Lovin' you on CD Baby and YouTube

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

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.

Radio playlists

Kabel 87.5 MHz - Omroep Venray - Ether 90.2 MHz:
Peelgrass playlist 2627 (7 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.

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.

Danilo Cartia Band at Auditorium Due Pini, 11 Mar. 2010

The Danilo Cartia Band (I), led by banjoist Danilo Cartia, will be playing at 9.00 p.m. on Thursday 11 March in the Auditorium Due Pini, Via Zandonai, in north-west Rome. Admission: €10.

The Auditorium Due Pini presents a varied musical programme - other acts listed in the poster (left) are in the fields of flamenco, tango, mariachi, and the music of Simon & Garfunkel.

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

Jens Kruger, Kathy Mattea on new Si Kahn album

Strictly Country Records (NL) announce that Si Kahn's new CD Courage will be released this month as SCR-69. The album is produced by Jens Kruger, of the Kruger Brothers, who also plays all instruments. Backup vocals and liner notes are by Kathy Mattea. Pieter Groenveld of SCR says:

We are very proud of this new release. More details will soon be available.

A track from Courage can be heard through this link to the Utne Reader Music Sampler for March 2010.

Liz Meyer - latest health report

Liz Meyer, powerful singer/songwriter and one of the main moving forces behind the European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) Festival, has had major health problems during the last year. Her husband Pieter Groenveld sends this report from the centre where Liz is receiving treatment for cancer:

Liz has set her first steps this week, using a walker. Coming Sunday is her birthday, exactly nine months after arriving in the clinic here in Bad Aibling, Bavaria. We hope she can be moved to a rehab centre before too long, and that she will be home some time this spring. In the meantime she spends a lot of time and energy on the EWOB site and is communicating with lots of musicians and the EWOB committee on a daily basis.

The European Bluegrass Blog, on behalf of the EBMA and the bluegrass community throughout Europe, sends heartfelt good wishes for Liz's continued improvement and her eventual complete recovery.

Crooked Still in Europe, Mar. 2010: update

The tour schedule for Crooked Still (USA) which was published six weeks ago on the European Bluegrass Blog should have been twice as long.

Before the band (leaders in the field of 'alternative bluegrass') begin their dates in the UK and Sweden, they will be making five appearances in the Republic of Ireland, beginning on 15 March. This includes a slot on one of the longest-running programmes on the national TV station. Full details are on the Bluegrass Ireland Blog.

5th Camp of Musicians in Lower Tatras, Slovakia

Thanks to Roman Áč of Grasscountry (SK) for the report about this amaszing event in the hotel Kosodrevina, Low Tatras, Slovakia.

The initial idea of a Musician Camp in Hotel Kosodrevina, located in Low Tatras, Slovakia, was to organize a multigenre meeting for musicians formerly counting with number around 100 people. However, immediately after the first year of the event in 2005, to its organizers (Roman Áč and Jozef Černý) the genre orientation was absolutely clear: Bluegrass music. This kind of music is really strong in the terms of amount of musicians and fans in Slovakia and mainly in Czech Republic. So, the initially informal meeting of musicians developed into series of stage-performances of full bands. The overall sound was under control of excellent Jirka Elger.

The Fifth Anniversary year was extraordinary in character. There were 260 people participating. Saturday's "little stage" was opened in addition to the main stage and the first official guitar workshop was performed by Ralph Schut (G-Runs 'n Roses, CZ) and Ondra Kozák (Křeni, CZ). Also, there were more intensive jam sessions this time in comparison to previous years. One could say, that the Musician Camp in Hotel Kosodrevina gains its own prestige and slowly becomes one of the major festivals as are, for instance, Banjo Jamboree, Starej Dobrej Western and many others. In addition, it excels in its uniqueness. It takes place in the beginning of January – out of main season – and one can witness notable experiences there. This year, there were 26 bands from Slovakia and Czech Republic presenting their repertoire. Here are most memorable of them: excellent Monogram – accompanied also singer Pavlína Jíšová, Grasscountry, or 29 Strún (29 Strings) and also very interesting project called The Bricks.
The proof that the promoters did they job right are not only positive reactions on portals like bgcz.net, or instantly growing interest and sympathy, but mainly the satisfaction of attended musicians and fans, who won't forget any of this unique festivals. The love for bluegrass music is well-marked everywhere in "Kosodrevina".


