The Local Honeys back in Ireland in October

The Local Honeys (Linda Jean Stokley and Montana Hobbs) from east Kentucky, who made a big impact at the 13th Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival (2019) and other appearances in Ireland, will be back in Ireland this autumn. At present their online tour schedule lists only a show in the Sound House, Dublin, at 7.30 p.m. on Thurs. 26 Oct., but the website of the Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo town, shows them appearing there the following night (27 Oct.) with Niall McCabe. We await details of any other shows they may be playing in Ireland around those dates.

© Richard Hawkins

A major anniversary belatedly celebrated

Last Friday (11 August) was the forty-fifth anniversary of a milestone in the history of live bluegrass and related music in Dublin. A 'milestone' for two reasons: it was the first public performance by what can be considered the Sackville String Band Mk III (Niall Toner, mandolin; Colin Beggan, guitar; Bill Whelan, bass; Richard Hawkins, banjo), re-formed with a more bluegrassy orientation (as compared to Mk I and Mk II); and secondly it was, as far as the present writer is aware, the first grassroots attempt to present a prominent American bluegrass musician on a Dublin stage. A surviving ticket from the occasion reads:

DUBLIN FRIENDS OF BLUEGRASS AND OLD

TIME COUNTRY MUSIC

Present

BLUEGRASS CONCERT

Featuring Ace American Guitarist

DAN CRARY

Supported by SACKVILLE STRING BAND

TAILORS HALL, CHRISTCHURCH PLACE, DUBLIN.

Friday 11th August 1978.                                                   8.30 p.m.

Tickets £1.

The concert was made possible by the late Frank Robinson of Derry, who was a good friend of Dan Crary. Unfortunately we have no photos of the occasion, but the photo above right shows Dan in the 1970s.

© Richard Hawkins

The Purple Hulls (USA) in Newry, 15 Aug. 2023

Thanks to Nigel Agnew for the news that The Purple Hulls (Penny Lea Clark Gimble, guitar/ mandolin, and Katy Lou Clark, banjo/ guitar), raised on a family farm in east Texas, will be performing in Newry on Tuesday 15 August at 8.00 p.m., at a free concert in Riverside Church, Basin Walk, Newry. Nigel adds that they hope to have their brother, Banjo Ben, with them on this date - both, however, are very capable instrumentalists and their close, warm vocal harmony is all one would expect from twin sisters. Examples of their music are on their website and Facebook. Their Newry appearance follows two shows in Finland.

© Richard Hawkins

Noriana Kennedy in top traditional quartet, London, 28 Sept. 2023

On 19 Jan. the BIB post included the announcement by Music Network, Ireland's national music development organisation, that Noriana Kennedy of The Whileaways would be touring Ireland in February as a member of a select traditional music quartet: Noriana (vocals/banjo), Oisín MacDiarmada (fiddle), Mirella Murray (accordion), and Donogh Hennessy (guitar). Following the success of that tour, Music Network now announce that the quartet (above) will reunite on 28 Sept. for a special concert at the Irish Cultural Centre in London. Tickets (£6-£15) can be booked on the Music Network website.

© 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

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

'Dirk in Down' by Frank Galligan

Thanks to Frank Galligan for this review of the concert by Dirk Powell and his daughter Amelia (above) in Rathfriland, Co. Down, on Sat. 10 June:

Thanks once again to Andy Peters and Frontier Promotions. Another great gig in lovely Rathfriland where Dirk and Amelia Powell blew us away. They were on a busy Irish tour and heading early the following morning to Doolin in Clare, and we were so privileged to have them up north in a venue where I recently saw the versatile Richard Hurst, architect of Bluegrass Omagh, bring the house down with his one-man show 'The specialist', set in the Appalachian Mountains in 1929. Richard hilariously plays the title role of Lem Putt, expert in the art of privy making, who has to sell the idea of outdoor WCs to sceptical mountain folk! Another string to a well lauded bow for Richard.

The Appalachians play a huge part in Dirk Powell’s life too, as does Cajun music. Amelia’s mum is Christine Balfa, daughter of the legendary Dewey, about whom father and daughter spoke with great affection. Dirk recalled nervously playing his first set for Dewey Balfa, whose reaction prompted Christine to say: 'Dad, that’s mean!' Dewey replied: 'I mean to be mean!' They got on famously thereafter. Dirk plays accordion, fiddle, and banjo, while Amelia plays guitar and has a voice that soars, to complement the beautiful Mourne Mountains outside. When she sang the haunting 'Assume the worst', you could hear a pin drop.

