Green is commonly thought of as the national colour of Ireland but for the acclaimed Brock McGuire Irish Traditional Band blue, as in Bluegrass, is pretty cool too.

This October at the Irish House on St Charles Avenue, they will give New Orleans a taste of the very best of Appalachian and Irish music from their latest CD “Green Grass Blue Grass".

“Green Grass Blue Grass” was recorded in collaboration with 14-time Grammy Award Ricky Skaggs.

 “He was very interested in what we were doing,” explained Maguire.  “And we were very interested in what he was doing, and he had the idea, like we did, of why don’t we just get together and do a little CD.  We came out to record the album at Ricky’s studio and he ended up staying and playing on around 9 tracks - great mandolin. And so it was lovely, and we were delighted to have him on board. He and Bryan Sutton on guitar, Aubrey Henley on fiddle, Mark Fain on double bass and Jeff Taylor himself - he did pump-organ and accordion.”

The Brock McGuire Band is fronted by Moving Cloud’s founding members Paul Brock, and Manus McGuire, who was also a founding member of Buttons & Bows. This latest incarnation of the Brock McGuire Band includes newcomer banjo player and vocalist Garry O’Meara, as well as long time band member Denis Carey.  They are well known for the fire and the precision of their music on stage, but what makes them a band that shouldn’t be missed is their genuine warmth and passion for traditional music of many genres.

“We are getting a lot of response from the Appalachian and Irish music” said Manus McGuire. “When we hear a Bluegrass tune, we can hear an Irish reel in there very often. But then we like to give it the Irish treatment, and the Bluegrass guys on the CD gave it the Bluegrass treatment, which is very different. But it is lovely to be able to merge those two traditions, and we do a lot of that now, even in our live shows. I wouldn’t call the Irish form more rigid, but it keeps more within structured borders; in the Bluegrass style there is a lot of individuality, they put their own interpretation on it, they expand out the tunes in a really nice wide way, and I like that, I really do.”

“We all have enjoyed going into New Orleans, and I know that this time will be no exception.”

The Brock McGuire Traditional Irish Band will be performing at the Irish House, 1432 Saint Charles Avenue, on Friday, 5 October at 7pm.

Further information is available at: Noel Reid (985) 259 0882 or The Irish House (504) 595-6755