Irish singer-songwriter Niall Toner was awarded the 2012 European Bluegrass Personality of the Year Award by the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA) in March. An award ceremony took place during a concert on Saturday, March 16, as part of the 5th European Bluegrass Summit at the Hotel Pyramida Auditorium in Prague. more...

Nu-Blu has embraced the Gospel tradition of bluegrass with their first all-gospel album, Nail by Nail, now available on Pinecastle Records. This special new project includes the recently released first single, “Martha and Mary” that was written by Becky Buller and Nancy Cardwell. The song debuted earlier this month at #8 on the Bluegrass Today Weekly Top 20. The album was recorded and produced by Nu-Blu at Red Squared Audio, located in Siler City, NC. more...

Columbus, NC May 15, 2012 - Pinecastle Records is pleased to announce that it has signed I Draw Slow. Their upcoming album Redhills will be released August 7th, 2012. Customers who pre-order Redhills from thePinecastle website will also receive a free digital copy (available here) delivered on the release date. In addition, customers will also receive the single "Goldmine" instantly after their purchase.

I Draw Slow is a five piece string band playing original music in the American folk tradition, but with an Irish influence. All five members have played in old time and bluegrass bands around Ireland, Europe and the US over the last decade. Siblings Dave (guitar) and Louise (vocals) Holden have been writing together for two decades, starting on Dublin, Ireland’s touring circuit with a funk band. An interest in writing new music in the roots tradition inspired the birth of I Draw Slow in 2007. The pair teamed up with Adrian Hart (fiddle), Colin Derham (banjo), and Konrad Liddy (bass) to form I Draw Slow. Altogether they have created a new sound rooted in the old time style of the Appalachian Mountains, while drawing on Irish traditional music and modern Americana. The band has since written and produced two albums and toured Ireland and Europe. Their first album, Downside, was recorded in a farm kitchen in County Wicklow, Ireland and received critical acclaim in that country in 2008.  more...