Time to play bluegrass

At 70, Jim Dempsey is passionate about singing and playing guitar with his band, The Dempsey Brothers. Together with Bruce Fumini on banjo, George Teasdell on mandolin, Wen-Tjen Lim on fiddle and Paul Abrahams on double bass, Jim loves promoting the bluegrass tradition in the northern Illawarra and beyond at folk festivals across the east coast such as Bright’s annual Mountaingrass. 

Bluegrass is a blend of Irish folk, dance tunes, blues, gospel and jazz, all played on acoustic string instruments: guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro and double bass. Born in North America’s Appalachian Mountains during World War II, bluegrass is based on players singing sophisticated harmonies around a single microphone, with elements of musical improvisation, and is often played at breakneck speed. 

Following the greats of bluegrass such as Bill Monroe and the Country Gentleman, much of the bluegrass repertoire is traditional songs – but that’s not where it ends.

“In our band, we don’t give ourselves constraints about our music selection though, as we like to broaden both our repertoire and our playing styles," Jim said. "We play artists like Chris Stapleton and Paul Kelly. But while we are eclectic, we still do the traditional songs because of their wonderful simplicity and to acknowledge our musical heritage.”

Bluegrass is huge in the US, but Jim says the genre is not always well known in Australia even though it has had plenty of pop culture influence.

“Many of us grew up hearing Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs on The Beverley Hillbillies on TV or the Soggy Bottom Boys in the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou, and plenty of contemporary artists like Mumford & Sons have picked up some bluegrass influences.”

Jim, Bruce and their colleague Mark Ballesi have been running regular bluegrass nights at the Railway Institute, presenting a mix of local talent and fabulous international acts as they tour on the festival circuit.

“We have had some very famous names over the years,” says Jim “such as the Peter Rowan, the Sonoran Dogs, Mike Compton and Laura Boosinger, Ashlee Watkins and Andrew Small, Hi Fidelity and the Kody Norris Show.” 

Most recently, young brother and sister duo Like Sunglass from Bankstown played their first Illawarra gig, and their joy, passion and talent were inspiring.

Fostering young players is key part of Jim’s musical interest. “I not only want to see more young people playing bluegrass; I hope to see more young people at our concerts, enjoying the extraordinary harmonies and the musical mastery of the players.”

He stresses that the bluegrass community centres on the tradition of jamming or “picking”, and it’s through these picks that people learn new techniques of playing together and collaborating. 

“Many locals play multiple instruments, or design and make their own banjos and guitars and jam together,” he says. ‘It is the ultimate in skills development.”

He says their passion for musical collaboration is infectious. 

“Some of our young players are also classically trained and come into the bluegrass style from a whole different perspective. The sounds of bluegrass allow, ironically, that rules can be broken and the younger generation love that ability to create. 

“In classical music traditions the rules can be constrictive and bluegrass offers them a different, multi-stylistic creative experience.”

Jim says bluegrass musicians are also incredibly lucky to be able to play at an intimate venue like the Railway Institute, which is maintained by members of the Thirroul Institute Preservation Society (TRIPS). 

“It has great acoustics and a unique trade union history, which complements the rural, hard-working origins of this music.”

TRIPS saved the Railway Institute from being demolished and looks after the organisation and upkeep of the venue. As Jim notes, without them, this wonderful venue would have been lost to the community. 

“We are also very grateful to locals like Mark Ballesi and his partner Shoshana Dreyfus, who have set up the hall for these gigs, sold tickets, offered promotional expertise, and provided food and accommodation for visiting guests, helping us all to keep going with our love of bluegrass.”

Jim notes that another treat in playing at the Institute is the trains themselves.  

“There is nothing better than singing a tune about trains, when one actually goes through Thirroul station in the background – and surprisingly it seems to happen quite often. Our overseas visitors, in particular, really love that.”

If you’re interested in a taste of bluegrass, you can check The Thirroul Pick and Dempsey Brothers pages for details of upcoming gigs or email the dempseybrothersband@gmail.com to join the bluegrass events mailing list.