THERE’LL be strumming on the porches of the log cabins, dancing in the cobbled streets and jamming outside the General Store as the Bluegrass Music Festival returns to Omagh's Ulster American Folk Park next month.
The folk park provides the perfect atmospheric platform for the festival of foot-tapping music and organiser Richard Hurst is delighted by how the event has grown to become one of the biggest of its kinds in the world.
"The bluegrass festival has come a long way in 25 years. It has been wonderful to see it grow and develop. This year's festival has a truly international line-up, made up of American, Canadian, European bands as well as performers from right across Ireland. We're looking forward to welcoming young and old to this year's festival," he says.
One performer who has played at every Bluegrass Music Festival, either as a solo performer or with numerous groups, is Bangor resident Geordie McAdam. He recalls his first visit to the Omagh festival in 1992 with the Black Mountain String Band.
"It was mind-blowing. We played the main stage that night. It was a case of local band doing well," he says.
At 78, Geordie is once again looking forward to meeting up with old friends – as well as introducing the next generation to the wonders of bluegrass and Appalachian music.
As well as performing, Geordie, who makes and repairs musical instruments at his shop on Gray's Hill in Bangor, will be bringing along and educating people about traditional bluegrass instruments.
"The five-string banjo and fiddle is essentially bluegrass. I make matchstick violins and Norwegian Hardanger fiddles. I love showing and playing them for people," he says.
The Hardanger fiddles have eight strings (rather than four as on a standard violin) and are made of thinner wood. Four of the strings are strung and played like a violin, while the rest, aptly named sympathetic strings, resonate under the influence of the other four.
Born on the Woodvale Road on Belfast's Shankill, Geordie's introduction to music came when he joined his local flute band at age nine. Through a series of circumstances, he got involved in the traditional music scene and, inspired by The Dubliners and The Chieftains, formed a traditional group along with two fellow members of Duncairn Flute band – Geordie himself played tin whistle.
But, with a desire to play the fiddle, he took the bold step of frequenting a pub on the Falls Road to listen and learn from some of Ireland's best fiddlers.
"I would sneak down to the Falls to hear Sean McGuire and Sean McAloon They were the crème de la crème of Irish music. They didn't care where I came from and I'm very grateful to everything they taught me," he says.
In the mid-70s a visit to Smithfield and the purchase of the record Wild Rose of the Mountain by Kentucky fiddle player JP Fraley influenced his musical direction.
"The tunes were so familiar – they are the tunes that left these shores with the Irish immigrants," recalls Geordie about his first memories of bluegrass.
After playing with The Decent Folk, Geordie toured mid-west America with the Appalachian Strings and played with The Black Mountain String Band, Ragged and Rough and The Lagan Valley Boys.
He believes the bluegrass scene in the north is "very strong" as evidenced by the popularity and global reputation of the annual Bluegrass Festival in Omagh.
"It's country and western's next door neighbour. It never ceases to amaze me that the local radio stations don't cater for bluegrass followers when you see 11,000 people attend the festival annually. Some are old fanatical followers, others are young ones just getting interested," Geordie says.
"Many American bands have told me they would come over for free because it's such a credit to play in Omagh. And I think the countryside makes them think of their own kin."
In this milestone year, the festival will feature award-winning artists including Corn Potato String Band and Betse & Clarke from America, Canadian band Searson, Red Wine from Italy, Bluegrass Boogiemen from The Netherlands, Sunny Side from the Czech Republic, English group Dr Bluegrass and the Illbilly 8 and Northern Ireland's Knotty Pine String Band.
Visitors can stroll around the outdoor stages for a feast of non-stop music, with special concerts on the Friday and Saturday evenings, including headline act Band of Ruhks, from the United States.
A highlight of the Sunday afternoon will be the Bluegrass Festival Choir, featuring a number of home-grown acts who play bluegrass and old-time music coming together at the main stage.
:: The Bluegrass Music Festival at the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, September 2-4. For further information and tickets visit www.nmni.com/uafp.
