We hear from editor Richard F. Thompson that the Summer 2009 edition of British Bluegrass News is in the mail.

The magazine is published quarterly by the British Bluegrass Music Association, and this issue is the first under the guidance of new editor Thompson, who we are fortunate to also have as a semi-regular correspondent for The Bluegrass Blog.

Richard shares a few details…

“Monroe’s Revenge are the subject of the cover story, as former mandolin player with the group, John Baldry, looks back to when he was with the band.

In addition, there are feature stories about the Scottish quartet Longway; a Mountain Heart piece from Ted Lehmann; and Wayne Taylor and Appaloosa, whose UK tour starts at the end of September.

Tom Travis reveals his ‘Favourites’ and The Story Behind The Song looks at Hazel Dicken’ ‘Mama’s Hand’.

All this plus the usual What’s On, Tour details and 2009 Festival Dates, CD reviews, Light in the Window, SmallTalk and the Area reports.

Finally, there is news about three BBMA business matters; the announcement concern the AGM, an introduction from the new membership team and brief information regarding the new Touring Agency managed by Dave Bresnen and Penny Joubert.”

British Bluegrass News is sent to members of the BBMA. Memberships can be established or renewed from their web site.

Richard is always interested in receiving information from British bands, festivals or other bluegrass events. You can contact him by email.

We will publish some of Richard’s mini-reviews from this issue later in the week.

…of editor at British Bluegrass News.

We have been privileged to publish much of Richard’s writing here on The Bluegrass Blog this past few years, and congratulate both he and the British Bluegrass Music Association, who publishes BBN, for his being elevated to the editor’s desk.

Richard was a former editor in the mid 1990s, and has been serving recently as Features Editor of the quarterly magazine.

Thompson says that his plan is brandish the editor’s pencil more so than the author’s…

“I am hoping to actually reduce the amount that I write for the magazine, aiming to gather together a pool of quality writers to contribute stories on an occasional basis.”

Interested writers can reach Richard by email.

The following article, originally titled Greg Cahill – Reflections From On The Road, appears in the current issue of British Bluegrass News (Spring 2009). He composed it upon returning from a three week tour by Special Consensus in the British isles earlier this year.

BBN has graciously allowed us to reproduce it here, believing it conatins valuable insight and information for other US bands considering a tour of the UK.

I have just returned home from a wonderful tour of Ireland, Scotland, England and back to Ireland with The Special Consensus. The band has completed this bi-annual tour since the early 1990s and we have developed many great friendships with promoters, friends and fans alike.

This tour was quite lengthy – we arrived in Dublin on January 13 and played shows every night from January 14 through February 3, and returned to the USA on February 4. Although we were pretty tired by the 21st day of concurrent performances, we truly had a wonderful time and greatly appreciate the support of everyone who came out to hear the band.

For travelling bluegrass bands, touring and performing to audiences in different countries is a most interesting and very enjoyable experience. Every town in every country has its own history and personal identity, which makes for a wonderful learning experience. Different cultural perspectives and habits, from types of meals served, food preparation, drinks indigenous to the region, political and religious opinions, etc., make each town and city a "brave new world" to explore before even arriving at the concert venue.

One of the first factors to consider when contemplating scheduling a tour of foreign lands is airfare. It is always very helpful to determine the best destination city that might be a "hub" of sorts to begin a tour, and it is also very cost effective to book round trip airfare whenever possible. I always check several airfare options to have at least a general idea of the major travel expense before scheduling any dates so I have an idea of how much money will be necessary to pay travel expenses and then pay the band. This information is invaluable in determining what fee to request per show and then how many bookings it will take to earn the desired amount necessary to make the tour feasible.

It seems that most "full time" professional touring bands in the US are used to long drives between engagements. It is not unusual for a band to play at a festival in Kentucky one day and, perhaps after an all-night drive, appear at a festival in Minnesota the next day. The Special C drives to about 70% of the shows and flies to the other 30%. Our impression of the scene in the UK and Ireland is that a three hour drive is considered quite long, whereas this is more the norm for US bands. It also seems to us that bands in mainland Europe fall somewhere between these drive time parameters; they may be comfortable with even a five or six hour drive but would also certainly balk at a 10 or 12 hour all-night drive. I would certainly suggest that bands planning a tour of different countries plot the drives when scheduling the shows to be sure they will be able to comfortably get to each show (and "comfortably" is relative to the usual band tour experience). (more…)

The Spring 2009 issue of British Bluegrass News (#48) will soon be mailed to subscribers.

The Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys grace the cover, and the magazine also carries a feature on this popular group from the west country of England. There are also articles about Papa Truck (from the home counties), and upcoming tours by The Midnight Ramblers and Laurie Lewis.

A recent note from the publishers shared a few more details…

Other interesting items are Rick Townend’s tribute to Bill Clifton; a feature on May Is Worldwide Bluegrass Music Month; the choice of Favourites from the Carrivick Twins, Charlotte and Laura; and The Story Behind The Song, about Carter Stanley’s The White Dove.

All this plus the usual What’s On, Tour details and 2009 Festival Dates, CD reviews and Area reports will be in this bumper edition of British Bluegrass News.

BBN is published quarterly by the Britsh Bluegrass Music Association. Their web site is currently being redesigned, but membership details can be found by contacting Trish Hockley, Membership Secretary.