his are lots of between 14 and 65 LPs with estimates between £40 and £100.'

© Richard Hawkins

The latest BBN

The cover story of the summer 2023 issue of British Bluegrass News (magazine of the British Bluegrass Music Association (BBMA)) is Richard Partridge's interview with the members of the Hackney Hillpickers of London; a photo of their guitarist Luke Donovan is on the magazine cover. Other goodies include Philippa Ogden's interview with Tim Loten, banjo-player of the Canadian band Crooked Creek, who will be touring Britain in July this year; and her interview with Rupert Hughes of the Hexham Bluegrass Festival (see poster image below).

David Mepsted gives a funny and essentially truthful description of Sore Fingers Week; BBN editor Chris Lord interviews Maria Wallace of the True North Music agency; amd Jack Baker's regular 'Tab Corner' feature gives notation and tab for fiddle, mandolin, and banjo of the 1971 classic 'Ashland breakdown'. And there's more, with full-colour, full-page ads for festivals and instrument suppliers featuring prominently. Production standards on BBN continue to be very high.

© Richard Hawkins

Roger Ryan's Country Cuts, April 2023

Thanks to Roger Ryan of the Country Music Association of Ireland (CMAI) for the April 2023 issue of his 'Country Cuts' newsletter. This issue has quite a lot of bluegrass-related news, including details of the 25th anniversary concert at Kilworth, Co. Cork (1 May) featuring High Plains Tradition; the Woodbine-hosted mini bluegrass festival at Durrow, Co. Laois (5-6 May); Bluegrass Omagh 2023 (26-28 May); and the 17th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival (9-11 June). The specifically country-music news includes such major events as the 50th Anniversary CMA Fest in Nashville, TN (8-11 June).

The link to Country Cuts April 2023 has also been included in the BIB's compilation of Roger's newsletters.

© Richard Hawkins

Kristy Cox wins her sixth Golden Guitar

The BIB relayed on 17 Jan. the news that 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, was about to be inducted into the Australian Country Music Hands of Fame 2023 class. She received the award last Saturday (21 Jan.) at Tamworth, New South Wales. This was topped off by receiving her sixth Golden Guitar Award from the Country Music Association of Australia for Best Bluegrass Song of the Year. More details are on Bluegrass Today, which has a video (also on YouTube) of the song, 'Good morning moon'.

© Richard Hawkins

Gainsborough old-time festival (GB): updates

Thanks to the FOAOTMAD news blog for the poster image above and the latest information on this year's Gainsborough festival (10-12 Feb. 2023) in England, 'Europe's largest and best old-time festival'. Tim Rooke, the festival's organiser, announces:

Everything is in place for a great festival and tickets are selling well, so if you haven’t already got yours, now is the time to buy them.

There will be concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. Workshops will be run on Saturday and Sunday and will include Beginners Banjo with Rachel Eddy, Double Bass, with Graeme Parry and Old-Time Mandolin with Evan Davies, plus ones for voices and dance.

Food will be served all through the weekend with a varied menu including vegetarian options. There will also be a bar available over the weekend (cash only please).

FOAOTMAD's annual general meeting is to be held during the festival weekend, More details, together with a history of the festival, are on the festival website and the poster image - click on it to enlarge it.

© Richard Hawkins

Eve Morris of FOAOTMAD

We learn with regret of the death shortly before Christmas of Eve Morris, membership secretary for many years of FOAOTMAD, the UK's association for old-time music and dance, who was also the association's only life member. The FOAOTMAD news blog of today's date gives full details, received from her family, of the arrangements for her funeral and a 'wake'/ celebration of life, to be held in Somerset on 13 January 2023.

© Richard Hawkins

The banjo's hidden history, and much more, in BBN

In the latest issue - no. 99, autumn 2022 - of British Bluegrass News (BBN), the magazine of the British Bluegrass Music Association (BBMA), the cover story is on Noel Dashwood, perhaps the no. 1 dobro player in Britain and an instructor in dobro at previous Sore Fingers events. In addition to the four-page interview by Trevor Hyett, Dashwood's new album receives two reviews, one by Brian Dowdall and one by the UK country bandleader Hank Wangford, with whose band he often plays.

Maria Wallace of the True North Music agency contributes two articles: one on Canada's Slocan Ramblers (photo above), who toured the UK twice this year (having toured Ireland in 2017 and 2019, and played at this year's Bluegrass Omagh festival); and one on Stuart Williams, leading figure of the Cheshire bluegrass scene. Cheshire is relatively accessible from Dublin, so bluegrassers from Ireland should look up the Helsby Bluegrass Club website.

