The free festival will take place in the picturesque fishing village from August 23rd to August 26th and the festival organisers are delighted to welcome back perennial bluegrass favourite, Jack Grace, aka The Martini Cowboy.
Jack Grace and his band will headline an enviable line up of bluegrass artists for Ireland’s only free bluegrass music festival and fans of bluegrass, country, rhythm, roots, new grass and blues are expected to descend on the picturesque fishing village to enjoy free music events played throughout the village’s pubs and hotels.
Jack’s style of music has been described by Time Out New York as “gritty down home country as it should be.” Having played with a host of music legends such as Doc Watson, Junior Brown, Norah Jones and Wayne Hancock, the legend Jerry Lee Lewis said of him “He’s like that Cash kid, but good!”
According to Mick Daly, Festival Founder and Organiser, this years festival promises something for all music lovers. “Headline act Jack Grace brings his own unique urban style to bluegrass, while there will be the more traditional bluegrass names featuring at the festival, such as Gypsy Rebel Rabble, Knotty Pine, Desert Aces and the Mons Wheeler Band.”
“The Jeff and Vida Band from New Orleans went down a storm when they performed at the festival back in 2009. We are looking forward to this New Orleans acoustic roots band performing a repertoire of original material spanning from Appalachian bluegrass to alternative country.”
“Visitors can also expect some high energy performances from Galway band Mikey and the Scallywags, returning for their second year and bringing with them a variety of entertainment that ranges from gypsy to bluegrass to folk to storytelling”, he added.
Lands End, a diverse group of young musicians who crossed paths at one of the UK's premier Bluegrass workshops will make their Dunmore East Bluegrass debut this year. The band, made up of members from Cork, Galway, Dublin, Munich, Liverpool and Canada met at the Sore Fingers bluegrass workshop in Oxfordshire in April and formed for a one off show. However the impact they made dictated that they couldn’t possibly stop there and have been gigging throughout Ireland and the UK ever since.
Although their music is strongly embedded in the bluegrass tradition, with double bass, dobro, 5 string banjo, guitar, mandolin and fiddle, each member brings the distinctive sound of their own musical tradition to the musical arrangements of the band.
The 18th International Bluegrass Festival will also provide a welcome economic boost for the local economy. Last year there were almost 20,000 visitors to the village over the three day festival.
The local hostelries the Strand Inn, The Haven Hotel, The Spinnaker, Powers Bar and Azzurro, will play host to dozens of free gigs throughout the weekend.
The 18th Guinness International Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival kicks off at 7pm on Thursday, August 23rd at The Spinnaker Bar and Restaurant and will feature bluegrass and blues bands, playing free gigs in the villages’ pubs, restaurants and hotels.
For more information about the 18th Guinness International Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival in Co. Waterford visit www.discoverdunmore.com
