Bluegrass music has always included Irish reels, jigs and hornpipes (fiddle tunes) which can be played on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate bluegrass music’s Irish heritage.
And there are quite a few Irish bluegrass (or “celtgrass”) bands like We Banjo 3, I Draw Slow and JigJam which can be featured on your St. Patrick’s Day show. And of course, pretty much anything by Tim O’Brien and Mark O’Connor will be perfect.
A few other ideas:
- A Walk in the Irish Rain
- California “Traveler” (Sugar Hill)
- Big Island Hornpipe
- Bryan Sutton “Bryan Sutton and Friends” (Sugar Hill)
- Colleen Malone
- Hot Rize “Take It Home” (Sugar Hill)
- Larry Sparks “Special Delivery” (Rebel)
- County Clare
- New Grass Revival “On the Boulevard” (Sugar Hill)
- Crossing the Briney
- Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder “Instrumentals” (Skaggs Family)
- Danny Boy
- Bill Monroe (Decca/MCA/Bear Family)
- New Coon Creek Girls “Our Point of View” (Pinecastle)
- Jim Hurst “Second Son” (Pinecastle)
- Steve Kaufman “Stylin'” (Sleeping Bear)
- Band of Ruhks “Band of Ruhks” (101 Ranch)
- Danny Burns with Tim O’Brien “Promised Land” (Bonfire Music)
- Down the Old Plank Road (albums, Volumes 1 and 2)
- The Chieftains (Sony Music)
- Dublin Blues
- Druha Trava and Peter Rowan “New Freedom Bell” (Compass)
- Newtown “Time Machine” (Mountain Home)
- Durang’s Horpipe
- Adam Steffey “One More for the Road” (Sugar Hill)
- Emerald Isle
- Bluegrass Etc. “Home is Where the Heart Is” (Tricopolis)
- Fighting Irishman
- Bull Harmon “Bull’s Eye” (Music Masters)
- Four Leaf Clover
- Alan Munde “Knee Deep in Bluegrass: The AcuTab Sessions” (Rebel)
- Valerie Smith “Blame It on the Bluegrass” (Bell Buckle)
- Green in the Blue Medley
- Dan Crary “Guitar” (Sugar Hill)
- Ireland
- Bela Fleck “Inroads” (Rounder)
- Irish Medley
- Special Consensus “Our Little Town” (Pinecastle)
- Irish Spring
- The Country Gentlemen “With Ricky Skaggs on Fiddle” (Vanguard)
- Patrick McAvenue “Rutland’s Reel” (no label)
- Irish Tune Suite
- Dan Crary “Jammed If I Do” (Sugar Hill)
- Irish Sea Trilogy
- Steve Spurgin “Distant Faces” (Sierra)
- Last Night’s Fun
- Bluegrass ’98 (Pinecastle)
- Kentucky Sons of Ireland
- Marty Falle “My Farm My Bluegrass” (no label)
- Leaving Dear Old Ireland
- Jim Watkins “Willie’s Redemption” (Barker Records)
- Morgan Megan
- Butch Baldassari “A Day in the Country” (Pinecastle)
- My Wild Irish Rose
- Larry Stephenson “On Fire” (Pinecastle)
- Shelly in the Heather/Linda’s Reel
- CherryHolmes “Cherryholmes” (Skaggs Family)
- Talkin’ Cavan
- Tim O’Brien “The Crossing” (Sugar Hill)
- That’s an Irish Lullaby
- Kristin Scott Benson “Straight Paths” (Pinecastle)
- The Crossing (album of Irish themed music)
- Tim O’Brien (Sugar Hill)
- The Trip to Kilkerrin
- Jerry Douglas “Glide” (MCA Masters Series)
- The Women of Ireland/Ryestraw
- Laurie Lewis “Love Chooses You” (Flying Fish)
- Traditional Irish Medley
- Bluegrass Etc.”Traveling Band” (Sierra)
- We Irish
- Dolly Parton “Live and Well” (Sugar Hill)
- When the Mist Comes Again
- Dale Ann Bradley “Catch Tomorrow” (Compass)