With another successful festival weekend under their belts, Uri Cohen and his small hard working committee can be justifiably proud of their twentieth event! Fittingly, they mounted a nostalgic exhibition of posters and memorabilia spanning the twenty festivals and commemorating people who we have lost over that time. The standard of the acts across the long weekend was as good as we have come to expect and the ancillary events were more extensive than usual, to mark the special anniversary.
Thursday night’s concert in the Town Hall was particularly anticipated by Irish bluegrass afficionados, as it marked the first appearance of the newly formed Clem O’Brien Band. Clem’s father Tony ran the Athy Bluegrass Festival for many years, as well as fronting the bluegrass band Woodbine (which included Clem and sister Nicola). Now Clem has returned to form his own band, still with father Tony on rhythm guitar and vocals. Upright bassist is Dick Gladney, who played with Clem in the Niall Toner Band, and prior to that in The Flint Hill Boys. Gerry Madden, also an alumnus of the Flinthill Boys, completes the lineup on mandolin. They didn’t disappoint. They played a tight and varied set of gorgeous, unhurried bluegrass that ranged from Bill Monroe instrumentals and songs (including the high tempo Tennessee Blues), through early country classics (Pete Goble’s Only A Phonecall Away, Elvis’s When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again, Hank Snow’s Cross the Brazos at Waco), bluegrass classics (Larry Stephenson’s The Many Hills of Time), pre-bluegrass Monroe Brothers (The Long Journey Home) and Clem’s original song, The Cheatin’ Side of Town. It was a pleasant surprise to see that Clem has now added the dobro to his ordnance, and his singing and playing are better than ever. Mason Via had the unenviable task of following Irish bluegrass royalty, but this 30 year old North Carolina native is already a graduate of Old Crow Medicine Show, and his stagecraft and original material are up there with the best of progressive bluegrass and folk music. Accompanied only by his wife, Waverley, on fiddle and vocals, the duo played a selection of Mason’s songs from his two solo albums, interspersed with some Appalachian classic folk and old time songs. They were joined by friend Tyler Hughes (here with The Empty Bottle String Band) on clawhammer banjo for a few numbers. One of the joys of festivals such as this is the collaborations of artists from various bands, sometimes planned, sometimes spontaneous. Tonight both bands came together at the end for a wonderful rendition of Mason’s Oh Lordy Me, followed by Will The Circle Be Unbroken, complete with spontaneous instrumental breaks from most of the musicians.
As has become the tradition, Friday night is Old Time night and the Town Hall was long sold out for three top notch bands from the US. Madeline Dierauf & Jackson Grimm treated us to their magical, delicately wrought and performed folk songs, interspersed with old time tunes. In a surprise addition they were then joined by Irish old time performers, father and son Ben & Caolán Keogh on banjo and fiddle, to finish off an impressive set with the lonesome There Ain’t No Ash Will Grow. Next up, the Empty Bottle String Band from East Tennessee showed why they are one of the top old time dance & string bands in the Appalachians, and they were greeted with much whoopin’ and hollering’ from the well educated Westport audience. Lead by the aforementioned multiinstrumentalist Tyler Hughes, the fiddle player, Todd Meade is a former Clinch Mountain Boy. Top of the bill were the masters of the tradition, Mike Compton & Joe Newberry. Compton is a mandolin maestro, with a huge list of achievements gained since he was mentored by Bill Monroe as a youth. Newberry has an equal list of achievements, being a songwriter, clawhammer and guitar player and music historian. Songs included the lonesome train song Cherry River Line, the instrumental Old Melinda and a haunting rendition of the ‘traditional’ Careless Love, all interspersed with insightful anecdotes. Together they are mesmerising, and their set was over far too soon. As we have come to expect, all three bands came together on stage for a final fling, which included some spontaneous Appalachian flatfooting.
Friday saw the launch of a new festival venture, simply called The Literary Event, and one which we hope will become a fixture. Ably hosted by the IBMA’s Nancy Posy, it saw three authors of recent books on various aspects of bluegrass - Dr Lee Bidgood (ETSU), Prof Pete Ward (Durham University) and Kristina R Gaddy (whose recently published book on early black music was co-written with Rhiannon Giddens) - discuss in depth various themes associated with their research, including the connection with religion.
Saturday was a busy day, with multiple ancillary events to partake in and enjoy, most of which were free to attend. The Academic Symposium this year focussed on the connection between traditional music and religion, and a panel of academics/musicians from the various strands of Irish traditional and American traditional music came together for another fascinating discussion. There were instrumental workshops given by some of the world class musicians attending the weekend, various organised and spontaneous sessions throughout the town, and the Red Room Mystery Gig in Matt Molloy’s. The Town Hall gig tonight concentrated on bluegrass. Bigtooth from Wisconsin opened proceedings. Next up, bassist Vickie Vaughn, on her first international appearance with her own trio, blew the audience away with her sassy personality, backed up with her musicality and vocals. She played a lot of the self-penned songs from her recent solo album (she’s better known as a member of High Fidelity and then Della Mae), accompanied by stellar banjoist Justin Hiltner and guitarist Jack McKeon. Their set veered into almost rockabilly territory at times, and at other times they became sentimental on her moving ballad Mama Took Her Ring Off Yesterday. She left the audience wanting more, such was the impact of her all too short set. The Alex Leach Band including the outstanding Brady Wallen on banjo, closed the night with their blend of authentic traditional bluegrass and lore.
Those who could get up in time on Sunday attended the always popular Gospel Hour in the historic Holy Trinity Church, this time it was opportunity to enjoy the Alex Leach band doing a fully gospel set. The energetic attended the Square Dance, called by Tyler Hughes, with music provided by his Empty Bottle String Band. Mighty craic was had. Ireland’s Luke Murray filled the folk slot in Matt Molloy’s on Sunday night, the last official fixture of the weekend.
In addition to the Town Hall gigs, there is a whole host of free gigs in some of the great pubs in the boutique town, on all four nights of the event. Every year there’s a surprise or two, and this year was no exception. The standouts for this writer were the Reedy River String Band, a high energy string band trio out of Greenville, N Carolina. Their high octane sets consisted of manic extended renditions of rock, pop and prog rock classics, all done jam band style with superb musicianship. Big Love Car Wash also impressed, in a similar vein. And the local wonderful Rocky Top String Band continue to be a delight. Blouser’s Bar was the venue for old time sessions every night, and especially on the Sunday afternoon wind down with Tim Rogers & friends. And everywhere, throughout the weekend, there were sessions/jamming both day and (late) night, and the smiles of satisfied punters. Don’t forget to put June 10-13 into your calendar for 2027.
Report by Eilís Boland Photos by Eilís Boland and Teresa Mullen