Jerry, of course, and Aly - I took these as said in my original post! Actually, Jerry did a solo Dobro spot at the start of the 2nd half that was very fast and flashy - showboating, I suppose - that didn't impress me at all. (I thought, at that moment, how much more subtle the Dobro work of Mike Auldridge can be). However, Jerry excelled in the ensemble playing, underpinning everything beautifully. The band also had Danny Thompson on bass, John Doyle (guitar), John McCusker (fiddle) the ever-so-subtle Donald Shaw (keyboards), Phil Cunningham (accordion), Phil Mackintosh (drums), and the others mentioned above. The singers were Eddie Reeder,the wonderful Karen Matheson, Ruby Moody, Declan O'Rourke and Raoul Malo (ex-Mavericks).

I found some of the songs to be a bit mumsy, MOR - and I will not singalongalong nor be all happy-clappy at these occasions. It's frankly boring, but Karen Matheson was superb and Raoul Malo's voice was excellent. Ruby Moody - breathy girl with some banjo thrown in - did not appeal to me - and, unfortunately, I find Eddie Reeder irritating beyond measure for some inexplicable reason.

But before you label me a critical, grumpy old git, I have to say the evening was worth every penny. For me, the highlights were Mike McGoldrick playing a wonderful slow air on the pipes that was jaw-dropping, and dear Bruce Molsky, who just sings and plays directly from the heart.