The Irish are coming… the Irish are coming!
Two Irish acts are headed to the US this Fall to promote new projects on Pinecastle Records, who describe the twin two week tours as an Irish Acoustic Music Invasion.
For Celtic/old time hybrid I Draw Slow, this will mark their first trip to perform in the States. The band has a unique sound, which blends the sounds of the Irish hills with the Appalachian regions of America’s east coast, two rich traditions with shared roots.
The band’s debut album for Pinecastle, Redhills, was released earlier this month, populated with original material from siblings Dave and Louise Holdren. Dave is on guitar, and Louise sings, supported by Adrian Hart on fiddle, Colin Derham on banjo, and Konrad Liddy on bass.
Labelmate Niall Toner will be making a separate visit, stopping at IBMA in September to debut music from his new album, Onwards and Upwards. Long known for his thoughtful songwriting, this new record will include 11 Toner compositions, recorded in Nashville with Keith Sewell producing. Sewell contributed guitar and fiddle to the tracking sessions, with Rob Ickes on reso-guitar, Ashby Frank on mandolin, and Viktor Krauss on bass. Niall plays some mandolin as well, and provides the lead vocals.
Niall tells us that he has a number of showcase performances scheduled during IBMA week, and will celebrate the official release of Onwards and Upwards in Nashville on September 25 at a special show at Jack’s Barbecue. He said that some of the shows on his US tour will be solo, others with a small band.
Toner also sent along an audio sample, from a clever song called Million Dollar Bill.
Million Dollar Bill: [http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegrasscast/million_dollar_bill.mp3]
While the Niall Toner and I Draw Slow tours are separate endeavors, they will converge at IBMA, and for a pair of shows in October, sharing the bill with Lonesome River Band on the 2nd in Jonesborough, TN and the 3rd in Asheville, NC.
