Sharon Cort Band: 'Kiss the Banjo' tour in Europe, May-June 2010

The Sharon Cort Band on an earlier tour: Bill Keith, Jeff Wisor, Sharon, Ernie Sykes, and Butch Baldassari in Basel (photo: Lilly Pavlak)

The Sharon Cort Band will begin their 'Kiss the Banjo' tour with their first appearance as guest artists at the European World of Bluegrass Festival (13-15 May 2010) in Voorthuizen, NL. They follow this with over a month of shows in France, Switzerland, Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe.

Sharon is known for her powerful, sensitive vocals, her original songs, and her top-notch band members. Previous tours by the SCB have included the largest country music festival in France, Country Rendez-Vous at Craponne, and a 2007 national television appearance in Paris on 'Magic TV', with founding members of the classic French band Bluegrass Long Distance. Preliminary dates for the present tour are:

May 14 EWOB, Voorthuizen NL
May 16 Stichting Boet'n Deure, Poolshoogte, Bosw, Meelkerlaan 5, Staatsbossen van Oodorn, NL; tel: +0031 (0) 599 850361
May 22 Country Festival TBA Paris, France May 25-31 Ireland dates TBD
June 3 Country & Bluegrass Festival, Montgeron, France
June 4 Country Western Festival, Montigny sur Lioge, France
June 18 Col Des Roches Festival, Hotel Jet d’Eau, Le Col 15 2400 Le Locle, Switzerland; tel. +41 32 931 46 66

Sharon Cort website; MySpace; e-mail

Read the full press release on the tour here. For further information, contact
Terry Harkleroad, Mitero Entertainment, +1-888-301-3529; e-mail.

Jens Krüger banjo workshop. 28 Mar. 2010

Thanks to Paolo Dettwiler for the news that during the forthcoming European tour by the Krüger Brothers, banjo maestro Jens Krüger will give a banjo workshop at the Stiftung zur Palme, Hochstrasse 31-33, 8330 Pfäffikon ZH, about 30 km east of Zurich, Switzerland.

The workshop will be held on Sunday 28 March from 10:00 to 14:00, and will cover the development of arrangements and solos, instrument set-up, timing, speed, backup techniques, banjo styles, and music theory for the bluegrass and country player.

Admission costs 90 Swiss francs. Non-banjo-players are welcome! For more information contact Hans Looser by telephone (+41 (0)79 359 24 03) or e-mail.

Radio playlists

Kabel 87.5 MHz - Omroep Venray - Ether 90.2 MHz:
Peelgrass playlist 2630 (14 Mar. 2010) Country Programme
PeelGrass is now also broadcast on Huissentv (the Netherlands). The programme supports the European World of Bluegrass Festival.

Radio Vrolek, 107.7 MHz; local cable 105.5 MHz; Information TV-channel 2:
Country Music Round-up playlists, Tues. 19.00-20.00, Sat. 12.00-13.00

Radio Free FM Ulm, UKW 102.6:
Americana playlist* 317 (8 Mar. 2010). Friedrich Hog reports: 'Next week, Peter Wroblewski will be the host, while I'm in Berlin for the Country Music Messe.'
Antistatic Country Time playlist 22 Feb. 2010

* Programmes in this series are broadcast live on Radio Free FM and Countrymusic24.com and will be repeated on Countrymusic24.com on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. (European Continental time) in future, instead of Tuesdays at 5.30 p.m. as heretofore.
Antistatic Country Time can be heard on Radio Free FM's live streaming Digital Audio Lounge.

Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum in Rome, 16 March 2010

Danilo Cartia & Rome Bluegrass Jam present Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum on Tuesday 16 March 2010 at 22:00 in the Cantine Blues, Via della Batteria Nomentana N.66, Rome, Italy.

As shown on the European Bluegrass Blog on 1 March, Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum are a week into their current tour in Europe. Today (Sunday 14 March) they head the lineup for the Bluegrass Jamboree at the Amigdala Theatre, Viale Lombardia 31, 20056 Trezzo sull'Adda (between Milan and Bergamo); and on 19-20 March they will be special guests at the 2nd Red Wine Blue Grass Party at the Teatro della Gioventù, Via Cesarea, 16121 Genoa (Genova).

