Saturday the 13th of March saw the BBMA killing two birds with one stone - the BBMA AGM and evening concert, held as a treat for members. Both were held at the Heart of England Bluegrass Venue in Kenilworth.

The Concert was MC’d by HOEBV organiser Ron Stevens (mandolin, Acme Band), resplendent in a gold lamé waistcoat and bow tie, which set the standard for an evening of glittering Bluegrass. The Bands, selected by Kevin Garratt, were The Runaway String Band (Edinburgh, Scotland), Bakers Fabulous Boys (Helsby) and The Down County Boys (Warwick area) Quite a bill, considering it was free for members and only £2-50 for non-members! The NW area was particularly well represented by 13 attendees.

The recently down-sized DCB (see NWBN Jan/99), featuring Peter Parker (fiddle), Guy Rogers (lead guitar/vocals), Mick Cooper (bass/vocals) and Jim Irvine (Banjo) started the evening in high gear with a driving fiddle tune. The loss of Jim Hirons as lead singer has prompted the band to restructure and learn new material and now, as a four piece, they still have the polish, style and verve that we’ve come to expect from this band. Guy, who previously played mandolin and didn’t vocalise much has reverted to his main instrument - guitar - introducing a new dimension to the performance.

Jim, Guy, Mick & Peter - The Down County Boys

They did more old favourites than formerly: Train of Yesterday, I Don’t Blame you, How Mountain Girls Can Love (nice banjo break from Jim Irvine!) Other offerings included The Blackbirds and The Crows (lead vocal: Guy) Well, Waddya Know and Old Home Place Revisited. Considering that Jim had a bad problem with his hearing this time his banjo playing was solid with some great breaks.

They finished with a great favourite of mine, Fox on the Run and, as an encore, Orange Blossom Special. Young NW fiddle player Eleanor Cross sat open mouthed watching as Peter wrung every drop out of his fiddle for this one! A super set with the banter flowing (but marred slightly by an unseemly joke from Peter.) A quote from my friend Shirley “Jim suffers lots of jokes from the others, but he’s got more hair than the rest of them put together!” And another one from my Derek: “They’ve only lost one member but they’ve lost 50% of their hair!” All joking aside, a great set from a cracking band!!

The sound was excellent (after a few opening glitches) thanks to sound engineer Mike Benson, operating the Down County Boy’s own sound system.

Lorraine with Russell & Stuart Williams and Jon Hulme

After a short break BFB (Stuart Williams, guitar/harmony vocals; Russell Williams, mandolin/lead & harmony vocals; Lorraine Baker, bass/lead & harmony vocals and Jon Hulme, banjo/harmony vocals) wellied straight in, in high gear, with the irrepressible Lorraine singing the first one of Russell’s own songs, I’m a Fool For You. This was followed by BoozeGrass and Bluegrass, with Russell singing lead on his own song with great verve and drive. Their material is a mixture of self-penned songs and tunes plus Bluegrass treatments of songs from many other musical genres, all delivered in exciting and enthusiastic style. They followed a vocal version of Blackberry Blossom with the Blues/Rock number Love Me Two Times, then I’m Going Away and Aero Smith’s Walk This Way. Bluegrass? I don’t think so but dynamic? Yeh, Yeh, Yeh! The use of a bowed Bass intro on “An Old Time Mountain Tune from The Doors”. Fire on The Mountain gave us an indication of the adventurous nature, great energy and drive of this talented young band who’ve come a long way since their first gig, at Chester Bluegrass Club. A great Bluegrass number Slipping Away finished their set but they weren’t going to get away without Russell singing Mule Skinner Blues in his own inimitable style. He commented “I’ve sung this many times in response to requests and it’s wearing me out - there’ll soon be nothing left! I’m only a little fellow!” then proceeded to demonstrate what he meant!!

Topping the bill was Scotland’s top Bluegrass outfit The Runaway String Band (RSB). Their line-up, virtually unchanged since 1982, comprised Bob Stevenson (electric bass/lead vocals), John Booth (guitar), Willy Rodgers (banjo), and Robin Wallace (mandolin/dobro) plus (as often as they can arrange it) bluegrass veteran and a NWBN sponsor Jim Hyndman (fiddle). Happily for us Jim played that night!

Runaway String Band - John, Willy, Jim, Bob, Robin (front)

They kicked off with Little Georgia Rose - an old Bill Monroe song which has become a Bluegrass standard. But the hair-lifting vocals from Bob Stevenson were anything but standard! Anyone who hasn’t heard this superb Bluegrass singer should remedy it as soon as possible! Their set featured Bob singing solo without support harmonies on several numbers, showcasing his formidable singing talent. The harmony singing was also superb, another trademark of the excellent RSB! As the set progressed, it became obvious that these musicians were also great friends too - we were treated to some amusing little anecdotes and incidents from their journey.

NWBN Sponsor Jim Hyndman
(Runaway String Band)

Other songs included: Scalped (with Willie Rodgers on banjo), Reamington Ride (a great fiddle break by Jim Hyndman), Hank Williams’ House Of Gold, Erase The Miles (IIIrd Tyme Out) and Footprints In The Snow. Bob Stevenson said that the waiter at the restaurant they’d eaten at on the way to the gig had a requested Raglan Road. I want to know how an Indian waiter at a Balti restaurant knew this traditional Scottish song? The mandolin tune Stokes Run, and that great Bluegrass song On and On brought their performance to a close, all too soon, but the roar of an appreciative audience told them they weren’t going to be let off that easily and RSB finished off with Walking in Jerusalem and Little Country Church.

A cracking concert that featured three very different but equally entertaining British Bluegrass Bands. All thanks must go the BBMA for arranging this event and to Ron Stevens and the Heart of England Bluegrass Venue support team for a job well done. Definitely worth repeating next year!

Jean Brandon, Chester.

1st May 1999