The many other good things in the issue include Eric Kwiatkowski's confessions of a serial instrument-buyer, and 'Tab corner', devoted to the three-part Bill Monroe composition 'The Golden West', with Jack Baker's substantial commentary on Monroe's music and on bluegrass in California.

A good deal of thought and comment is sure to be stimulated by Kristina R. Gaddy's new book Well of souls: uncovering the banjo's hidden history. Matt Hutchinson interviewed the author in an hour-long podcast, of which an abridged transcript appears in this issue of BBN. The book has a foreword by Rhiannon Giddens; a sample can be read on Amazon.co.uk.

© Richard Hawkins

Gainsborough old-time festival, 10-12 Feb. 2023

Owing to delay in publishing the next edition of its magazine Old Time News, with full details of the Gainsborough 2023 old-time festival, the Friends Of American Old Time Music And Dance (FOAOTMAD), the UK's national old-time association, announce that the festival will be held on the weekend Fri. 10-Sun. 12 Feb. Tickets will be available from 1 December, at £80 (member's full weekend ticket); £105 (non-member's weekend ticket; includes one year's FOAOTMAD membership); and £50 (day ticket).

FOAOTMAD announce: 'As well as a great lineup of artists from the UK, we are also pleased to have Spencer and Rains, Rachel Eddy, and Mitch Depew from the USA.' A great deal of basic info on the festival can already be found here, but the dedicated festival website should be online by the end of this month; meanwhile, anyone needing more information should e-mail Tim Rooke.

© Richard Hawkins

Irish takeover of bluegrass continues

... as you can see from the appearance of We Banjo 3, kings of Celtgrass, on the cover of the October 2022 issue of the Bluegrass Standard magazine. The issue is now available but not yet online: this is IBMA World Of Bluegrass week, and the September issue is what appears on the magazine's website. However, you can see from the October cover image (with London's The Vanguards at the bottom of the page) that the contents include features on the British Bluegrass Music Association, as well as The Foreign Landers.

© Richard Hawkins

Old-time sessions - mapped and listed

Thanks to the news blog of FOAOTMAD, the UK's national association for American old-time music and dance, for the news that the association's map of old-time sessions in Britain and Ireland has now been brought up to date, together with a corresponding list of the sessions, organised by counties.

As FOAOTMAD states that the information is up to date, the BIB notes that four sessions are shown in the island of Ireland:

• Cork: Two sessions (Sunday and Monday night, both at 8.00 p.m.) at the Corner House, 7 Coburg St., Cork city T23 FW10
• Dublin: Bill Whelan's nearly-quarter-century-established session (Saturday, 4.30-7.00 p.m.) at the Cobblestone, 77 North King St., Dublin city D07 TP22
• Sligo: Friday from 8.30 p.m. at McLynn's, Old Market St., Abbeyquarter North, Sligo town

In all cases the map notes advise prospective visitors to contact the venues for confirmation that the sessions are taking place. The BIB hopes this information will come to the attention of matchbookholder, who will be in Dublin from today to 8 May (see the BIB for 20 April).

© Richard Hawkins

New recordings, new hardware, and new activity from the Americas

Molly Tuttle has released her new album Crooked tree on Nonesuch Records, recorded with her bluegrass band Golden Highway, plus other distinguished musicians. The release concert at the Station Inn, Nashville, on Monday night (28 Mar.) was reported by Abby Lee Hood on Bluegrass Today. A review of the album by Laura Stanley can be read on No Depression.

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Last week the BIB mentioned Mike Compton and his new album, Rare & fine: uncommon tunes of Bill Monroe. It was reviewed a few days ago on Bluegrass Today by Braeden Paul, and can now be ordered from the store on Mike Compton's website, where it is described as 'the work of a detective, a historian, and a master musician, working with trusted colleagues who love Monroe’s music as much as the leader.' The BIB editor cordially agrees with this assessment.

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Ear Trumpet Labs announce their new model microphone, Ed - a scaled-up-three-times development of their popular Edwina model (for instance, the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival uses Edwina). Details are on the Ear Trumpet website and Richlynn Group press release.

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The 6th National Gathering of SongFarmers is to be held on 29-30 Apr. 2022 at the historic Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Renfro Valley. KY. Michael Johnathon of the Woodsongs Front Porch Association writes: 'A SongFarmer is any artist, musician, songwriter, and fan who wants to use their passion and music to make their homes, families, and communities better.' Full details are on this press release, with the slogan 'We need a Front Porch 'round the World!'