Congratulations to the LBG class of 2010!

The International Bluegrass Music Association is proud to announce the graduating class of Leadership Bluegrass 2010.

Leadership Bluegrass 2010, hosted 9-11 March at BMI in Nashville, Tennessee, was facilitated by Fred Bartenstein, a noted bluegrass historian and professional meeting facilitator, who was also the chosen moderator for the IBMA's International Bluegrass Summit of 2008 and for the first European Bluegrass Summit in 2009.

The 2010 class includes Chris Keenan of the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival, held annually in Longford, Ireland, since 2002. Chris is the only European entrant this year and one of only three class members from outside the USA. In the above photo by the IBMA's Nancy Cardwell, Chris is second from the right in the second row from the front. More details will be appearing on the IBMA website.

Danilo Cartia Band at Rignano Flaminio, 17 Mar. 2010

The Danilo Cartia Band (I) will be playing at 'Blue Frets' on 17 March 2010 (St Patrick's day) at 22:00, in St James’s Irish Pub, Via Flaminia Km 39.100, in the town of Rignano Flaminio, north of Rome on the SS3 (Via Flaminia).

Danilo Cartia: Website
MySpace
Facebook: Danilo Cartia
e-mail
ph. / fax +39 06 8273332
mob. +39 339 6908450

Sophia Johnson at Irish National Guitar Festival

The Irish National Guitar Festival, featuring many genres of music, will be held at Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland, from Wednesday 7 April to Sunday 11 April 2010. Among the guitarists taking part is Sophia Johnson (right; photo by Jeff G Photography) of the Toy Hearts bluegrass band (UK): Sophia will be playing twice daily in the Yamaha Clinic slot on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the Festival. More details are on the Festival programme.

Also taking part in the Festival will be Tom Hanway & his Bluegrass Pals. Tom (USA; resident in Ireland since 2003) was on banjo with Carmel Sheerin & the Ravens when they received the award of #1 European Bluegrass Band at the EWOB Festival in 2005.

"Bluegrass Routes" A Bluegrass Music Trivia Game

How long have you been waiting for a bluegrass music trivia game? Well...it took Bob Iery, of Maysville, Kentucky USA four years of research, concept development and design to invent what appears to be the first-ever bluegrass board game. It was released late last month (February 2010).

Bluegrass Routes is a bluegrass trivia board game somewhat similar to the various 'trivial pursuit' types of games. There are 1200 questions divided into 5 categories: Legends & Pioneers, Brothers & Misfits, Songs, Bands & Bandleaders, and Sidemen. The game board measures 20" x 20" (50.8cm x 50.8cm) and is a 'quad-fold' game board (folds into quarter sections). Also included are 20 'Instrument Cards', playing pieces and one die. The object of the game is to form a five-piece bluegrass band as you travel along the "Bluegrass Routes." The game can be played by 2 or 4 players.

Bob Iery is a retired teacher and a bluegrass fan for 40 years. "I'm not the greatest picker, but I wanted to do something that would help promote our wonderful music, and give bluegrass fans something other than records to be entertained by."

In the tradition of Bluegrass music, this is purely a grassroots project. There is no corporate involvement. Bob is the sole developer and investor. He is distributing the game directly from his home.

Mr. Iery is aware of the popularity of bluegrass music in foreign lands. In a recent email he stated, "I didn't consider shipping overseas at first, but I have seen several top European bands at the IBMA Fan Fest and knew it was popular over there." Bob told me this week that he will indeed ship the game to any European bluegrass fans who may be interested.

The board game sells for $29.95 (USD). You may purchase a copy, or email Mr. Iery with questions at his website: http://www.bluegrassgame.com/ .

It's fun, it's educational, it's portable (for those bluegrass road trips) ... and it's bluegrass!

Life is good!!

Lovin' you on CD Baby and YouTube: update

Lilly Drumeva writes from Bulgaria:

Dear friends,

My new album Lovin’you is now available on the internet through CD Baby.

You may watch a video on YouTube of the song 'If I needed you', duet with Jakub Racek (CZ).