What adds greatly to Dirk’s performances are his thoughtful and compassionate stories... you’re compelled to listen. Dirk’s fiddle was bought by his paternal grandfather, Kentuckian James Clarence Hay, for five dollars in 1920. He also discovered - to the delight of his audience - that his ancestors hailed from County Down, and that one, James Green, not only got thrown out of church twice for playing fiddle, but got blown up while operating a moonshine still!

Dirk soaked up the songs his grandad passed down — including tunes like 'Pretty Polly', 'Down in the willow garden', and 'Knoxville girl', all of which describe women meeting brutal deaths at the hands of their lovers. Although Powell adored his grandfather’s unique version of 'Pretty Polly' (the first song on his most recent CD), as he was singing it on a particular day, he realised such violence is often all too real. 'I thought about my daughters and my grandmother and other women in my life, and I just thought, "I’m not giving glory to these antihero violent men in these songs anymore." I just could not allow the words out of my mouth again. I stopped in the middle of the song.' Instead, he wrote 'I ain’t playing Pretty Polly', which he duets with Rhiannon Giddens, in which he vows: 'No more tales of women killed by drunken violent men/ They don’t deserve their stories told, I won’t raise my voice again.' Now, he travels with Amelia, and although the past permeates their voices and instruments, the present is acknowledged... and must be. For the old and beautiful to survive, the warts must be removed every so often.

As father and daughter reminded us that ‘Reuben’s train’ is ninety-nine coaches long, we all went full steam ahead with them, knowing we were in the safe hands of a damn good brakeman - described by Steve Earle as an 'artist of unique vision and unbending integrity'.

© Frank Galligan

Double Header concert at Dungarvan, 13 June 2023

Thanks again to John Nyhan for this poster image and information on the Double Header concert to be held at the Copper Buoy Bistro & Wine Bar, 86 O'Connell St., Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, on Tuesday 13 June at 8.00 p.m. John adds these details of the musicians:

The Demolition String Band, based in Hoboken, New York, feature:
Elena Skye on mandolin, guitar, and vocals.
Boo Reiners on banjo, mandolin, guitar, and vocals.
Sam Barnes on fiddle.
Their music is rooted in bluegrass, country, and mountain music.
_________________________________
Ray Barron is the wonderful mandolin player and leader of the excellent Two Time Polka.
Hank Wedel is a great guitarist and singer. He is one of the finest exponents of roots music and a fabulous entertainer.
Robbie Barron (Ray's son) is a great guitarist and is much in demand as a session musician.
______________________________________
This double act should make an incredible concert. Booking is advisable.
Tel. 087 604 0542 or 087 792 1771

BIB editor's note: The Demolition String Band have often played in Ireland in the past. More information about them, with a video of their 'Sailor girl', is on the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival website. The dates for their current tour here (8-18 June) are on the BIB calendar.

© Richard Hawkins

News of US bands coming to Westport

Fog Holler, from the vigorous acoustic music scene in Portland, OR, will be playing at the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival three weeks from now, as part of a tour of Europe that began on 2 May. Earlier this week their manager Kianna Mott-Smith contributed to Bluegrass Today the first instalment of a commentary on the progress of the tour, together with eight photos taken during travel or shows. In the first week they played in the Netherlands, Germany (including Bühl, the main south German bluegrass festival), and Switzerland.

From tomorrow, Fog Holler will be playing ten dates in Belgium and six in the Netherlands (including the Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival), five in Germany (including Grevengrass, the main north German bluegrass festival), two in Britain, and three in Ireland:

• Fri. 9th-Sun. 11th June: Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival
• Tues. 13th: The Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
• Wed. 14th: The Moorings, Bellanaleck, Co. Fermanagh

The photo above right shows Lilian Sawyer (fiddle), Tommy Schulz (guitar, vocals), Casey James Holmberg (banjo, vocals), and Noa (bass).

*

Thanks to 2911 Media for the news that the Kody Norris Show, who close the Saturday night concert at Westport, will be hosting this coming September the Mountain City Fiddlers' Convention in Johnson County, TN - the first time the convention has been held since 2019. Kody Norris, a native of Johnson County, says: 'Growing up in Mountain City, the fiddlers’ convention has always held a special place in my heart. Some of the greatest fiddlers in history got their start right here. Mary Rachel [Kody's wife and the band's fiddler] and I never dreamed we would be hosting this event but are super excited to breathe some new life into this Northeast Tennessee treasure.'

© Richard Hawkins

Watery Hill Boys at The Moorings, 20 May 2023

Thanks to Sharon Loughrin of the Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, for this news of:

... a special night being organised by Hilda Watson in memory of her late husband John to raise funds for the palliative care unit in Enniskillen. It will be an excellent night as the Watery Hill Boys are playing and it's a great cause.

