Dunmore East set to celebrate twenty years of bluegrass

Thanks to Karen Cheevers of B2B Communications for this press release under the title '20th Guinness International Bluegrass Festival attracts international acts to Co. Waterford coastal town':

Bluegrass makes a welcome return to Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, as the Guinness International Bluegrass Festival celebrates twenty years of great bluegrass, blues, country, and honky-tonk music. This year the 20th Guinness International Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival will take place on 21, 22, 23, and 24 August 2014, and American quartet Boxcar Preachers is set to headline one of Europe’s biggest free bluegrass festivals.

The Boxcar Preachers from Austin, Texas, first played at the Bluegrass Festival back in 2006, and festival founder Mick Daly is delighted that the old-time outlaw country band is back for the twentieth festival: 'The Boxcar Preachers created a great buzz in Dunmore East back in 2006 so we felt it would be apt to have them back as the Bluegrass Festival celebrates twenty great years.'

Bruce Gardner (co-founder of the band) and Craig High got together almost thirteen years ago when they realised they came from similar musical stock. The music they play is perhaps more reminiscent of the era of Bonnie and Clyde or John Dillinger, but their outlaw connection goes back to the romantic days of the Wild West when train robberies began to spread like an epidemic.

According to Mick, 'Since the Bluegrass Festival started back in 1994 the committee has been dedicated to growing the event and making it a fantastic weekend for music lovers, tourists, locals, and families. This year we plan to have more high-calibre local and international bluegrass, country, and blues acts playing throughout the village over the three-day festival. The pubs and hotels in Dunmore will have a full live-music schedule from afternoon to nightfall, with all gigs absolutely free.'

The festival will also feature plenty of family-focused fun with food stalls, children’s entertainment in the Park, and lots of activity throughout the village.

Mr Daly was also pleased to confirm that some great UK and Irish acts will be performing over the Festival, with the return of Southern Welfare, the Mons Wheeler Band, and Land’s End. Land’s End is an edgy bluegrass combo that debuted in Dunmore East in 2012 and returned in 2013. The band, made up of members from Cork, Galway, Dublin, Munich, Liverpool and Canada, performs music strongly embedded in the bluegrass tradition, but each member brings a distinctive sound of their own musical tradition to the musical arrangements of the band.

'It’s a great line up befitting of our twentieth year of bringing great bluegrass music to Dunmore East. Visitors can expect to hear a wide mix of bluegrass, country, blues, rhythm, swing, and honky-tonk over the three-day festival.'

The 20th Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival kicks off on Thursday 21 August at Azzurro Restaurant and heralds the start of three days of bands playing almost fifty gigs in the villages’ pubs, restaurants, and hotels. For more information about all free events at the 20th Guinness International Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival in Co. Waterford, visit www.discoverdunmore.com.

BIB editor's note: In addition to the bands named above, the Down and Out Bluegrass Band, Black Bottle String Band, Newfoundland, Greasy Coat String Band, Dublin City Rounders, and Barefoot Jenny are on the Festival programme.