More detailed information is available here.
The bands that performed at Fifth Musician Camp in Hotel Kosodrevina: MINARET(CZ), CANDY FLOSS(SK), UNION CITY GRASS(SK), IMPERIAL(CZ), GRASSCOUNTRY(SK), MONOGRAM(CZ), BLUELAND(SK), GOODWIL(CZ), HOLY WATER(NL), THE BEE LINE(CZ), GRUNT(SK), STRESSED HEDGEHOD(SK), TIEŇ(SK), ŠIDLO(SK), VIAGRASS(SK), THE BRICKS(SK), PAVLÍNA JÍŠOVÁ(CZ), FRÝDA & COMPANY(CZ), VODOPÁD(SK), TAVERNA(CZ), BLUE GATE(CZ), 29 STRINGS(SK), PEŤO LUHA and FRIENDS(SK), COP(CZ) and G RUNS & ROSES(CZ))

Pictures will follow.

Chatham County Line nominated for top Norwegian award

Thanks to Dagfinn Pedersen and the Flyinshoes Review americana webzine for the news that US band Chatham County Line (left) has been nominated for Norway's most coveted musical honour, the Spellemann Prize.

Brother of song, their collaboration with Jonas Fjeld, is nominated for Country Record of the Year. The awards ceremony is to be held in Oslo at the Spectrum on this coming Saturday, 6 March.

While in Norway, the band will also be performing in Drammen (Friday 5 March) and Oslo (Sunday 7 March).

Deadline for Bluegrass Europe

Paolo Dettwiler, editor of the EBMA magazine Bluegrass Europe, says:

If you have any news items, concert dates, feature articles, or anything relevant to the next issue of Bluegrass Europe (April-May 2010), please e-mail it to me by 5 March 2010 - thanks!

Tony Furtado plays in England, Sat. 10 Apr. 2010

Graham Buckley informs us that after his session teaching at Sore Fingers Week (5-9 April), Tony Furtado (USA) (left) will be performing his only UK gig on this visit at the Verge, Cheshire Ring, 72 Manchester Road, Hyde, Cheshire SK14 2BJ, on Saturday 10 April at 8.30 p.m.

Tickets at £10 are available from the venue or on Ticketline. Door price is £12. Tony played this venue in November last year and wished to do a repeat gig there. Enquiries: telephone +44 07802 293 854/0161 368 8769, or e-mail Graham Buckley.

EWOB Festival programme now online

The main stage programme for this year's European World of Bluegrass (EWOB) Festival (13-15 May 2010) at 't Trefpunt, Voorthuizen, the Netherlands, can now be seen on the EWOB Festival website.

Thirty-six bands from thirteen European countries will be performing, together with two acts from Canada and four from the USA. The evening concerts on the three successive days of the Festival will be closed by Hungry Hill (Canada), the Kathy Kallick Band (USA; see photo above), and Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa (USA).

Businesses already registered to take part in the Trade Show section of the Festival include Boetzkes Snaarinstrumenten, Martin’s Musikkiste, the New Acoustic Gallery, Prucha Bluegrass Instruments, Runesson Handmade Guitars, Strictly Country, and Wim van de Weg's Used and Vintage Instruments. The workshop schedule and other events at 't Trefpunt will be announced shortly.

4 Wheel Drive at Toogenblik, 5 Mar. 2010

Bluegrass in Belgium announces:

Don't miss Four Wheel Drive in concert at Toogenblik this Friday.
Four Wheel Drive is one of Europe's top bluegrass bands.
And Toogenblik is the greatest place to enjoy acoustic music.

Friday 5 March at 20:30
Toogenblik
Cortenbachstraat 11
1130 Haren-Brussel
Belgium

The Grascals at Albisgütli, 26 Feb. 2010

Thanks to Lilly Pavlak for taking these and other photos at the 26th International Country Music Festival at the Schützenhaus Albisgütli, Zurich, Switzerland, during the concert on Friday 26 Feb. 2010 - the first of two special Bluegrass Nights, headlined by the Grascals (USA), during the 38-day festival. On 27 Feb. the supporting band was the Bluegrass Family (CH).

The Challenge, a young band from Switzerland; other photos of the show are on their website

The Grascals

More photos by Lilly can be seen here, including individual shots of the Grascals.

Danilo Cartia band in Rome, 11 Mar. 2010

The Danilo Cartia Band will be playing on Thursday 11 March 2010 at the Auditorium Due Pini, Via Zandonai 2, Rome (Vigna Clara)

For forthcoming appearances by the Danilo Cartia Band, see the EBB post of 16 Feb. Danilo Cartia and Rome Bluegrass Jam are also presenting the concert by Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum on 16 Mar.