The Moorings (also on Facebook) is an award-winning restaurant at 156 Derrylin Rd, Bellanaleck, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh BT92 2BA, and tickets (£15) include a light supper. Sharon adds:

It's a lovely spot on the shores of Lough Erne and the owner is keen to run some bluegrass nights. We went to meet him as he wanted some advice. Charlie seems a genuinely good fella who will look after the musicians; we have sent a couple of bands to book with him.

For the legacy of John and Hilda Watson to bluegrass in this island, see the BIB for 22 May 2022.

© Richard Hawkins

Nickel Creek (USA) at the NCH, Dublin, 30 Aug. 2023

Several mentions of Nickel Creek and their new album Celebrants have appeared on the BIB recently, so thanks to Owen Brady for sending the news that the titanic trio of Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, and Sean Watkins are scheduled to play at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, on Wednesday 30 August at 8.00 p.m., in a Main Stage concert entitled 'Perspectives'. Tickets (€45, €40, €35, €27.50) can be booked here or via the link on Nickel Creek's online tour schedule. The concert is their only date in Ireland, and is the fourth in a European tour of six shows.

© Richard Hawkins

Niall and the NTB at Walkinstown, 8 Apr. 2023

Thanks to Niall Toner (right), who sends this mp3 of his original 'Million dollar bill', together with:

... just a note to say that the Niall Toner Band, with special guest Andrea Booth, will be performing at Paul Lee's venue The Cherrytree in Walkinstown, Dublin, on Saturday 8 April. Current lineup includes Johnny Gleeson on Dobro and vocals, Andrea Booth on ukulele and vocals, Dick Gladney on upright bass, and Gerry Madden on mandolin. I'll be playing guitar and singing a range of new and old songs, and there might even be a surprise guest, or two!

© Richard Hawkins

Roger Ryan's Country Cuts, March 2023

Thanks to Roger Ryan of the Country Music Association of Ireland (CMAI) for the current issue of his 'Country Cuts' newsletter, with a quota of bluegrass and bluegrass-related news. The contents include details of the massive lineup of this year's MerleFest (27-30 Apr. 2023) in North Carolina; the Legends of American Country Show at Cork's Everyman Theatre (Sun. 26 Mar.); Record Store Day 2023 (Sat. 22 Apr.); Two Time Polka's March gigs; the plans of Garth Brooks for one (or possibly two) duet albums; The Chicks' 2023 world tour, which will see them at Dublin's 3Arena on 30 June; and a gig this coming Friday (24 Mar.) by The Raines (Ruth Dillon, Julia Erkonnen, and Yvonne Tiernan) at Seachurch, Ballycotton, Co. Cork.

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

© Richard Hawkins

Lily Sheehan backs Deirdre Murphy at Listowel TOMORROW (16 Mar. 2023)

St John's Theatre and Arts Centre, Listowel, Co. Kerry, announces that Deirdre Murphy, 'songwriter, singer, choreographer, dancer, playwright, designer, and sartorial adventurer', will be playing there tomorrow night (Thurs. 16 Mar.) with her band. St John's e-newsletter says (links added by the BIB):

She will be joined by phenomenal multi-instrumentalists Jason McNamara (Acid Granny) and Lily Sheehan (Mules & Men). The trio delivered an electric set at the 2022 Electric Picnic, and and have been winning hearts and minds ever since. They will be performing music from Deirdre's debut album Matriotism, as well as an eclectic mix of additional original music with loop station, spoken word, and a cappella singing.

The photo above shows Lily (right) with Deirdre Murphy. The BIB congratulates Lily on making her talents felt in a new field.

© Richard Hawkins

Durrow MIni Bluegrass Festival, 5-6 May 2023: a reminder

Thanks to Tony O'Brien for this reminder:

Woodbine host mini Bluegrass Festival May 5th & 6th in Bob's Durrow, Co. Laois, featuring High Plains Tradition (Colorado) both nights supported by the Gill Family on the 5th and Woodbine on the 6th. Tickets €20 per night or €30 if you book the two nights. Booking essential as it's a 50-seat venue. Pickin' session on Sat. all day.

For more details, see the BIB for 3 Feb. and 13 Feb.. The concert venue, 'Bob's Hideaway', is shown above.

© Richard Hawkins

Westport 2023: concert, workshops, and square dance tickets

The organising team of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival (9-11 June 2023) announce:

Tickets for all festival events are now available via the festival's website. As in previous years, most of the festival gigs are free to the public, and each night there will be one fully ticketed and fully seated concert.

