Best of bluegrass at Monroe’s from lively Rackhouse Pilfer

The six-piece band came together at the weekly Fireside Session in McGarrigle’s pub in Sligo, which was led by Leon (guitar/vocals) and Les (mandolin/vocals). Fiddle player Fiachra sat in, and the band began to find their sound.

“I joined the band at the stage when it was still a session,” says Fiachra. “We brought in a PA one day and said ‘let’s plug this thing in and see what we have’. It grew from that.”

Since their formation, the band have toured all over Ireland and made a trip to the La Roche Bluegrass Festival in the south of France.

“They had the best of musicians from all over the world at it,” says Fiachra. “There was about 5,000 people at it.”

A tour in France and regular gigs at home says something about the popularity of the genre that Rackhouse Pilfer play. Can Fiachra explain the current appetite for American roots music?

“I’ve heard different opinions on it,” he says. “I reckon it’s something to with how computerised and virtualised the world is these days. We’re all cybered up to the gills. This kind of music is something that’s really pure and true and honest; the songs have been around for a few hundred years.”

The band begin at midnight on the main stage of Monroe's. Tickets €10.