14 August 2018

Ulster American Folk Park ready for three-day lineup of international and local bluegrass talent

The Henry Family Band join the lineup of this year’s Ulster American
Folk Park Bluegrass Festival: (l-r) James, Olivia, Colin, Janet

Thanks to Gillian Grattan for this press release on the 27th Annual Bluegrass Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone:

The toe-tapping rhythms of mandolins, fiddles, and guitars will be heard at the Ulster American Folk Park later this month as it tunes up for the 27th Annual Bluegrass Music Festival. Taking place from Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September, the Festival will bring award-winning American, Canadian, and European bands to Omagh, as well as acclaimed acts from across Ireland.

Headliners include International Bluegrass Music Awards multiple nominees Darin & Brooke Aldridge - one of the hottest young acts in acoustic music in the US – as well as traditional music veterans Mike Compton & Joe Newberry and English band Old Baby Mackerel.

Other big names from the US include Demolition String Band, multi-talented duo Fellow Pynins, and Oregon's Whiskey Deaf, while the Festival kicks off on the Friday with the Ontario band Allen Family Reunion which originally formed in 1980. Now reunited and joined by the original band members’ grown up children they have created a blend of fresh sounding yet traditional music.

Belgian band Old Salt Collective and English newcomers Midnight Skyracer, an all-female five-piece bluegrass band, whose youngest member is Armagh native Tabitha Agnew, and Glastonbury veterans Two Time Polka will join the non-stop music marathon of live acts performing across the Folk Park over the weekend.

Local acts will also take to the stage during the three day festival including Co, Down troupe the Henry Family Band. This foursome is at the forefront of the bluegrass and roots music scene across Ireland, featuring the stellar voice of Janet Henry and the Dobro flourishes of husband Colin, accompanied by their highly talented children James and Olivia.

Co. Armagh band Northern Exposure, which has been a pillar of the bluegrass scene in Ulster for over 20 years, joins the lineup on Saturday ahead of Co. Down favourite Geordie McAdam, while the Broken String Band, also from Co. Down, is back to delight fans for another year. Talented singers from Fermanagh and Omagh make up the Bluegrass Festival Choir which will perform on Saturday evening.

Visitors can also wander around the Folk Park’s exhibit buildings and bring their own fiddle or banjo for a jam session in the Pickin’ Patch in the Pennsylvania Barn, or join Mike Compton and Joe Newberry in the McConversation in the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies to learn more about their musical lives on Saturday.

This year’s festival concludes on Sunday with an atmospheric Spirit of Bluegrass Concert featuring Darin & Brooke Aldridge in the unique setting of the Folk Park’s eighteenth-century Old Meeting House.

Richard Hurst, Visitor Services Manager at the Ulster American Folk Park, said: 'The Bluegrass Music Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park is an event like no other in Northern Ireland’s calendar of family entertainment. The three days of music set against a backdrop of Ulster American history make this late summer festival a unique experience for all our visitors.

'Nominated for Best International Festival at the 2017 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, the event is a fantastic weekend break or day out for newcomers, families and devout music fans of all ages.'

He added: 'I hope that this year will bring even more new visitors to the Ulster American Folk Park and a new generation of bluegrass fans to our event.'

This year’s Bluegrass Music Festival is supported by funding from Tourism NI and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.

Aine Kearney, Business Support and Events Director, Tourism NI, said: 'Tourism NI is pleased to support the Bluegrass Music Festival and - now in its twenty-seventh year - this is a well established event, attracting both local and international visitors. Events such as the Bluegrass Festival are firmly established within our tourism fabric, adding value to the positive perceptions and profile of our destination, and have been recognised as having an important role in contributing to the economy.'

Chairman of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Howard Thornton said: 'The Bluegrass Music Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park is one of the most popular festivals of its type in Europe. Folk Park organisers, such as Richard Hurst, ensure that the festival patrons have been regularly exposed to the best exponents of bluegrass music from across the globe and consequently the festival has always attracted large crowds to the Ulster American Folk Park and to the district. It has also been a hugely significant contributor to the local economy over the years, and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is once again delighted to be a festival sponsor.'

The Festival kicks off on Friday 31 August, with performers from 2.00 p.m. until late. On Saturday music will start at 12.30 p.m. and continue until midnight. Sunday’s programme will run from 12.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. For further information on the Festival and to book online, visit www.nmni.com/uafp or call Telephone Ticket Hotline on 028 8224 3292.

Camping facilities are available. Performance areas include Downtown Country Stage, Tattyreagh Self-Drive Stage, Fermanagh & Omagh District Council Stage, Signal Signs Stage, and the Silverbirch Main Stage. Additional venues include the Pickin’ Patch (Pennsylvania Barn), the Old Meeting House, and the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.

Band bios
Old Baby Mackerel (England): They play good, old-fashioned songs about whisky, murder, and railroads played at 500 bpm. Expect furiously fast, knee-slapping bluegrass, mixing skilful musicianship, five-part harmonies, and raucous, over-the-top hillbilly antics. Band lineup: Six Toe Sam (banjo), Wheel-Barrow Bill (bass), Pastor Willie McFiddle (fiddle), Little Wesley Williams (guitar), Wild Tim-on-the-Plains (mandolin)

Darin & Brooke Aldridge (USA): The duo has placed several tracks at the top of the charts on Americana/Roots, SiriusXM, Bluegrass and Gospel charts. They have received multiple nominations from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPGBMA) and Inspirational Country Music (ICM). Darin and Brooke combine rich harmonies with musicianship to create the unmistakable sound that has made them one of the hottest young acts in acoustic music.