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

Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum in Europe, March 2010

(photo: Hali McGrath)

Following the news posted on the EBB on 27 January, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum (USA) are scheduled to play a total of eight shows in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland this month. As a duo, they will be playing

Fri. 5 Mar. Hotel zur Post, 89340 Leipheim, Germany, 20:00
Sat. 6 Mar. Rathaus, 71171 Murr, Germany, 20:00
Tues. 16 Mar. Cantine Blues, Via della Batteria Nomentana 66/68, Rome, Italy, 22:00

In all the following shows, they will be playing with Red Wine (I). Laurie & Tom add:

We are happy to have been chose by this great band to help them celebrate their anniversary, and play a few other concerts besides!

Fri. 12 Mar. Folk Club, Turin (Torino), Italy, 21:30
Sat. 13 Mar. Weisse Berge und Blaues Grass, WSI, Kammistrasse 11, Interlaken, Switzerland

Sun. 14 Mar.: Bluegrass Jamboree, Amigdala Theatre, Viale Lombardia 31, 20056 Trezzo sull'Adda (between Milan and Bergamo), Italy. As the poster (left) shows, the lineup includes Once in a While (Milan) and Bononia Grass (Bologna/Genoa). Doors open at 19:00 and the show starts at 20:00. Admission is €15; a 'Country Barbeque), for an extra €10, can be booked in advance at 331 966 3821. Thanks to Paolo Ercoli of Bononia Grass, who sends us the information of this great event.

Fri. 19-Sat. 20 Mar.: 2nd Red Wine Bluegrass Party, Teatro della Gioventù, Via Cesarea, 16121 Genoa (Genova), Italy, 21:00. Tel. 0108936326; fax 0105848721 (see the EBB for 23 Feb. 2010).

Music Contact: March newsletter

The poster for Uncle Earl's March 2010 tour of Australia

Rainer Zellner sends the February 2010 newsletter for his Music Contact agency, which now has Mike Marshall (USA) and the Toy Hearts (UK) on its roll of artists.

Tours are being planned for Uncle Earl (May 2010), the Toy Hearts (summer 2010), the Wilders (October 2010), the Infamous Stringdusters (Jan.-Feb. 2011), and Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike (May 2011). Dates currently scheduled for Uncle Earl are:

29 Apr. franz k, 72762 Reutlingen, 20:30
30 Apr. Wodan Halle, 79098 Freiburg
1 May Jegelscheune, 90530 Wendelstein, 20:00
2 May KFZ, Marburg, 20:00
6 May KULT, 97996 Niederstetten, 20:00
7 May Club Bastion, 73230 Kirchheim/T., 21:00
8 May Schweizer Landwirtschaftsmuseum Burgrain, CH-6248 Alberswil (bei Willisau), Switzerland, 20:00
9 May Ev. Kirche, 56335 Neuäusel, 17:00
10 May Neue Welt, 85049 Ingolstadt, 20:30
14 May Bürgerhaus, 77815 Bühl, 20:00
15-16 May Karl May Fest, 01445 Radebeul
17 May AmVieh-Theater, 07616 Beulbar (with Fox Tower Bluegrass Band), 19:30
20 May Ratssaal, 28816 Stuhr, 20:00
21 May Aula der Emsschule, 26789 Leer, 20:00
22 May Jazztime Open Air Festival, 31141 Hildesheim, 16:00
23 May Hamawe Roots Festival, B-6760 Virton, Belgium, 20:30

The Wilders are at present booked for

2 Oct. Country Festival, Grindelwald, Switzerland
9 Oct. Albert Einstein Forum, 41564 Kaarst, 20:00
13 Oct. Offenburg, TBA, 20:00
14 Oct. franz k, 72762 Reutlingen
15 Oct. Schwarzer Hasen, 88239 Wangen, 20:00

This year's Bluegrass Jamboree! is booked for

3 Dec. franz k, 72762 Reutlingen, 20:00
4 Dec. Löseke, Hildesheim, 20:00
5 Dec. Theater, Eisleben, 20:00
14 Dec. Haus der Kultur, 84478 Waldkraiburg, 20:00
16 Dec. Lokschuppen, 89522 Heidenheim
18 Dec. Basel, Switzerland, TBA

Rainer Zellner
Music Contact Roots Music Booking and Production
e-mail
Sign in here for Music Contact's USA Roots e-newsletter. YouTube, video, and other media links on the artists presented are on the Music Contact website.

Wayward Drifters in Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, 18-28 Mar. 2010

Thanks to Rienk Janssen for the news that J.B. Beverley & the Wayward Drifters (USA) will be playing in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany this month on the dates listed below. The touring band consists of J.B. Beverley (acoustic guitar, lead vocals), Dan 'BanjerDan' Mazer (banjo, dobro, mandolin, backing vocals), and Johnny Lawless (upright bass).

Dan Mazer would also be glad to be able to borrow or rent a banjo from a Netherlands musician, for use on the tour. He adds: I recall that one of the pickers there... has Ben Eldridge's old Stelling Staghorn. It would be fun to play that banjo on a tour! Contact Dan via e-mail.

