Calling all banjo non-believers. Come on down and face the music, your time is up!
Seven years on from their show-stopping debut album Coleraine’s, Barnsley’s Damien O’Kane and California’s Ron Block will revive their spectacular partnership in a third studio release celebrating the unbelievable scope – in their brilliant hands – of the humble, oft-maligned banjo.
The 12-track Banjovial further cements their almost telepathic interplay and fuses two distinct styles – Block’s five string bluegrass banjo and O’Kane’s Irish tenor banjo.
Widely regarded as two of the globe’s greatest banjo exponents their transatlantic tune trading began in earnest in 2018 with the debut album Banjophony chosen as one of The Guardian’salbums of the month and earning a 4* Top of the World review in Songlinesmagazine while the 2022 follow-up Banjophonics was named one of MOJO Magazine’s Top 10 Folk Albums of the year.
Now the twelve-track Banjovial of ten new tunes and two original songs builds on the easy connectivity the musicians have found, in a joyous, life-affirming release that offers both light and shade and tempo shifts from fast, cracking fireworks to more reflective flowing timbres and tunes.
Crisply co-produced by Damien and Ron and the in-demand Josh Clark (who also contributes percussion) the album also features long-tine band collaborators Steven Byrnes on guitar, Duncan Lyall on double bass and Moog, and special guests on some tracks – Ireland’s brilliant button accordionist Sharon Shannon and American bluegrassers Aubrey Haynie andTim Crouch.
These are tunes triggered by all manner of things – comedic events, family and friends, C.S. Lewis’s ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’ heart-stopping moments, beloved animals, the craziness of COVID and even cartoon themes – swaying effortlessly from the humorous to the heartfelt.
Percussive and punchy, ebullient, and exhilarating, rich, and resonant Banjovial takes the banjo to places it has never been before and does exactly what it says on the can – puts the biggest smile on your face!
The album is officially released 3 October 2025 on the Pure Records label. Damien, Ron, and band set off on a fourteen-date autumn tour on 10 October which includes two dates in Northern Ireland, and one right here in York at The National Centre for Early Music.
Full dates:
Friday October 10 BARNSLEY – Barnsley Civic
Saturday October 11 DUNGIVEN – St Canice GAA Club
Sunday October 12 DERRY – New Gate Arts & Cultural Centre
Monday October 13 GLASGOW – Stereo Bar
Tuesday October 14 BRETFORTON – The Fleece Inn
Wednesday October 15 YORK – NCEM
Thursday October 16 MANCHESTER – Band on the Wall
Friday October 17 – NOTTINGHAM – St Paul’s Church
Saturday October 18 LONDON – Irish Cultural Centre, Hammersmith
Sunday October 19 BARROW-IN-FURNESS – Town Hall
Wednesday October 22 BATH – Chapel Arts Centre
Friday October 24 – OTLEY Courthouse
Saturday October 25 BEVERLEY – St Nicholas Church
Sunday October 26 SETTLE – Victoria Hall
