Roger Ryan's 'Country Cuts', Sept. 2019

Thanks to Roger Ryan of the Country Music Association of Ireland for the September 2019 issue of his 'Country Cuts' e-newsletter. It's a bumper issue, with several items likely to appeal to bluegrass fans:

• Master banjoist Mike Scott from Nashville will be featured on the upcoming fifteen-day tour of Ireland and Britain with the Irish band Stephen Rosney & the Back Axles (in which Evan Lyons is the regular banjo player). Nashville fiddler Travis Wetzel will also be featured on the tour, which will begin on 12 September. A highlight will be the three days 17-19 Sept., performing at the Irish National Ploughing Championships with an estimated audience of 320,000. Throughout the tour Mike Scott will be performing music from his four Rural Rhythm albums.
• Ken Burns's eight-part TV series devoted to the history of country music will be screened on PBS Channel (174 on Sky) with four episodes on Sunday 15 September, one on the following Sunday (22 Sept.), and then one episode each on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. To mark the first launch on public television, a first live viewing and celebration event will be held at the Opry House, Nashville, on Sunday 15 Sept.
• The 18th Irish Steel Guitar Festival (which includes dobros) will be held at the Green Isle Hotel, Dublin, on 12-13 Oct. 2019.

The newsletter can be read in full here.

The Back Axles, with Evan Lyons (far right) on 5-string banjo