Switchgrass Delta bluegrass band to visit Ireland

WAITSBURG – Waitsburg's resident bluegrass band, Switchgrass Delta, will head to Ireland this June to study traditional Irish music and to perform at an Irish bluegrass festival. The group is busy raising funds for the long-awaited international trip.

Nearly eight years ago, Chris Philbrook got Kate Hockersmith back in the bluegrass business when he knocked on her door saying he wanted to be a Troublemaker (a member the youth bluegrass band her son had participated in) and travel to Japan like they had.

That parent-led band played throughout the valley for years and traveled to Japan as part of the Walla Walla-Sasayama Sister City exchange program in 2007.

Hockersmith accepted the challenge by gathering musicians, teaching lessons and eventually forming the Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project under the umbrella of the nonprofit Rural Youth Enrichment Services.

Switchgrass Delta, with members, Philbrook on banjo, Emma Philbrook on mandolin, Robert Walsh on standup bass and Kaleb Kuykendall on fiddle is her most experienced group. And, true to Philbrook's original desire, the group was set to visit Sasayama as part of a cultural exchange program that takes place every five years.

The band practiced, raised funds and was set to head to the airport on Oct. 10, 2017 when all plans went awry. Philbrook was injured in a football accident on Sept. 29 and informed at an Oct. 4 doctor appointment that he would need surgery to repair the injury.

His fellow band members had the option to make the trip without him but chose not to, saying they had started out as a band and would either go as a band or not at all.

The Walla Walla-Sasayama cultural exchange occurs only every five years and Hockersmith knew her young adult band members would be "scattered to the winds" before the next one came around.

"I felt bad because the kids had worked so hard. I wanted to take them on a trip, but didn't want to just take them on vacation," Hockersmith said. "We had trip insurance and got some of our plane fare back so we had some money to start working with."

Through her research, Hockersmith learned of a residential music school in Drumkeerin, Ireland called Homestay Ireland. She arranged for band members to attend a one-week music school, learning traditional Irish and Celtic music, while staying in Irish homes.

"The kids will stay in different homes of people connected to the music school just like they would have done in Japan. I think that's really important to experience that total cultural immersion," Hockersmith said. "They will take one-on-one lessons every day and they'll get to tour and see a few things," she said.

They will also be able to attend the John McKenna Music Festival which takes place during their stay.

Hockersmith said she scheduled the trip for the first week of June because the school is near Westport where the annual Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival takes place June 7-9.

Hockersmith contacted the festival organizer to see if the band could possibly participate in an open mic night or jam session.

"He said he'd love to have us be involved. Then, after he listened to their videos, he texted back and offered to put them on the stage," Hockersmith said.

"They're pretty tickled about it because Irish festivals are different than ours. Rather than playing on one stage, acts are split into different venues such as pubs and churches and I think they get to play in an Irish pub," she added.

While one might not readily connect bluegrass with Celtic music, the Appalachian music has mixed roots in Irish, Scottish and English traditional music.

The Westport festival has featured acts from across America, the UK, continental Europe as well as Ireland.

While they have some funds from previous fundraising efforts the group is a couple thousand dollars short of having this trip covered, Hockersmith said. The band is planning a concert at Waitsburg's Plaza Theater but is also offering to provide entertainment for house concerts.

"If people are having a party with friends, they can have the kids play and just put out a donation jar. It would be a lot of fun, especially if we can get them playing every week between now and June," Hockersmith said.

Switchgrass Delta is made up of its original members. Emma Philbrook attends Whitman College and is currently applying to law school. Walsh attends Walla Walla Community College with plans to transfer to Central Washington University. Chris Philbrook is working full time and and Kuykendall, a junior, is homeschooled.

"I am really excited to see the scenery and also to meet new people there and learn different kinds of music," Kuykendall said.

"Switchgrass has been such an adventure for me for such a long time. I'll be leaving for law school soon, so the Ireland trip is really just the last leg of a much longer and more exciting journey. Leave it to a bunch of musicians to go out on such a high note!" Emma Philbrook said.

To make a donation or book a party with Switchgrass Delta, contact Kate Hockersmith at 337-8789.