EVEN the best efforts of our sodden summer could not dampen the spirits of rev-
eller fans and families who
packed the Co. Waterford
fishing village of Dunmore
East to almost over-flowing
for the 14th International
Bluegrass Festival last
weekend.
Six local hostelries, all vil-
lage landmarks, played host
to fifty free gigs over the
weekend right into the early
hours of Monday morning,
with the Martini Cowboy
Jack Grace and his band
bringing down the curtain
on a hugely successful
festival, at The Spinnaker
Bar.
From New York, Jack
Grace is one of the great
characters of country
music.
A singer-songwriter,
guitarist and banjo-picker,

Jack was like the Pied Piper.
Everywhere he went,
looking for all the world
like a cowboy from an old
western movie, the fans
followed.
On Sunday afternoon,
when the sun shone, for a
few hours at least, Powers
Bar resembled a saloon in
the old west as Jack, com-
plete with cowboy hat
and rugged boots really kicked
up a storm with his 1947
Gibson acoustic guitar
autographed by two of his
heroes, Merle Haggard and
Doc Watson, one of the
legends of Bluegrass.
The crowds standing out-
side in the laneway, enjoy-
ing the last remnants of the
classic summer sunshine,
took turns to peek through
the narrow doorway for a
glimpse of the originators
of one hell of a sound.