Mike Compton & Joe Newberry (USA): Masters of old-time mandolin and banjo and guitar who dig deep into early country music and blues. Mike Compton is a Grammy award winner and IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year nominee and was a sideman for the great John Hartford for several years. Known far and wide for his banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a prizewinning guitarist, songwriter and singer.

Old Salt Collective (Belgium): The eleven musicians pull their influences from the streets of New Orleans up through Appalachia to the folk revival of the North Eastern States, to the many sounds from old Europe where the band currently resides in Ghent, Belgium.

Demolition String Band (USA): They juggle banjo, mandolin, and guitars while weaving rustic, taut harmony vocals with tall tales and truth, joy and heartbreak, despair and redemption. Band lineup: Elena Skye and Boo Reiners

Fellow Pynins (USA): a duo creating spine-tingling songs with their spell-binding harmonies and musicianship. Band lineup: Ian Van Ornum (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Dani Aubert (banjo, bouzouki, vocals)

The Henry Family Band (Co. Down) – The married couple from County Down are at the forefront of the bluegrass and roots music scene across the island of Ireland featuring the stellar voice of Janet Henry and the Dobro flourishes of husband Colin accompanied by their children James and Olivia. They are long-time partners of the Festival.

Allen Family Reunion (Canada): opening the Festival weekend and hailing from Ontario, Canada, high-quality and fresh-sounding traditional bluegrass standards. Band lineup: John P. Allen, Joe Allen, Julie Allen, Paul Hickling, Bev Allen

Midnight Skyracer (UK): a new all-female five-piece bluegrass band playing hard-driving traditional and modern classics, lesser-known songs, and a few originals featuring an all-star line-up of some of the UK and Ireland's top instrumentalists and singers. Band lineup: Leanne Thorose (vocals, mandolin), Tabitha Agnew (vocals, banjo), Laura Carrivick (vocals, fiddle, dobro), Charlotte Carrivick (vocals, guitar), Eleanor Wilkie (vocals, double bass)

Two Time Polka (Co. Cork): veterans of Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, and Omagh Bluegrass Festival. They play Cajun rhythms, punchy vocals and brilliant musicianship combines with a swing-sound that defies toes to tap and makes dancing infectious.

Whiskey Deaf (USA): from Portland, Oregon, playing traditional bluegrass, old-time, and early country music. Band lineup: Annie Staninec (fiddle), John Kael (guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass).

Tabitha Agnew: Tabitha is the youngest member of Midnight Skyracer and member of acclaimed NI bluegrass band Cup O’ Joe. Not only is she an incredibly talented banjo player, but she also has a beautiful, delicate singing voice. Tabitha can usually be heard performing with her two brothers in the Northern Ireland based band Cup O' Joe, with whom she has performed all over the world, including being the only UK band to ever perform on the IBMA World of Bluegrass Youth Stage in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Northern Exposure: The Co. Armagh band have been pillars of the bluegrass scene in Ulster for over twenty years. With a sound embracing modern and traditional forms of bluegrass, they are regularly in the lineup at the Ulster American Folk Park International Bluegrass Festival. The band's core consists of the twin brothers Patsy Toman (lead vocals, guitar) and Peter Toman (double bass, vocals) with Pete's son Jonathan (5-string banjo, guitar).

Additional events
Sat. 1st Sept. The McConversation, featuring Mike Compton & Joe Newberry
1.00–2.00 p.m., Mellon Centre for Migration Studies
A unique opportunity to sit for an hour in the company of Mike Compton & Joe Newberry. Asking the questions will be our festival compere of twenty years standing, Frank Galligan.

CLOSING EVENT
Sun. 2nd Sept. Spirit of Bluegrass Concert featuring Darin & Brooke Aldridge 6.30– 8.00 p.m., Old World Meeting House
The Festival draws to a close in the 18th-century-style Meeting House with its thatched roof and boxed pew seats where Darin & Brooke Aldridge and their multi-talented band will share their deeply rooted respect for the bluegrass gospel music tradition.
Ticketed event £15; booking essential

Full lineup Friday–Sunday
Headliners

Fri. 31 Aug. Old Salt Collective (Belgium)
Sat. 1 Sept. Darin & Brooke Aldridge (USA)
Sun. 2 Sept. Compton & Newberry (USA)

Demolition String Band (USA)
Fellow Pynins (USA)
Whiskey Deaf (USA)
Allen Family Reunion (Canada)
Midnight Skyracer (England)
Old Baby Mackerel (England)
Two Time Polka (Co. Cork)
Northern Exposure (Armagh)
Broken String Band (Co. Down)
Geordie McAdam (Co. Down)
The Henrys (Co. Down)
Bluegrass Festival Choir (Fermanagh & Omagh)

Opening times, ticket prices and accommodation
Fri. 31 Aug. 2.00–11.30 p.m., Sat. 1 Sept., 12.30-11.30 p.m., Sun. 2 Sept., 12.30–6.30 p.m.
Tickets from £15 to £48; camping facilities available
Bookings: www.nmni.com/Whats-on or call 028 8224 3292

Labels: , , , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home