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

Detached notes

Bluegrass Unlimited magazine's weekly newsletter no. 132 includes among other goodies a ninety-minute podcast featuring Greg Cahill, leader of Special Consensus; a Spotify playlist of recordings by the Country Gentlemen, and a link to the Bluegrass Unlimited archives for a major article from 1984 by Steven Robinson, 'The Country Gentlemen - In the truest sense'. The band then consisted (see album cover image, l-r) of Jimmy Gaudreau, mandolin; Dick Smith, banjo; Charlie Waller, guitarist and lead singer of the Gents throughout the band's existence; and Bill Yates, bass. Each member is interviewed at length about his career, his feelings about the band, and his attitudes to music, and it's a worthwhile read.

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Craig Shelburne on the Bluegrass Situation reports on the new exhibit at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, TN/VA. entitled 'I've endured: women in old-time music'. The article includes photos, a playlist, an introductory video (also on YouTube), and a discussion on the disadvantages still facing women.

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Also on the theme of what women have to endure: Gina Furtado, who has toured here on banjo with Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, has released a recording of the 1945 classic 'True life blues'. Full details are in the Mountain Home Music Company press release.

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The Kody Norris Show, headliners at the coming Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, will be hosting a release party for their new album Rhinestone revival on 2 June, just a week before Westport. More details are on the 2911 Media press release.

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The Gibson Brothers, who made impressive appearances at Omagh earlier this century, announce that they now have new merchandise, including t-shirts and trucker caps. The latter should sell well to bluegrassers and/or drivers in Britain, as they come with a conspicuous 'GB' logo on the front.

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The Fretboard Journal announces that its latest podcast has as the guest the musician, educator, and writer Cameron Knowler. FJ editor Jason Verlinde writes: 'Cameron has authored an instruction book that's unlike any we've ever seen and it has an equally unique title, Guitars have feelings too. In it, he does a deep dive into old-time and bluegrass rhythm guitar, with a focus on Norman Blake and all the music roads that led to his technique.' The book can be ordered from a link on the podcast page, where you can also download an excerpt from it.

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Finally, Bluegrass Today reports that the outstanding songwriter/ performer Larry Cordle has released a recording of 'The abduction of Antônio Vilas-Boas', based on the claim of a Brazilian farmer that he was abducted by aliens while working in his field. The song can be heard on Bluegrass Today and on YouTube. The BIB suggests that the Irish bluegrass scene's own resident Brazilian, Galway-based César Benzoni, should secure the rights to translate it into Portuguese.

© Richard Hawkins

Detached notes

John Lawless reports on Bluegrass Today that next month's Midwinter Bluegrass Festival in Colorado will be the first to be held without the founder, Ken Seaman (right), who with his wife Mary had organised the festival from 1986. Ken's death in September 2021 was greatly regretted here; he was well known in Ireland from several visits as banjo-player of the Bluegrass Patriots, who headlined the first Dunmore East festival in 1995. Ken's memory will be honoured at this year's Midwinter Festival (17-19 Feb.).

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The latest newsletter from the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, TN, announces a new special exhibit and travelling exhibition, 'I've endured: Women in old-time music', aimed at illustrating all aspects of women's contributions to old-time music and the society that produced it. The title phrase 'I've endured' comes from a song by Ola Belle Reed. Next week (10 Jan.) the Museum's visiting speaker will be Kristina Gaddy, on her recent book Well of souls: uncovering the banjo's hidden history (see the BIB for 26 Nov. 2022).

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The Mountain Home Music Company announces in a press release that Leaving is believing, the latest album by Ashby Frank (one of the many alumni of the Special Consensus) is scheduled for release on 20 Feb. 2023 and can be pre-ordered or bought in advance of that date; links for doing so are on the press release.

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A new book by Ron Block, who has played in Ireland as a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station and recently in a duo with Damien O'Kane, was published three months ago: Abiding dependence: living moment by moment in the love of God. It can be bought in paperback from the author at $15.00, or as an e-book from the publishers at $9.59. A brief TV interview with him about the book can be seen here or on YouTube.

© Richard Hawkins

The new year BU and BS

The cover story of the January 2023 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited is on David Parmley, whose performing career began as a teenage founder-member of the Bluegrass Cardinals with his father Don Parmley (see the BIB for 1 Aug. 2016). For mandolinists, there are articles on the late Herschel Sizemore and Larry Rice, their playing, their instruments, and their example; Kimber Ludiker, who toured Ireland in 2010 as fiddler for Amy Gallatin & Stillwaters, talks to BU editor Dan Miller about introducing kids to bluegrass; and the review section includes a warmly favourable review of the Foreign Landers' album Put all your troubles away.

