The Brock McGuire Band and The Time Jumpers at the Station Inn

Sometimes little dream gigs pop up out of nowhere and have the promise to be wonderful and unique. Every year, around St Patrick's Day bars and venues all over America scour the land to find any musical act with even the tiniest hint of Irishness and more often than not they find what they pay for.
It isn't all bad. Some of the finest bands from Ireland recognize the real love Americans have for all things Irish and can be found on tour over here from late February onward. Right now Solas are on a huge tour of the U.S. Both Dervish and Lúnasa are also on the road and next month Altan will be here for the annual Spring tour.
This season also sees the arrival of the excellent Brock McGuire Band. Thankfully their tour takes in a great deal of the south, a region often overlooked by the good bands in favor of the big Irish cities like Boston and New York.
The band feature Manus McGuire and Paul Brock with Ferghal and Enda Scahill rounding off the line up. Manus is one of the finest fiddlers to emerge from Ireland in the last few decades. Paul Brock is also being hailed as one of the great button accordion players in the country and both have been at the forefront of traditional music in their band Moving Cloud.

The tour takes them all over the south but the gig I intend to see is happening next Monday in Nashville when they open for the wonderful Time Jumpers.
The show is at the Station Inn, one of the most famous bluegrass venues in the world. It is certainly the friendliest. The Time Jumpers are not a bluegrass band though but play the type of genuine western swing that makes the heart dance. I had the great fortune to see them live twice in recent months. Once was at an informal private party and the second time was at the Station Inn when I went with my partner in the Hands Across The Water project, Andrea Zonn. The band features a who's who of musicians from the last 20 or 30 years of country music in Nashville including Kenny Sears on Fiddle, Jeff Taylor on Accordion and Carolyn Martin on vocals. Add to that "Ranger" Doug from Riders in the Sky on guitar, Rick Vanaugh on drums and a continually varied line up that I am very glad to say features the amazing and legendary John Hughey on pedal steel.

This promises to be such a good night and on a Monday too. I can't wait.
For those of you who can't make that show here are the rest of the Brock McGuire Band dates for the tour;
March12 – Asheville Catholic School Auditorium
12 Culvern Street Asheville, NC 28804 ph 828-253-8330

March 13 –Neighbourhood theatre
511 E 36 th St Charlotte, NC 28205 ph 704-358-9298

March 14 –Station Inn
402 12th Ave South Nashville, TN 37075 ph 615-255-3307

March 15- Barking legs theatre
1307 Dodds A,ve Chattanooga TN 37404 ph 423-624-5347

March 16 - Forbes Piano Company
3048 Montgomery Hwy Homewood, AL 35209 ph 205-879-4868

March 17 ---Danny O Flahertys Irish Channel Centre & Pub
514 Toulouse St New Orleans LA ph 504-529-1317

March 18 –Montgomery museum of Fine Arts
Wilson auditorium
I Museum Drive Montgomery AL 36117 ph 334-391-5698

March 19 - St. Patrick's Day Parade Party
Underground Atlanta
50 Upper Alabama St Atlanta, GA 30303 ph 404-523-2311

For more on the Time Jumpers click HERE

For more on the Station Inn click HERE

and for more on The Brock McGuire Band click HERE