Monday miscellany

Tickets are now on sale for the coming 10th Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival, which will be held from 28 February to 9 March 2014. Some details are on the poster image below; at present the chief news for BIB readers is that Jim Lauderdale will be among the hundred artists taking part (Jim was on the cover of the February 2013 issue of Bluegrass Unlimited). More details are on the Festival's e-newsletter; the news is not yet on its Facebook page.

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Loudon Temple of the Brookfield Knights agency in Britain sends word that owing to festival offers at home The Wiyos (USA) will not be touring these islands for most of 2014. They will, however, be available for bookings in the period 7-23 Nov. 2014. Anyone interested in booking them at that time should contact the agency.

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The BIB editor reports:

Anyone who has seen a live Woodbine show since July 2012 may have noticed that I now use a Perfect Touch thumb pick. I'd previously seen photos of this unusual pick and couldn't imagine how it would work. However, not only is it (as the maker claims) comfortable and playable; it is also very secure, and eliminates a problem I'd had - a string getting occasionally caught under the curled end of a conventional pick.

I'm now also using Perfect Touch's equally individual finger picks - thanks largely to Bill Forster of the Banjaxed Bluegrass Band. Bill found that once fitted they are supremely comfortable, and that for a mellower tone the round-faced brass type (see photo, from the Eagle Music Shop website) are preferable to the nickel-silver/ flat-faced. I bought from Bill one of his spare sets, and they've delivered everything he said they would.