Bluegrass night in The Stables

A 'bluegrass' night will take place in The Stables, Mullingar this Thursday night, February 26, featuring Carmel Sheerin and The Ravens, plus Bending the Strings.An enjoyable night is promised as Carmel and the boys perform songs from their recently released second album, 'Here With You' recorded with multi Grammy Award winning Nashville producer Bil VornDick. Carmel and the boys have scaled new heights in the past year, performing on the International scene at a level most bands could only aspire to. In America, this band is mentioned in the same breath as Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Tim O"Brien, and this is mainly down to the unique sound of Carmel on lead vocals and the band singing clean harmonies throughout.The recently released album consists of the bands own material, plus some collaborations with top American and Irish bluegrass songwriters, including Tim O Brien and Charlie McGettigan.Carmel Sheerin and The Ravens are known for singing clean harmonies rooted in bluegrass, country and gospel music.Joining Carmel and the boys are local three-piece, Bending The Strings, made up of Martin Cooney, Vinny Baker and Moyra Fraser.Not your typical bluegrass trio, Bending The Strings feature piano strongly in their set, both as a rhythm and bass instrument, as did the great master of bluegrass himself, Bill Monroe.Martin Cooney, the man responsible for bringing the bluegrass trio together, is a fine banjo player, responsible for the very first Athy Bluegrass festival. He also plays fine guitar and is a vocalist in the band. Vinny Baker is the bands guitarist, who first came to know bluegrass when he played with famous bluegrass fiddler, George Kaye and his band in the 70s.That work with George was to leave a lasting impression on Vinny, who remained a follower of bluegrass ever since, despite going through rock, metal, blues and country bands.Moyra Fraser is the band"s piano player, as well as the lead vocalist - her high lonesome harmonies filling out the three part harmony so much associated with bluegrass Music.