Work on Niall Toner documentary begins 

Niall TonerIrish bluegrass musician, song-writer, radio broadcaster, and Pinecastle Records recording artist Niall Toner will be the subject of a documentary being made by Dublin-based New Decade TV Media Ltd.

The documentary comes about due to the close friendship between Toner and New Decade TV Media founder and director / producer Ciaran O’Connor.

Toner explains …

“The Director, Ciaran O’Connor, is a big fan, and wants to make this documentary on what he sees as my lifetime contribution to bluegrass, with a heavy emphasis on my song writing, and including lots of live performance footage with interviews, etc … Probably contributions from folks who have cut my songs, like the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Special Consensus, Bill Wyman, etc … It will be a full 70 minute documentary, and will be aimed at Channel 4, BBC TV, RTE TV and American TV. He also plans to show at Film/Music Festivals such as Sundance, etc …”

Ciaran O’Connor offers his perspective …..

“The Niall Toner documentary is something that myself and Niall have decided to embark upon together. I decided not to shoot down at the bluegrass festival primarily because of resources and timings. Instead the documentary will feature Niall performing key songs that have a particular significance in music and personal terms. Interspersed will be an interview with Niall and possibly other key people in Niall’s story so far.”

Actual film work will begin with shooting at a gig at the Harbour Bar in Bray, Co. Wicklow, on a date yet to be confirmed.

Toner concludes ……..

“I don’t expect to be seeing any completed results until May/June 2016.”

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About the Author

Richard Thompson

Richard F. Thompson is a long-standing free-lance writer specialising in bluegrass music topics. A two-time Editor of British Bluegrass News, he has been seriously interested in bluegrass music since about 1970. As well as contributing to that magazine, he has, in the past 30 plus years, had articles published by Country Music World, International Country Music News, Country Music People, Bluegrass Unlimited, MoonShiner (the Japanese bluegrass music journal) and Bluegrass Europe. He wrote the annotated series I'm On My Way Back To Old Kentucky, a daily memorial to Bill Monroe that culminated with an acknowledgement of what would have been his 100th birthday, on September 13, 2011.