18 Mar. Thea Tielemans, Molenstraat 7, 5427 PV Boekel, Netherlands; 0492 324103; 8.00 p.m.
19 Mar. Stichting Paradiso, Weteringschans 6, 1017 SG Amsterdam, Netherlands 020 6268790; 8.00 p.m.
20 Mar. Koninklijke Harmoniezaal St Cecilia, Kerkstraat 27, 3560 Lummen, Belgium; 0479 32 95 91; 8.00 p.m.
21 Mar. Gemeenschapscentrum De Kriekelaar, Gallait 86, 1030 Brussels (Schaerbeek), Belgium; 02 245 75 22; noon
21 Mar. Ace Café Rumst (MySpace), Hollebeekstraat 4, 2840 Rumst, Belgium; 477 582 261; 7.30 p.m.
22 Mar. Antik-Cafe-Bistro, 17 Heyenheimer Weg, 61200 Wölfersheim, Germany; +49 60360982276; 9.00 p.m.
23 Mar. Den Eik, Singel 35, 2275 Gierle, Belgium; 014 55 32 22; 9.00 p.m.
24 Mar. Burgerweeshuis (MySpace), Bagijnenstraat 9, 7411 PT Deventer, Netherlands; 0570 619198; 9.30 p.m.
25 Mar. Dynamo, Catharinaplein 21, 5611 DE Eindhoven, Netherlands; 040 2393110; 9.00 p.m.
26 Mar. 013 Popcentrum, Veemarktstraat 44, 5038 CV Tilburg, Netherlands; 013 4609500; 9.30 p.m.
27 Mar. Stichting Metropool (with Tommy Ebben and the Small Town Villians), Wemenstraat 38, 7551 EZ Hengelo Ov, Netherlands; 0548 544422; 8.00 p.m.
28 Mar. Den Bromfiets (The Motorcycle Café), Harentstraat 51, Bonheiden 282, Belgium; 015 33 14 39; 1.00 p.m.
28 Mar. Bacchus Café, Rozendaal 2, 2440 Geel, Belgium; 014 58 34 83; 8.00 p.m.

ETSU band for Europe, Jan. 2011?

Cindy Musselwhite of the Musselwhite Family Bluegrass Band writes:

Hi Everyone!

I hope you've not forgotten us... It has been about five years since we left Europe.

Morgan, my oldest daughter, and fiddle player for our band (Musselwhite Family) is currently on scholarship at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the bluegrass program. She is a sophomore (second year) and working with some incredible musicians. Right now her teacher is Hunter Berry (fiddler for Rhonda Vincent).

She has great memories of her time in Europe traveling and performing with her family at many of your concerts, and now she would like to come back over for tour with her current band of ETSU students. They are looking at early January next year, just before semester starts up again.

I'd like to know what might be available, who has interest in booking them for some shows - I know they'd love to do Schütte-Keller in Deutschland, something in Spain, Scotland, etc... Any contacts you could send would be appreciated.

You can see some of them performing at the Down Home on this YouTube clip. You can hear Morgan on our website also. This CD was cut about three years ago. Anyway, they are super and I know you'd love them and I look forward to hearing from you. All the best,

Cindy Musselwhite (e-mail)
The Musselwhite Family Bluegrass Band
'... Pickin' and grinnin' our way into your hearts'

Bordergrass - a new festival in England, 30 Apr.-1 May

Thanks to FOAOTMAD, the UK old-time music association, for passing on this news:

Sue Edwards of UK Autoharps informs of a new music festival: the 2010 Bordergrass Music Festival, held Friday 30 April-Saturday 1 May. This is at Hopelands Hall in the village of Weobley, Herefordshire, famous for its picturesque setting, and the centre of the ‘Black and White’ villages in the area.

There are evening concerts both days, and also free workshops on the Saturday afternoon with Mike Fenton, who is bringing 35 autoharps for new players to try. There are also workshops from Sarah McQuaid on DADGAD (Irish) Guitar and Old Time Band from the New Prohibition Band.

The Friday concert line up is the New Essex Bluegrass Band, Sarah McQuaid, the New Prohibition Band, Mike Fenton, and the Toy Hearts. The Saturday concert is the same lineup apart from the Toy Hearts, but also includes Hilary James & Simon Mayor [see photo above], and the Carrivick Sisters.

Details re camping and caravans, ticket prices, etc., are on this website, or phone +44 (0)1544 327936.

This new festival is a varied one, a blend of old-time, bluegrass, and folk, with a great lineup for the concerts, so do have a look at the website for full information.