Fri. 9 June, 8.00 p.m., Westport Town Hall: Celebration of Old Time Music, €25: Austin & Courtney Derryberry with special guest Greg Reish / Bill & The Belles

Sat. 10 June, 8:00 p.m., Westport Town Hall: It's All About Bluegrass, €25: Melody Walker & Jacob Groopman / Fog Holler / The Kody Norris Show

* Friday and Saturday combo ticket €45

Sun. 11 June, 9.00 p.m., Matt Molloy's Yard Bar: The Folky Thing, €20: Irish singer/ songwriter and fiddle player Niamh Dunne (right)

Sat. 10 June, 12.30 p.m., Westport Town Hall: workshop €10: Restoring the Haley Family recordings, with Greg Reish

Sat. 10 June, 2.30 p.m., Westport Town Hall: workshop €10: Fiddle workshop with Austin Derryberry

Sun. 11 June, 4.00 p.m., Clew Bay Hotel (back room): Square dance €10

© Richard Hawkins

More detached notes

Bluegrass Today reports a major bluegrass event in Prague, CZ, in mid May, when Rosťa Čapek, one of the leasing Czech luthiers, is celebrating his 55th birthday and the fifth anniversary of his wedding with a constellation of US bluegrass artists. Tickets have been on sale since 8 February; more details are available on Bluegrass Today and on the Čapek website.

*

The Deering Banjo Company has published online a list of bluegrass festivals throughout the USA and abroad. NB: in some cases - especially affecting events outside the USA - Deering had not been able to get this year's dates, but have given details for last year so that anyone who might be in that area can look out for the 2023 dates.

*

Pinecastle Records announce a new single from Dale Ann Bradley, 'Love train', and the prospect of a new eleven-track album, Kentucky for me, for release later this year. More details are on the Pinecastle press release.

*

On No Depression, Grant Britt reviews Living in a song, the latest album by Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley. The review includes two videos of numbers from the album.

© Richard Hawkins

High Plains Tradition top the bill at Durrow Mini Bluegrass Festival, 5-6 May 2023 (update)

When Tony O'Brien announced (see the BIB for 3 Feb.) that the Mini Bluegrass Festival on 5-6 May at Bob's Bar, Durrow, Co. Laois, would have a top headline act, he was not kidding. Tony has now given out the main details of the event: the headline act will be the magnificent High Plains Tradition (above) from Colorado, making their sixth tour of Ireland. They will play both evening concerts, supported on Friday 5 May by the Gill Family Band (Cork) and on Saturday 6 May by Woodbine (Athy). Concert tickets are €20.00 per night per person, or €30.00 per person for both days; booking (085 165 6685) is essential as the concert venue holds only fifty people. Pickin' sessions will continue throughout Saturday.

High Plains Tradition are on the bill at the Cahersiveen Mountain Roots Music event for Sat. 29 April. Their online schedule shows their tour as lasting from 28 April to 8 May; no further details are available at present, but the BIB will publish any further dates as soon as they are received.

Update 7 Mar.: The complete schedule for the High Plains Tradition tour is on the BIB calendar, having been posted on 3 Mar..

© Richard Hawkins

I Draw Slow at the Workman's Club, Dublin, 17 Feb. 2023

Thanks to Dave Holden for the news that on this coming Friday (17 Feb.) Dublin's new-time string band I Draw Slow will be in concert at the Workman's Club, 10 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2. from 7.45 to 11.45 p.m. Tickets can be booked through Eventbrite, where there is a location map and a video (also on YouTube) of their 'About a bird in an airport terminal'. The band will be playing songs from their brand new self-titled album on Compass Records (right), released before Christmas.

© Richard Hawkins

Foghorn Stringband in Ireland, 4-13 May 2023

The BIB learned shortly before Christmas that the Baltimore Fiddle Fair at Baltimore, Co. Cork, will be presenting this year (4-7 May 2023), among many other artists, two leading acts from the old-time scene in the USA: the Foghorn Stringband (above) from Portland, Oregon - 'quite possibly the most popular band we've ever had at the festival' - and the fiddle-and-banjo duo of Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves.

We're delighted to be able to announce now that the Foghorns are scheduled to play five further dates in Ireland after the Fiddle Fair, as follows:

• Tues. 9th May: Raheen House Hotel, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
• Wed. 10th: Colfers Pub, Carrig-on-Bannow, Co. Wexford
• Thurs. 11th: Seamus Ennis Arts Centre, Naul, Co. Dublin
• Fri. 12th: The Red Room, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone
• Sat. 13th: The Beehive, Ardara, Co. Donegal

Links for online booking are on the Foghorns' website. At present no dates in Ireland around the time of the Fiddle Fair have been announced for Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves. However, according to the FOAOTMAD news blog, their UK tour doesn't start till 16 May.

© Richard Hawkins