Releases by past and coming US visitors

Appalachian Roadshow (above), who will be headlining Bluegrass Omagh 2020, were formed in 2018 by Barry Abernathy (banjo) and Jim VanCleve (fiddle) - who will be remembered by those who saw Mountain Heart at Longford years ago as the only members of that band that were still identifiably bluegrass. Appalachian Roadshow (also on Facebook) were a sensation from the outset and have since gone from strength to strength. Their second album, Tribulation, is scheduled for release on 27 March, and a single - 'Goin' to bring her back', a hard-driving VanCleve original - was released on Thursday (6 Feb.). It can be heard on John Lawless's feature on Bluegrass Today.

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Fast Track (see the BIB for 1 Dec. 2019) released their debut single 'Blue and lonesome again' - a Ron Spears original - in mid January. A 45-second clip can be heard on Bluegrass Today, and more details are there, as well as on press releases from the Engelhardt Music Group and the Wilson Pickins Agency.

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Sideline, whose first tour of Ireland last July was organised by mygrassisblue.com, released on 10 Jan. their fifth album, Breaks to the edge. The twelve tracks include the evocative tribute to the late Melvin Goins, 'Return to Windy Mountain'. More details are on this release from the Mountain Home Music Company.

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'Your remarkable return', recorded by Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, who toured here last autumn, went to #1 on the Bluegrass Today weekly charts last month. This makes it the fourth track from their album The choosing road to reach the #1 position. More details are on this release from (again) the Mountain Home Music Company.

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And finally - the Steep Canyon Rangers from Asheville, NC, who will be playing in Dublin and Belfast a month from now as part of 'The Funniest Show In Town At The Moment', the comedy show of Steve Martin and Martin Short, are releasing on 6 Mar. their eleven-track album Be still Moses, featuring orchestral arrangemens (with the Asheville Symphony) of some of their most successful songs, and a collaboration with Philadelphia soul group Boyz II Men. More details are here.