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A guest contributor reports on Bluegrass Today that the first Banjo Camp Brasil has been held with great success as a three-day event (14-16 Jan. 2022) in a congenial mountain-country venue. The moving spirit behind the Camp, and behind the growing popularity of 5-string banjo in Brazil, is Wagner Creoruska jr.

Galway's own representative of Brazilian bluegrass, César Benzoni (a friend of Wagner Creoruska), tells the BIB: 'Nowadays he's the person that is getting more people to know and engage with bluegrass in Brazil, mainly banjo. He's the founder of the band O Bardo e o Banjo, and I produced the majority of the albums, also he has an online banjo course and a YouTube channel giving information about 5-string banjo. He's also part of our directory in the Brazilian Bluegrass Music Association [links added by the BIB]. He's a great communicator and is bringing interest to a lot of [people] on the banjo.'

Update 6 May: Wagner Creoruska and O Bardo e o Banjo are featured in a piece by Lee Zimmerman on Bluegrass Today. The album O tempo e a memoria, mentioned by Zimmerman, was recorded and produced by César Benzoni.

© Richard Hawkins

Interactive old-time sessions map of Britain and Ireland under way

The FOAOTMAD news blog announces:

In a new project between FOAOTMAD and Old-Time Music Cornwall Paul Bennett has taken on the task of not only updating the list of old-time sessions but creating an interactive map of the locations. You may be aware that a world map of sessions exists and is linked to our sessions page, but it is prone to being out of date and cumbersome. Paul’s new map will cover the UK and will be regularly updated. So if your session is starting up again, finished completely, or moved, then let Paul know by e-mailing him at mailout1@foaotmad.org.uk. Paul will also try to contact organisers over the next month or so to ensure he has all the details.

You can see how the map looks and works here: foaotmad.weebly.com/session-map.html.

Instructions for adding or deleting a session, or suggesting other changes in the map, are given on the FOAOTMAD map page. NB: although FOAOTMAD says above that the map 'will cover the UK', in fact it covers Britain and Ireland.

The BIB found it impossible to copy the photo that appears on the map page, so the photo above, copied from the Pickin' Lunchtime Facebook page, shows a session at Reading in Berkshire, southern England.

© Richard Hawkins

The latest BBN

The latest issue (no. 96, winter 2021) of British Bluegrass News (BBN), journal of the British Bluegrass Music Asociation, features on the cover Leanne Thorose and Eleanor Wilkie of Midnight Skyracer (UK), who are also playing together as Sapphire Storm and are about to release the duo's debut album Two hearts and a double shot of whiskey. They are interviewed inside by BBN editor Chris Lord.

Other features include Philippa Ogden's four-page analysis of the messages conveyed by bluegrass album designs over the decades; illustrated reports from UK events; the regular 'Gospel corner'; three US CDs given substantial reviews by Chris Courogen; full-colour instrument ads; and Jack Baker's 'Tab corner' which reviews the recordings since 1926 of the song 'Way downtown'/ 'Late last night'/ 'Oh me, oh my', and bases the tabs for guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin on breaks from different recordings.

BIB readers, however, should find special interest in Chris Lord's four-page interview with Greg Blake, who since his last tour here has joined the Special Consensus as lead singer and guitarist; he and Special C. leader Greg Cahill have been friends for over twenty-five years. Chris writes that the Special C. 'are one of my favourite bands, and there are very few people that would make as good a fit as Greg Blake in such a prestigious position.'

© Richard Hawkins

'Smilin'' from Cedar Hill

Mountain Fever Records announce the release today (8 Feb.) of a new single, 'Smilin', from Cedar Hill, the fine traditional bluegrass band from the Ozark region, led by Frank Ray (centre in the photo below). The band has made acclaimed appearances at Omagh bluegrass festivals, and Frank was inducted into the SPBGMA Preservation Hall of Greats in 2019. (The biographical article on him there is by C.J. Lewandowski of the Po' Ramblin' Boys.)

Frank's own words on the song and why he felt it needed to be recorded are quoted on the Bluegrass Situation website, where you can also hear the single on Soundcloud. More details are on the Mountain Fever press release and Cedar Hill's Facebook.

Update 11 Feb.: See also John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

© Richard Hawkins

The Kody Norris Show - 2022 SPBGMA Entertainer of the Year (update)

Thanks to Uri Kohen, director of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival for forwarding the latest issue of the Rhinestone Reader, newsletter of the Kody Norris Show, who would have come over to headline the Westport festival of 2020 but for the pandemic.

