Roots '99

Country, folk and roots fans are in for a treat on the May Bank Holiday weekend when a veritable who's who of the best bands and solo performers of the genre head to Kilkenny for the second annual Kilkenny Country Roots Weekend.
Sponsored by Carlsberg, the festival takes place over four nights starting on Friday 30th April and continuing right through until Monday 3rd May. Many of the gigs will be free of charge with a festival pub trail in operation throughout the weekend. (Some of the artists and venues have yet to be finalised at the time of going to press but more information will become available closer to the event.)
At the top of the bill at Kilkenny are two of the most singular and distinctive voices in country music. Kinky Friedman musician, author, cigar smoker and raconteur (and the subject of an intense interrogation in Hot Press last year), and singer/songwriter/ producer Rodney Crowell, one of the most acclaimed and enduring songwriters on the Nashville scene. (Crowell plays on Friday 30th April while Friedman appears on Sunday 2nd May)
Also appearing at Kilkenny is Peter Case the ex Plimsole who swapped garage-influenced new wave for folk when he went solo. His 1986 eponymous debut remains highly regarded, while its follow-up, The Man With The Blue Post-Modern Fragmented Neotraditionalist Guitar consolidated his reputation as a true original. You can catch him in Kilkenny on Sat 1st May/Sunday 2nd May.
Other highlights of the weekend include the Million Dollar Bash which takes place on Saturday 1st May at the Watergate Theatre, featuring a Grand Ole Opry style gathering which includes Mike Ireland, Calexico, Mick Hanly and Dan Crary among others.
Each night of the festival following the gigs there'll be a Festival Club featuring Lonesome Highway DJ's (including our own Stephen Rapid and RTE's Sandy Harsch) spinning the very best in roots music. The perfect place for performers and the public to mingle while enjoying the sounds of Country Music.
The runners and (long) riders are as follows:
Calexico Friday 30th April/Saturday 1st May: Calexico's music has been described as the magic of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy set to music a journey through life on the border in the American Southwest.
The Gourds Sunday 2nd May: From Austin Texas,The Gourds move effortlessly between straight country rock, zydeco, gospel, swing and jazz.
Sonny George Friday 30th, Sat 1st, Sun 2nd, Mon 3rd: A recent visitor to Ireland, the stetsoned Son of Satan himself purveys noting but goodtime hillbilly music with a dollop of rock and roll and a smattering of rhythm and blues.
Mike Ireland & Dan Mesh Fri 30th April, Sat 1st May: Creators of the most perfect country album of 1998 Learning How To Live this pair incorporate the swagger and swing of Ernest Tubb and Buck Owens topped off with the string-sweetened sound of countrypolitan.
Dan Crary Fri 30th April, Sat 1st May, Sun 2nd May: One of the world's leading acoustic guitarists, he is rooted deep in bluegrass and is peerless in his field.
Tennessee Rhythm Riders Sat 1st May/Sun 2nd May: This UK based outfit conjure up images of Rose Maddox and that 40's Bakersfield hillbilly sound.
Peter Mulvey Sunday 2nd May: Singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey is set apart from the crowd by the boldness of his music, his tightly crafted lyrics and the imagery that permeates through his music.
Travis T. Merle (Comedy) Sexual Deviancy And The History of Country Music Sat 1st May, Sunday 2nd May: authentic sounding psycho-babble which delves into the dark corners of depravity, takes a swipe a reactionary Southern attitudes, political correctness, academia and Travis T. Merle himself.
Other acts playing at Kilkenny include: Johnny Mars Blues Band, The Great Western Squares, Mick Hanly, Niall Toner, Rough Deal, Ray Barron, Any Old Time, and Malcolm & Paddy.
Ticket and accommodation information on the Kilkenny Country Roots Weekend available from Irish Heartbeat Kilkenny (056) 23244.
The Kilkenny Country Roots Weekend runs from Friday April 30th to Monday May 3rd.