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90 minutes of sensational Norwegian bluegrass!

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My friend Cormac ‘Wizard of Sound (and Vision)’ O’Kane invited eight-piece Nordic bluegrass orchestra Hayde (pronounced ‘hide’, apparently) to perform live in the kitchen/social area of his studio premises in Belfast last night – filmed before an invited audience and streamed live on his Facebook account. It was fantastic!

The lead vocalist, Rebekka, is world-class to my mind, as is the (guesting, not a regular member) jazzish banjoist Mikael. But the real USP, I think, is the ensemble playing and arrangements – not the usual case of speeding through the song then everyone exchanging virtuoso solos, but real ‘arrangements’, with particularly interesting four-part vocal harmonies and the unusual (successful) involvement of an accordion. Front man Jo is very funny. It all helps.

The only downside was the lack of songs about Vikings – not a single ‘Longship Mountain Boys’ or ‘Foggy Fjord Breakdown’ to be seen. And not a single song in Norwegian! Apparently NOBODY sings songs in Norwegian…

The show starts around 32 minutes in (bypass the comedy warm-up).

https://en-gb.facebook.com/cormac.okane1/videos/1622928554392841/

Norwegian bluegrass orchestra – live in Belfast, Wednesday August 2

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My friend Cormac O’Kane – on a high from last weekend’s Buddy Mondlock concert at his studio in Belfast, Red Box (see elsewhere on the blog…) – is putting on a short-notice BYO/whip-round gig for a Norwegian Bluegrass Orchestra, called Hayde, next Wedneasday, August 2, who find themselves in Belfast for a day without a show. I know, I know – happens all the time…

If anyone fancies it and can be in the Belfast area next Wednesday, come along.

I expect Locust and Kaisfatz can tell us all something about them. After all, Norway is just a few hundred yards down the road from Stockholm, isn’t it? 🙂

http://www.hayde.no/?page_id=82

This is what music is about

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It’s probably still drizzling outside, but I don’t know or really care. I’ve been sat in this little folding chair half way back in the main marquee at Didmarton bluegrass festival for the past hour or so. There’s an old time duo playing as I write. I’ve seen mates I haven’t met since this time last year. I’ve made new friends. I’ve listened to Brits playing bluegrass, and Americans playing bluegrass, I’ve heard classics and standards, brilliant originals, and a bluegrass Teenage Kicks. There are about 600 people here, the marquee is pretty full, there’s a cheap bar next door selling great local beer, and I can eat posh grub or chips with everything. Tonight the headliners are Front Country. Last night Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley blew everyone away. Get out and hear something live with your mates, it’s the absolute dogs gonads.

Ron Block & Sierra Hull

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Most years I spend a weekend in Newcastle / Gateshead enjoying the Summertyne Americana Festival at The Sage. This year was no exception. It was busier than I’ve seen before, and it remains a splendid event because so much of it is free. This year I didn’t see too much free stuff as I’d booked a few gigs, and specifically I’d booked to see Ron Block (him out of Alison Krauss & Union Station) making a rare appearance, and with the added incentive of being in concert with the fabulous Sierra Hull on mandolin, mandola and vocals. I first saw Sierra at Merlefest in North Carolina in 2006 when she was 14. She was ridiculously accomplished back then. Yesterday at The Sage Hall 2 she was spectacularly good, culminating with a solo party piece where she played a lovely melodic arrangement of The Tennessee Waltz before launching into After You’ve Gone played in the style of Django Rheinhardt, which she absolutely nailed. There might be better mandolinists on the planet, but I can’t think of many

Ron seemed relaxed, in contrast with the rather stern manner he tends to portray in Union Station. His guitar and banjo playing was delightful » Continue Reading.

Blue Grass, Black Metal

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This is one for the more adventurous Americana fans on this site!

Kentucky’s Panopticon are highly regarded for their melding of the state’s native bluegrass music with black metal. It’s not so daft as it sounds. There has long been a strain of black metal that has romanticised the natural beauty and folk music of the Scandinavian countries where it originated, so it makes sense for American practitioners to use their own traditional musics. Panopticon is a one man band – Austin Lunn plays every instrument, from the screeching tremolo assaults, soaring riffs and brutal blast beats of the more BM moments to the banjo picking, alternatively reflective and driving. The last but one album, Kentucky is themed around the lives of coal miners in the state, and has a solid pro-union message, with sampled reminiscences from former miners, and versions of the labour songs Which Side Are You On? and Come All Ye Coal Miners. It’s great stuff, and a million miles from the preconceptions of BM being all Nazis, corpsepaint and church burning. The linked video is this record – enjoy (and if you do, their latest album Roads To The North is very good indeed, and has » Continue Reading.