The big news is that at last weekend's SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards, National Convention, and Band Championship, the Kody Norris Show won the Bluegrass Entertainer of the Year award and their fiddle player, Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris, won the Bluegrass Fiddle Performer of the Year award. The photo above (taken by Claire Ratliff of Laughing Penguin Publicity) shows the band with their trophies. More details are on the Rhinestone Reader. The band's Rebel album All suited up was released in April 2021. A complete list of SPBGMA 2022 award winners is on Bluegrass Today.

Update 9 Feb.: The Kody Norris Show will play a live concert on the new lobby stage at the Bluegrass Music Hall Of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, KY, this coming Saturday (12 Feb.). Tickets and information are here.

© Richard Hawkins

UK's 2022 Gainsborough old-time festival cancelled

Only two weeks ago the BIB reported that US musicians would again be touring in Britain this coming February, beginning at the Gainsborough old-time festival. However, FOAOTMAD, the UK's association for old-time music and dance, has now been obliged to cancel the event. Tim Rooke, festival organiser of FOAOTMAD, announces:

With the rapidly worsening situation with the Omicron variant of Covid 19 in the UK and the potential disruption that it might bring, it is with regret that we have decided it would be impossible to run February’s 2022 Gainsborough Festival in a Covid-safe way. Therefore we must formally announce that the advertised event will now not take place.

As the FOAOTMAD Annual General Meeting normally takes place over the festival weekend we will now replace it with a Zoom meeting similar to last year. Details of the meeting, committee member reports, and annual accounts will be sent out by e-mail direct to members as well as being published on our website. You will also find details on the website of how members can take part in the meeting. For more information please go to the FOAOTMAD website.

© Richard Hawkins

Arne Sørensen retires from chairing Bluegrass Music Denmark

Thanks to Lars Hansen on Bluegrass Today for the news that Arne Sørensen, Denmark's 'Mr Bluegrass', retired from the post of chair of Bluegrass Music Denmark on 26 November, his eightieth birthday.

As well as taking an active role in every aspect of building the bluegrass scene in Denmark, Arne has made his home country's presence felt internationally by hosting visiting bands, regular attendance with a Danish contingent at IBMA conventions, and tours in the US with his band Græshopperne. The photo (right) shows Arne on banjo as a member of Sunset Ridge. Bluegrass Music Denmark will continue to build on the firm foundation laid down under Arne.

© Richard Hawkins

US musicians to tour in Britain, Feb. 2022

The FOAOTMAD news blog announces that Chris Testerman (fiddle) and Jackson Cunningham (guitar) of the Cabin Creek Boys old-time band from Virginia will be touring in Britain in mid February 2022, with British musician Nick Pimbert on banjo. At present five dates between 11 and 20 February are announced, with more to be announced. The tour begins with FOAOTMAD's 2022 Gainsborough old-time festival (11-13 Feb.).

FOAOTMAD also report on the coming 'Steps from the heart' step-dance project by April Verch and UK dancer Simon Harmer, which will be presented live on Zoom on 8-9 Jan. (see the BIB for 8 Nov.).

And of the two Dave Stacy banjos announced for sale last month (see the BIB for 12 Nov.), the 'Tubebuster' built in 2020 has now been sold; the reconditioned 1923 Bacon and Day with a new Stacy neck is still available.

© Richard Hawkins

Bob Everhart, 16 June 1936-20 Aug. 2021

The BIB learns with regret, from Richard Thompson's feature on Bluegrass Today, of the death of Robert Phillip 'Bob' Everhart, of the mid-western USA, a week ago at the age of 85 from heart complications. Bob Everhart was founder and president of the National Traditional Country Music Association, and was dedicated to preserving America's heritage of a wide range of tradition-based music. Richard Thompson's feature includes a comprehensive discography, and this intriguing passage:

As a result of an exchange of correspondence with a like-minded group in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Everhart took his music and ideologies to foreign shores. In 1978 he made his first of many tours to Europe with dates throughout the UK and in Germany. Other visits followed in quick succession. In all he made well over 20 concert tours of Europe, where he was presented with many various accolades over the years.

Does anyone recall the Belfast contacts? Bob certainly visited Dublin in (we think, but cannot at present confirm) 2000, when the US association SPBGMA held a European Bluegrass Band Contest in a hotel at Howth. The image above is from the cover of one of his albums, still available on Smithsonian Folkways Records.

© Richard Hawkins