Biggin Hillbillies
The Biggin Hillbillies were formed in 1998 having previously played as Anglo Irish Pact (AIP), with John McDonagh on Mandolin & vocals, Bob White on Banjo, Ray Butcher on guitar & vocals and Nye Davies on Bass. They are occasionally joined by Billy Taylor on the Fiddle.
Whilst their mainstream is bluegrass music, their varied repertoire includes country and folk numbers, 50’s and 60’s pop, Irish favourites and jazz standards. As well as bluegrass standards from Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers & Bill Munroe they also include numbers from the likes of The Country Gentlemen, Banjo Dan Lindner and Don Reno, plus of course the ever requested ‘Duelling Banjos’ and ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’.
Their Country list draws on the hits of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Jimmie Rodgers, Don Williams as well as lesser known items from the likes of Buck Owens and The Red Clay Ramblers. Billy Taylor brings a lifetimes knowledge of Irish music to the band and solid favourites such as ‘Whiskey in the Jar’, ‘Muirsheen Durkin’ and ‘The Masons Apron’ form cornerstones of their repertoire. They also include a few jazz standards like ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’, ‘Sweet Sue’ and ‘Bye Bye Blues’ in the list, often inspired by Bob’s in depth knowledge of old time favourites going back to his days of tuition from a ‘Black & White Minstrels’ banjo artist.
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Biggin Hillbillies on the web