Lilly Drumeva
Lilly of the West
e-mail
M: +359 888 660 990

Update 12 Mar.: Erio Meili of the Sao Paulo Bluegrass Music Association in Brazil sends his translation from Portuguese into English of a short original review of Lovin' you, written by Quesia Nunes, singer for the Brazilian band Bluegrass 4 union (MySpace):

I enjoyed the CD overall. It is the first time I am listening to a CD of that singer, and enjoyed it very much. Her smooth voice timbre is pleasant, and the choice of repertoire has a very good taste! I found the tracks in Bulgarian being different and bold!... and it shows the pride from her roots. The music that I liked most on the CD was 'Red clay halo'... and also the Bill Monroe song 'Cry, cry darlin''. I think it's wonderful to hear bluegrass from other regions of the world. Each country and interpreter is giving its touch. I loved the CD and I will recommend it to bluegrass lovers... and I will do more follow up on Lilly Drumeva's career.

The original review by Quesia Nunes can be read here.

New mandolin improvisation book

Spencer C. Sorenson of Bluegrass Music Denmark writes:

One of our former members, Jesper Rübner-Petersen, now living and teaching mandolin in Germany, has just had a book on bluegrass mandolin improvisation published by Mel Bay in the United States. It is a well written, thorough book that mandolin players at many levels can learn a lot from. The book contains 200 pages, and comes with a CD, where the numerous examples all can be heard. Jesper has made a MySpace page about the book. We are extremely proud that one of our native sons has produced such a fine bluegrass work.

The book can be ordered from the Mel Bay website, where full details can be found.

Kudos for Acousticure

Congratulations to Acousticure from Hungary, current #1 European Bluegrass Band, whose CD Bluegrass van (Gryllus Records GCD 073) has been reviewed in the March 2010 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. The reviewer, Bill Conger, writes:

This acoustic quartet demonstrates the worldwide influence of bluegrass music. Labeled a Hungarian bluegrass band, I really would not have known these guys were from across the pond... tight vocals and superb chops... make this album a must have for your collection.

Another European reference in the same issue of BU: David McCarty's article on Chuck Ogsbury of Ome Banjos mentions the 'eighty-year-old Swedish woodworker' in Ogsbury's home town of Louisville, KY, who helped him get started in building banjos. Perhaps Swedish bluegrassers should identify and commemorate this craftsman as a Bluegrass Pioneer?

Lineup for 11th Spring Bluegrass Festival, Willisau

Paolo Dettwiler reports:

The talent committee of the Spring Bluegrass Festival in Willisau, Switzerland, have announced the lineup for their 11th edition on 8 May 2010.

The festival takes place on two stages and presents a colourful variety of musical styles focusing on bluegrass music.

Uncle Earl (USA)
Kathy Kallick Band (USA)
Red Grass (CAN)
Sacred Sounds of Grass (D)
Bluegrass Cwrkot (CZ)
Viper Central (CAN)
MoonRise (CH)

For further information, see the festival website or contact me directly by e-mail.

Karl May Festtage 2010

Thanks to the organisers of the 19th Karl May Festtage (14-16 May 2010) in Radebeul, Germany, for the news that this year's event includes a Bluegrass and Country Festival, with Uncle Earl (left) at the head of the lineup. The schedule includes:

Sat./Sun. Uncle Earl (USA)
Sat./Sun. Wade Fernandez (USA)
Sat./Sun. Zydeco Annie & Swamp Cats (D)
Sat. Jimmy Bozeman & the Lazy Pigs (USA, CZ, D)
Sat. The Road Brothers (D)

MC: Herbert Graedtke

For more information, see the Karl May Festtage website and/or contact

Amt für Kultur und Tourismus
Altkötzschenbroda 21
01445 Radebeul
Tel: +49 (0)351 8311 624 bzw. 0176 9697 8258
Fax: +49 (0)351 8311633

Toy Hearts: March 2010 newsletter

Thanks to Sophia Johnson of the Toy Hearts (UK) for the four-page March 2010 issue of the band's magazine-format, fully illustrated newsletter, which includes the big news that their third album, Femme fatale, is scheduled for release in June 2010 with distribution from a record label. The Toy Hearts will be touring in the UK and Europe during the summer in connection with the new album before their next trip to the US.

