Cedar Hill tour: '... it couldn't have gone better'

Anyone who saw Cedar Hill at the Omagh festival, or their subsequent shows in Cork and Wexford before going to Britain, is likely to have strong and happy memories of these occasions. We're delighted to hear from Frank Ray (left), leader of Cedar Hill, that the tour 'couldn't have gone better' for them. Frank says about Omagh:

We could not have been treated better or our music received better... We made many new friends and look forward to a return performance. Please tell the folks hi for us.

We also had a simply outstanding experience in Wales at the Gower Bluegrass Festival. It seems that we were the first US group to appear at that Festival. The fans were simply overwhelming in their wonderful response to our Ozark bluegrass music. We also gained wonderful friends there that we will never forget.

I found both Ireland and Wales to be every bit as beautiful as I had imagined and then some. Even the weather was very cooperative for us. We did have a few rainy days but it absolutely did not dampen the fans' enthusiasm for us or our music. We sold out of all the product we had available for sale, which is a great problem. LOL! We also had about a dozen days of sunshine with temperatures in the 70° Fahrenheit range which felt perfect to us.

Two years ago, Frank became a member of America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame in LeMars, Iowa, in recognition of his four decades as a prime mover in traditional bluegrass in the Mid-West.

The only shadow on Frank's Omagh experience is that a jacket which he left at one of the venues in the Park went missing with a hearing aid in the pocket. If this has not already been returned, please send any relevant information to the Ulster American Folk Park.