Sharing their Celtic, Nordic and Appalachian cultures: Aly Bain, Scotland’s supreme traditional style fiddler; Swedish multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller, and American old time fiddler, singer, guitarist and banjo player Bruce Molsky form a dynamic diversity.
Aly Bain in addition to his reputation as an outstanding Shetland and Scottish fiddler, has become well known in the English speaking world as the host of the Celtic-American TV series Transatlantic Sessions, and in the Scandinavian world for his work with Sweden's multi-talented Ale Möller. On this project Aly has combined both angles, touring and recording with Bruce Molsky from the TV series and with Ale too, creating a trio which spans the North Atlantic fiddle traditions of America, Shetland, Scotland and Scandinavia.
Multi instrumentalist, folk/world music pioneer, and eight time Swedish Grammy winner Ale Möller is a constant explorer. Firmly anchored in traditional music, Möller has been a guiding light, expanding the borders of Scandinavian folk music in groups and/or projects such as Filarfolket, Nordan, Frifot, Stockholm Folk Music Big Band, Ale Möller Band, and, more recently, Ale Möller Trio.
Bruce Molsky is one of the most revered “multi-hyphenated career” ambassadors for America’s old-time mountain music. For decades, he’s been a globetrotting performer, ethnomusicologist and educator, a recording artist with an expansive discography including seven solo albums, well over a dozen collaborations and two Grammy-nominations. He’s also the classic “musician’s musician” – a man who’s received high praise from diverse fans and collaborators like Linda Ronstadt, Mark Knopfler, Celtic giants Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine, jazzer Bill Frisell and dobro master Jerry Douglas, a true country gentleman by way of the Big Apple aptly dubbed “the Rembrandt of Appalachian fiddlers” by virtuoso violinist and sometimes bandmate Darol Anger.

“Our far-flung trio of pals love meeting up whenever we can and enjoy our music most when it's ‘in the moment’. We very much hope that you too enjoy this meeting-point!” Aly, Ale and Bruce


“Dynamic yet seamless diversity…with the extra warmth and zest of patent mutual ease, enjoyment and admiration.” The Scotsman

TICKETS: Early Bird £12: FULL PRICE £15 * Booking Fee Applies

The Reed Island Rounders have long been known for not being your typical string band. Drawing from the lonesome hollers of West Virginia, the lively traditions of Kentucky’s fiddlers, their local Blue Ridge Mountains styles, and now the North Carolina sounds from Round Peak to the Piedmont, they weave archaic with sophisticated, soulful with foot-stomping, romantic with down-to-earth. The resulting tapestry is alive with texture and color, making for an invigorated dance hall, or a lively and enlightening concert.

Each a veteran of festivals, music camps, and dance circuits, Betty, Billy & Kirk choose the tunes and songs they love the best, adding a bass for dances, and bringing a unique variety of sounds to each venue.
Betty Vornbrock’s fiddle bow brings energy to dance tunes, emotion to waltzes and listening tunes, and imagination to her twin fiddle harmonies with Kirk.
Billy Cornette keeps his rock solid beat and fanciful bass runs on guitar, and is the vocal lead. Kirk Sutphin, adept in different banjo styles, frails or fingerpicks, complementing each number. His fiddling evokes his Round Peak roots, as well.

Sarah Jane Scouten
"Drawing upon traditional melodies that almost biologically are instantly singable, but combining them with emotions, sentiments and stories that are relatable even now. Stan Rogers was able to do it, Ron Hynes was able to do it, Kate McGarrigle was able to do it –
and Sarah Jane Scouten is able to do it."
- Tom Power, CBC q

Tickets: DONATIONS ON THE NIGHT

Spring into Spring Bluegrass weekend featuring The Dirty Beggars.