Other features include the band's endorsement of BlueChip picks (also featured in the March 2010 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine); Hannah's new Collings mandolin; and many photos from the Bluegrass Jamboree tour in December, and from the Femme fatale recording sessions. The list of forthcoming appearances on page 4 includes the Picnic Festival at Namur, Belgium (3-5 September 2010).

View the Toy Hearts' March newsletter here.

New CD from Blackjack

Blackjack at Bühl, 6 Feb. 2010, during the 2nd European Bluegrass Summit (photo: Lilly Pavlak)

Thanks to Ondra Plucha for the news that Blackjack (CZ) will begin recording a new CD next week for release at the beginning of May. It will be available at the EWOB Festival 2010 in Voorthuizen, NL.

The album features the lineup (Ondra Plucha, guitar; Martin Kubec, banjo; Slavek Podhrasky, mandolin; Richard Podhrasky, bass) which Blackjack have kept for ten years, plus Ondra Kozak on fiddle. Ondra, who plays guitar with Kreni and the Petr Brandejs Band, took part in Blackjack's previous CD and has became a steady guest of the band. Karel Zacal (dobro player of Kreni and also producer of Coner resonator guitars) plays dobro on some cuts. The material of the recording is based on forgotten songs from 1950s bluegrass, as usual with Blackjack. Along with previous recordings, it will be available at Blackjack's live shows or from their website.

Blackjack will perform this year at the EWOB Festival in Voorthuizen, NL on 14 May (they received an Audience Popularity Award there last year); at the Banjo Jamboree festival in Caslav, CZ, on 18-19 June; at the Appalachian & Bluegrass Music Festival, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland on 3-5 September; and hopefully as well for the first time at the La Roche Bluegrass Festival in France on 29 July-1 August.

Contact: Ondra Plucha
Vaclava Trojana 1483/3
104 00 Praha 10
Czech Republic
e-mail
Website | MySpace

Sue Woodward

Stephanie P. Ledgin sends the sad news that Sue Woodward of North Carolina passed away peacefully on Tuesday 2 March at 9.30 a.m., after a long fight against cancer. A memorial service will be held on Saturday 13 March at 11.00 a.m. at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, 504 W. Chapel Hill St., Durham, N.C.

Stephanie describes Sue as 'one of the hugest fans of bluegrass and folk music you could ever imagine', who was living in Italy in the early days of Red Wine, and was responsible for helping the band's guitarist at that time, Beppe Gambetta, to begin his career in the US. Stephanie, who took over Beppe Gambetta's bookings and management from 1989, says: 'I don't think Beppe (or Red Wine) could have a bigger or better fan... and friend [than] Sue Woodward.'

Beppe was able to be at Sue's side on Monday 1 March to offer one last private concert. Read Stephanie Ledgin's full account here.

Hickory Project in Europe from July 2010

Thanks to Lilly Pavlak for the news that Hickory Project (USA) will be performing at the 2010 La Roche Bluegrass Festival (28 July-1 August) in La Roche-sur-Foron, Haute Savoie, France, where they will also be teaching at the instrument and band workshops.

Hickory Project will arrive in Europe on 25 July and would welcome the opportunity to perform in Europe before and after the La Roche festival. If you can offer a booking, please contact the Project's mandolinist, Anthony Hannigan, by e-mail.

Bluegrass in the Netherlands

Rienk Janssen reports:

The 17th Annual Picking Party on 16 January in Leiden was a great success. Pictures are to be found here, here, and here. On YouTube you can find some video fragments.

In Valthermond, on 27 March, there will be another picking party, called Northern Picking, with a lot of sessions, and possibly a banjo workshop by Bruno van Hoek.

The weekend of 20-22 August the third 'Ins Blaue Hinein' instructional program will be held in the German Eifel mountains, hosted by Paul van Vlodrop, Peter Broekhuijsen, Bruno van Hoek and Elly Beurskens. E-mail: Paul van Vlodrop, Elly Beurskens.

The Stroatklinkers will go for a short tour to England in May.