Balla gears up for bluegrass festival

Demolition String Band

Ciara Moynihan

Bluegrass festivals might be springing up all over the country faster than fiddles at a fleadh, but Mayo boasts two of the finest, both run by the same team: the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival in June, and the Balla Bluegrass festival. The latter takes place over the October Bank Holiday weekend, with this year marking the event’s eighth incarnation.
As always, all the Balla Bluegrass Festival gigs will take place in two venues, Mannion’s and The Olde Woods pubs. This year will see six different bands – two from the US, two from Mayo, one from Galway and one from Kildare – perform over four days, Friday, October 28 to Monday, October 31.
Barry ’n Holly Tashian and the E-5 Band from the US are finishing their Irish tour with a headline concert in Mannion’s bar on the Saturday night, while Demolition String Band, also from the US, will play two shows as part of their Irish tour. They will be joined on stage by Westport musician John Scahill.
The Westport-based Rocky Top String Band will make a welcome return to the festival, while Woodbine from Athy in Co Kildare, one of the leading bluegrass bands in the country, will make their ‘annual pilgrimage’ to the village in central Mayo.
Ruth Dillon and Juliana Erkkone from the much loved band The Molly Hicks will make the first ever appearance at the event with their new band The Raines.
No Balla festival will be complete with out its founder and Tommy ‘T-Bone’ Lyons – aka ‘The Colonel’ – who will bringing along some friends to the end-of-festival concert on the Monday night.

For more details and festival updates, find the Balla Bluegrass Festival page on Facebook.
The Demolition String Band are also performing in Matt Molloy’s at 7pm this week, on Wednesday and Thursday, October 19 and 20.