https://www.facebook.com/thedirtybeggars

TICKETS £10 ON THE DOOR

Like the powerful mandolinist and composer at its helm, John Reischman and the Jaybirds fashion a stylish take on bluegrass that seamlessly blends original songs and instrumentals with Appalachian old-time music for a truly unique band sound. Now in their 20th year, with seven acclaimed albums and two Juno nominations, the Jaybirds are simultaneously innovative and unadorned, sophisticated and stripped-down, happily old-fashioned and 21st-century contemporary.
TICKETS £12 U25's £4 from CatStrand Box Office 01644 420374

An evening in the company of Leon and Jason is a rare
treat, more a musical conversation than a rigid performance.
These old friends will most likely confound any preconceived
ideas you may be harbouring as to what these instruments
can (and should) do. As well as leaning heavily
on traditional music from the US and The British Isles, their
own compositions take on musical references from just
about everywhere else.
Tickets £10 on the door or from:
http://www.craigdarrocharmshotel.co.uk/buy-tickets

Blue Summit is a genre fluid bluegrass band that first formed in 2016. They are a remarkable group of young musicians who have grown up performing in the California bluegrass community. One of their latest achievements includes a CBA showcase at the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) event held in North Carolina. They have been gaining traction with their unique sound, sharing their music all over the west coast. Later this year, they plan to travel overseas for the first time.

Lead vocalist and mandolinist, AJ Lee, has been recognized as NCBS (Northern California Bluegrass Society) Female Vocalist of the Year nine times. She began singing and performing on stage at the astonishing age of five. By twelve, she had begun writing her own songs and showcasing them nation-wide. AJ has traveled with many bands, including “The Tuttles with AJ Lee”, which had been featured at numerous festivals in an out of state. Now twenty-one, Ms. Lee is excited to share Blue Summit’s latest album consisting of all original material.

Jesse Fichman started playing guitar at the age of ten when he and his friends decided to form a bluegrass band. Since then, he has played in multiple bluegrass bands, multiple jazz combos, and a country band. Jesse graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in biology, and took a majority of the music classes offered there. He is a full time and original member of Blue Summit, and is studying and writing music on the side.

Sullivan Tuttle started to have an international following when he was just ten years old with a YouTube video of El Cumbanchero, which he played with his brother and sister - it now has over 1.6 million views from around the world. His musicianship was impressive at that young age and just keeps getting better. Over the last few years, Sullivan has developed a reputation for his songwriting and contemporary singing style, as well as his blazing guitar solos. He has appeared at major bluegrass festivals across the US, Canada, and has toured in the United Kingdom.

Born and raised in Northwest Ohio, Chad Bowen has been with Blue Summit since May 2018. A hardworking musician, Chad has been playing bass with numerous bands in the Bay area for almost 10 years. Music has always been a huge part of his life. Growing up he played piano, guitar, and sang in choirs. Eventually he gravitated to the double bass where he finds himself today smiling big, holding down the low end and those sweet harmonies.

TICKETS £10 ON THE DOOR OR
ONLINE FROM:
http://www.craigdarrocharmshotel.co.uk/

OR PHONE 01848 200205 TO RESERVE SEATS

This year’s Summer Workshops will be led by the highly talented and immensely popular Bluegrass Band The Often Herd , winners of the 2018 European Band contest at the La Rochel Bluegrass Festival , plus Bertie Armstrong of Holly & The Reivers

The Often Herd will also perform in Concert on the Saturday evening.

For further details and tickets:
https://www.moniaivebluegrass.co.uk/tickets

With their enchanting debut album, Dreamsongs, Etc., Bill and the Belles have captured the freewheeling, lighthearted approach to music that has endeared them to listeners of every generation. With a spirited sound that falls somewhere between old-time country and vaudeville, the group puts its own spin on a golden era of music, specifically the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s.

“We like old music and some of us are consumed by it,” says lead singer and guitarist Kris Truelsen with a knowing laugh. “But we don't have a desire to copy it. We want to sound like ourselves and tell our story.”

As a result, a majority of the material on DreamSongs, Etc., is original, from the upbeat number, “Wedding Bell Chimes,” through the yearning ode to youth, “Back to My Childhood Days.” While Truelsen’s distinctive tenor anchors the project, the Tennessee-based band’s trio harmonies gleam against a backdrop of banjo, fiddle, accordion, ukulele, and clarinet.