The January issue is traditionally BU's festival issue, with features on individual events and the annual list of bluegrass festivals throughout the US and elsewhere. The list includes under 'Various locations' the Bluegrass Jamboree (Rainer Zellner's 'travelling bluegrass festival') and under 'International' just three other events, one in the Netherlands and two in Ireland: Dunmore East (with a picture of Long Way Home) and Westport.

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The January Bluegrass Standard, as the cover image shows, is dedicated to women in bluegrass music, with features on at least eight of the outstanding women currently performing, coupled with a giveaway of a Blue Ridge BR-40 guitar and gig bag to anyone who can name all the bluegrass women shown in the artwork - no easy task. More details are on the BS e-newsletter.

© Richard Hawkins

Wookalily: New Year greetings, and festival concert on 20 Jan. 2023

Belfast's Wookalily send New Year greetings in their latest e-newsletter, and their message is:

With all the strife on planet earth, now more than ever it's important to make plans, set goals, and dream big. It's not futile or wishful thinking, it's hope. In times like these it's music, art, comedy, and creativity that sees us through and keeps us all going. So this year don't hold back, because we certainly hope to meet 2023 with excitement and positivity.

Other goodies in the newsletter include a link to their video for 'Ghost', released at Halloween, and also on YouTube; and a further link to tickets for their show at the Black Box, Belfast, on Friday 20 January at 1.00 p.m. - part of the 18th Out To Lunch Festival in the Cathedral Quarter of the city. Tickets (£10) include lunch.

© Richard Hawkins

Smithsonian Folkways on Alice Gerrard and Jean Ritchie

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (SFR) present the video above: an animated interview with Alice Gerrard, in which Alice talks about her involvement with music and her collaboration with Hazel Dickens. This ties in with a recent seven-minute interview on PBS TV with Ali Rogin, 'Bluegrass icon Alice Gerrard on her trailblazing career'.

The SFR Facebook also recently features 'the mother of Folk' (and the person most responsible for spreading the use of the mountain dulcimer), Jean Ritchie of Viper, KY, and her recordings. From today (25 November) through midnight on Monday 28 November, everything in the SFR catalogue is 30% off with code BLACKFRIDAY2022.

© Richard Hawkins

The Big SHEbang Singer-Songwriter Spectacular

Thanks to Pam Gadd and Irene Kelley for separately sending information on the Big SHEbang Bluegrass Singer-Songwriter Spectacular, a three-and-a-half-hour show to be held in Dallas, GA (not TX), on 30 Oct. 2022, starting at 2.00 p.m., and featuring (see photo above, l-r) Irene Kelley, Donna Ulisse, Pam Gadd, and Becky Buller, four of the foremost women bluegrass singer/ songwriters.

The BIB sent Pam an e-mail (she is also a very talented banjoist), and she replied that she would personally love to visit Ireland, and that if anyone here would be interested in a visit by the Big SHEbang members, she could run it past them and see whether it could be done.

Passed to our major event organisers, promoters, and agencies for their consideration and (we hope) action, please.

Update 22 Oct.: The Big SHEbang has now been featured on Bluegrass Today in a detailed article by John Lawless.

© Richard Hawkins

Women's History [in Bluegrass] Month

The month of March is now Women's History Month, and the BIB can't do better than give a further reminder of Murphy Hicks Henry's ground-breaking book Pretty good for a girl: women in bluegrass, published by the University of Illinois Press in 2013. Mentioning it last year on International Women's Day (8 Mar.), we wrote:

At over 500 pages, it may need updating eventually but is otherwise unlikely to be superseded in the foreseeable future, and is strongly recommended. Bear in mind that this is not just a history of women in bluegrass - it's a history of the whole of bluegrass, as seen through the experiences of the women who took part in it. It includes, therefore, a great deal of information on the men in bluegrass and their careers, seen in a new perspective.

Pretty good for a girl is available from the publishers in paperback at $29.95 and as an e-book at $14.95. It can also be bought in paperback from (for instance) the Book Depository in Britain, who ship free to Ireland, for €26.52, or Amazon.co.uk for £22.65 plus postage.

© Richard Hawkins

Women who 'made bluegrass better'

The Bluegrass Situation website presents via its latest Weekly Dispatch newsletter an article by Craig Shelburne, listing ten women who, in his words, 'made bluegrass better' in the 1980s and 1990s. BIB readers with good eyesight will be able to recognise them from the album covers shown above: they are Emmylou Harris, Claire Lynch, Laurie Lewis, Alison Brown, Lynn Morris, Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Gillian Welch, Dale Ann Bradley, and Dolly Parton. The article, which is part of the Bluegrass Situation's 'Bluegrass 75' series, includes a YouTube recording for each of the ten.