Dublin bluegrass - alive and kicking!

The BIB editor reports:

On Friday night I had the pleasure of being at a jam session which, though private, was attended by many who go to the Dublin Bluegrass jam every Tuesday night at the Sin É bar (14-15 Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin 1).

Those taking part were musicians from the Dublin Bluegrass Collective, Bluestack Mountain Boys, Well Enough Alone, and New Breadwinners, and other pickers of similar calibre. A jam where everything is solid bluegrass and (in many cases) pretty deep-catalogue stuff, played with intensity, conviction, and impressive musicianship, is a potent experience. I remember especially a hair-raising Monroe composition, driven by twin mandolins.

And nearly everyone there - the admirable Anto Griffin and myself were the only 'old sweats' - had arrived on the scene within the last few years. On the strength of this evidence (which anyone can check by going along to the Tuesday sessions at Sin É), the future of bluegrass music in Dublin is in very capable hands.

*

Some of the atmosphere of the jam can be heard on an earlier home recording by the Bluestack Mountain Boys (Aran Sheehan, mandolin; Patrick Simpson, vocals, guitar; Luke Coffey, vocals, banjo; John Denby, mandolin; Hugh Taggart, vocals, guitar; Niall Hughes, vocals, bass). I'd specially recommend 'It takes one to know one' and (the real gem of the album, IMO) 'I just think I'll go away'.

Update 22 Dec.: Please note Patrick Simpson's message, appended below as a comment.