“The title seemed appropriate in that a lot of the songs are about dreaming for something better, better days, better lovers, better whatever it may be,” Truelsen says. “Not to mention many of the songs we chose to sing are about the sentimental dreamer.”

The band takes its name from Bill and Belle Reed, performers from the 1920s who recorded the songs “Old Lady and the Devil” and “You Shall Be Free” in Johnson City, Tennessee.

The Horsenecks play hard-hitting and heartfelt Old Time and classic Bluegrass music. Their sound is centered around the pairing of the signature rhythmic Appalachian fiddle style of Oregonian Gabrielle Macrae, (the Macrae Sisters, Hook & Anchor) and the driving yet subtle three-finger banjo playing of Liverpudlian Barry Southern (Tramp Attack, The Loose Moose Stringband.) Gabrielle's playing style is the result of being raised in the Old Time music hotbed of Portland, OR and being exposed to the fiddle traditions of the Southeast through years of traveling to festivals and learning from some of the greatest players in the genre. Her love of traditional music brought her to North Carolina as a teenager where she fully immersed herself in the music of the region and became a sought-after clawhammer banjo player after releasing an album with the Macrae Sisters in 2008 that received glowing reviews in both Sing Out! And The Old Time Herrald Magazines. Barry’s banjo playing ranges from thrilling and high-octane to moody and captivating, and his versatility shines when the two are playing an old time tune, backed up by either clawhammer or driving three-finger banjo. He has been instrumental in the formation of the UK Old Time and Bluegrass scene for the last decade with multiple groups. Harmony singing and thoughtful song writing bring this Old Time band to the stage with a compelling take on the music that moves them; foot-stomping dance tunes, innovative fiddle-banjo compositions and heartfelt and inspired harmony singing. Whether they are singing centuries-old ballads, their own songs, or getting you up and dancing with a barn-burning fiddle tune, they remain firmly rooted in tradition, paying homage to the depth and richness of the music. When performing in the USA Southern and Macrae are often backed up by Brian Bagdonas and Kevin Sandri on bass and guitar, who together set the standard for Old Time rhythm sections with their contributions to the original lineup of Foghorn Stringband. While on tour this year in the UK, they are joined by Vera Van Heeringen and Alan Wright on bass and guitar, both influential members of the UK's growing roots music scene. The Horsenecks continue to set a new standard in today's traditional music scene with five years of touring under their belts and appearances at major festivals in the USA and the UK, including the Cornwall Bluegrass Festival, Doolin Folk Festival, The Portland Old Time Gathering, and the Minnesota Bluegrass and Old Time Festival. They received critical acclaim for their first two albums, released in 2016 and 2018. Their third album is set to be released later this year.

Vera van Heeringen’s debut album, Standing Tall, was released in 2012 and marked a change of direction after nearly five years of touring as part of the brilliantly comedic New Rope String Band. With influences firmly rooted across the Atlantic, Vera writes soulful songs and tunes with lyrics and delivery speaking straight to – and from – the heart. A highly skilled instrumentalist, she has long been recognised for her graceful and restrained guitar playing, bringing the guitar a life in a way that’s entirely her own. In 2015 Vera released her second album, Proper Brew, which features a list of musicians who share Vera’s musical aesthetic, including Tim O’Brien, Dirk Powell, Rayna Gellert and Kris Drever. This record received rave reviews and lots of radio play. Vera's third album is imminent.

‘Not only can she write imaginative songs, she can play the acoustic guitar better than most’
Alan Harrison, NoDepression

‘On the basis of the two CDs I have heard, this lady oozes class’
John Atkins, fRoots

‘… a more accomplished, more polished and thoroughly beautiful album’
Tom Franks, FolkWords

‘Contemporary Americana-roots-flavoured songwriting, and concominant playing of an eminently tasty variety, don’t come much better than this’
David Kidman, FATEA Magazine

TICKETS £8 - £12 * Booking Fee Applies