Trains arriving within half a minute of theirtimetables, beautiful scenery, a friendly appreciative community, a fantastic audience and all round immeasurable hospitality. The UK on an extremely good day or Blackjack off again to take their show to Europe?

Through an invitation from Paolo Dettwiler, President of the Swiss Bluegrass Music Association, who saw Gary, Rod, Sherryl and Steve perform earlier in the year at the European World of Bluegrass, Blackjack accepted two gigs in Switzerland to play at the SBMA Winter Bluegrass Festival in Brugg, mid November.

BlackJack onstage at Brugg

On the first evening on the day of their arrival, under the guidance of the bandsright hand man for the weekend, Rudi Vogel, Blackjack broke in the festival organisers with a split set in the white-washed arched basement of 'La Dolce Vita', an Italian Restaurant in Baden, a short distance from Zurich.

After a quick shoppingstop on Saturday morning to stock up on chocolate and Swiss Army accessories in the Capital, the band set off for a sound check at the Salzhaus in Brugg, the home of the festival.

The organisers couldn't have picked a more authentic location for a Bluegrass festival if they'd tried. A converted salt house with vast oak beams, a sound check and hospitality suite upstairs and all the necessary ingredients downstairs to reassure both public and performers that they had entered a totally professionally managed event.

Various bands from Europe played from the opening of the festival at 1 p.m. and ever present was Bluegrass TV, a Parisian based TV crew that film bluegrass across Europe and download the results onto their website for the world to view. Blackjack took the stage late afternoon for a good hour and 45 minute set and were very well received.

With a well-deserved encore and a slab of the finestlocal chocolate to boost their sugar levels, they retired to the hospitality suite and got back down in time to absorb the musical wizardry of Rawhide from Belgium.

The two heading bands from the USA alternated their sets so after the second superb dose of Chris Jones and the Nightdrivers, Front Range finished their second set and closed the more than successful festival in the early hours of the morning.

Blackjack passed up on the opportunity on the Sunday to witness the Gospel show on the last day of the festival and instead took in the breathtaking sites of the snow capped mountains of Pilatus via cable car from Lake Lucerne.

A truly wonderful weekend never to be forgotten and even arrived home with two new Bluegrass widows turned convertees and future fans. Jan and Tasha, wives of Rod and Steve, who made the trip with the band.

Steve Manser, Stevenage, UK.

1st Feb 2001