15th Shannonside Winter Music Weekend, 16-20 Jan. 2014

A reminder - for anyone who needs reminding - of the 15th Shannonside Winter Music Weekend Festival, which next month (16-20 January 2014) features at least seventy acoustic music events at over fifteen venues in Sixmilebridge and Bunratty, Co. Clare. The full lineup is shown in the image above, but much better to go to the Weekend's very good-looking website for greater detail, bio information, links to artists' websites, and performance videos. We recommend booking accommodation soon.

Sixmilebridge Folk Club deserve great credit for putting this programme together. There must be a bluegrass mole in the Club, as whenever we open the Weekend website the first photo we see is a fine one of High Plains Tradition from Colorado. NB: this photo shows the HPT's regular banjo-player Mark Leslie, but the banjo duties on their 2014 tour (as in 2012) will be filled by Ron Lynam, a pillar of Colorado bluegrass for over thirty years. Martin Gilmore (USA), son of guitarist Steve of the HPT, will also be along, playing solo gigs as well as supporting the band. Details are on the BIB calendar.

Keep up with the latest developments on the Weekend's Facebook page - where you can also see scores of photos taken at the 1st Bunratty Banjo Pickers Festival back in September.