Joachim Cooder (USA) at Whelan's, Dublin, 31 Aug. 2023

Thanks to Whelans of Wexford St., Dublin 2, for the news that Joachim Cooder will be playing there on Thursday 31 August, backed by Mark Fain (bass) and the splendid Rayna Gellert (fiddle). Tickets (€27.50) can be booked here.

Joachim Cooder, as son of Ry Cooder, has been immersed in roots and world music all his life. His 2020 album Over that road I'm bound was a 'repurposing' and 'reimagining' of the music of Uncle Dave Macon. A single from the album, 'Come along buddy', can be seen on Whelan's press release and on YouTube, with his father playing 5-string banjo. The title track, 'Over the road', is on YouTube in two versions: one showing the song being recorded, and a brief version with animation (and banjo).

A brief note to Whelan's - Uncle Dave was not exactly an 'Appalachian banjo picker'; he was raised in central Tennessee, and the time his family (of French Huguenot descent) had spent in the mountains was passing through on the journey from North Carolina.

© Richard Hawkins