Tullamore The Merrier

If you’re heading to Longford for the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival, you need to reset your satnav and go to Tullamore instead. After a decade in Longford, the festival has relocated to the Offaly town.

The reluctant decision has been taken to move to Tullamore, where at least there was the offer of some financial support. So let’s applaud Chris Keenan for making the tough decision to leave a town that had been home to the festival in favour of one where a little more respect was forthcoming.
Leaving aside political machinations and turning our attention to the line-up, we find ourselves in altogether more cheerful territory as the hordes of Atlantic-crossing, Channel and Irish Sea-defying old-timers, bluegrassers, redneckers and ordinary decent banjo aficionados can look forward to one of the festival’s most promising bills yet.
This year the festival runs Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 September. Headlining the festival’s main venue, The Tullamore Court Hotel, are the Barcelona Bluegrass Band, Blackjack, George Harper and Friends and Bending the Strings (20), Suzy Bogguss, We Banjo 3, Electric Ceili and Chris Meehan And His Redneck Friends (21), Blue Highway, Mundy, Gerry O’Connor and Niall Toner (22) and Paul Brady, Don Rigsby and Charlie Sizemore, Beoga and the winner of the busking competition featuring in the closing concert (23).
There’s also a programme of sessions and workshops throughout the weekend. Tenor banjo tutors will include: Gerry O’Connor, Enda Scahill, Liam & David Howley, Tom Cussen. Guitar tutors will include George Harper, Tim Stafford, Charlie Sizemore, Rick Shea with other workshops still to be confirmed.
Heading off to the US straight after the Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival, the Niall Toner Band play their first US dates since signing on the dotted line with bluegrass label Pinecastle Records. They are accompanied by their label mates I Draw Slow.
It has been a great year so far for the band, who also played the Salty Dog stage at the Electric Picnic. The cherry on the bun is going to come on Tuesday 25 September with the launch of Onwards and Upwards, Toner’s first US release. The ribbon-cutting will be at Jack’s Barbecue on Lower Broadway in Nashville, a famous eatery that has been in business since before Hank Williams used to drop in the back door for a beer and a plate of ribs during his break from the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium.
So it’s a place full of music history and exceedingly venerable (by American standards anyway). After the launch, Niall will be performing a number of showcases at the International Bluegrass Music Association, and as part of the European Bluegrass Music Association, and also hosting a showcase with a bunch of great bands at the famous Ernest Tubb Record Store, across the road from Jacks (26). After that he’ll be trawling round the country heartlands of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina for the best part of October. No shows are planned for Kentucky itself, but there are a few spare days when he’ll be able to go and look at Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass State.
Closer to home, Friday 28 September sees the Quicksand Band take to the stage of Upstairs at Whelans for the launch of ‘That Voice’, the second single to be released off their Gavin Glass-produced debut album Approaching Rain.
The band formed in 2008 in Dublin. Having played in various forms over the years, the lads grouped together to record what was originally a solo project for lead singer Justin Corr. The resultant sounds and vibes coming from that session paved the way for the launch of a new band, with Phil Clarke joining Justin on lead vocals and guitars, Shay Cosgrave on drums and Eoin Melinn on bass.
The EP Ten Gallon Drought (the product of those early sessions) was launched in 2008 and received a warm reception from fans and critics. The follow-up Ten Gallon Drought Part II was launched the following year.
During 2011, they headed into the studio with Gavin Glass. They have developed a unique style and approach to music with songs that bear the influence of country, folk and rock but with a very contemporary edge. Their live performances have gained them a large fan base, drawn to their compelling, exciting and honest material.
Downstairs in Whelans on the same evening, Session Americana will be bringing their show back to Dublin. Their approach to making music is refreshing. Strip out the egos, strip out the big production and just play some great songs, gutted to their bare essentials and performed with a real genuineness of spirit and emotional authenticity.
It’s like transplanting the notion of a trad session onstage and broadening the musical base to encompass Americana. As much as I hate that word, or how that word has been misapplied to every band with an acoustic guitar, in this case it’s pinpoint accurate.
Like all good sessions, they’ll welcome a talented guest to the fold with relish and they have thrown a spotlight over some great collaborators in the past few years, including recent visitors here like Rose Cousins and Laura Cortese and our own Henry Girls.