As Damien said as he opened the evening “when you mention two banjos everyone thinks of dualling banjos, but tonight, we are collaborative banjos.”
Review and photos by Stuart Duthie
Damien is on his 4-string and Ron, on his 5-string. A show of hands in the audience showed a) there are lot of banjo players in York b) they were all in this the audience, and c) further chat identified that 5-string is the banjo of choice!
I must confess I only have the briefest of flings with Irish music and bluegrass, let alone when they are blended. For me, this brief romance is with Cerys Matthews and her eclectic show on a Sunday morning on BBC 6 Music.
My favourite gigs are fast moving, riotous rock concerts, so tonight was always going to a change of gear.
So, what did I make of it? A lovely evening with gentle storytelling and some beautiful musicianship all in an environment where you just want to sit back, relax, let your thoughts wander and let the music wash over you. It was meditative and the ecclesiastical architecture of the National Centre for New Music just enhanced all of that!
Damien O’Kane and Ron Block played at The National Centre for Early Music, York on Wednesday 15 October 2025.