Hog heaven for Americana fans

Kilkenny Rhythm & Roots Weekend: Despite the rain, the wind and the last-minute cancellation by Alejandro Escovedo, fans of Americana and whatever alt.country offshoot you can think of were in hog heaven over the weekend.

Even if some of them aren't ideal venues, the small pubs dotted along Kilkenny's streets hosted the best gigs, with musicians performing right in front of their audiences.

From Friday's opening shebang to Sunday's unofficial finale, Kilkenny did the two-step, the quickstep and the shuffle. We had to trudge through wet streets, elbow ourselves some space and watch artists operate on budgets that wouldn't pay Madonna's paperclip bill, but we heard some of the best music we're likely to this year.

Ohio-born Jeff Finlan, the grandson of Irish railway workers, seems to have picked up the questioning logic that eventually became too much of a burden for Bob Dylan. He also has a Dylanesque whine and some bittersweet lyrics, a crisp guitar sound and a good sense of humour. Songs such as Sugar Blue, Perfect Mark Of Cain and She's A Momma Now cut through the noise of the pub and made an impression.

As did Greg Trooper. The US songwriter is rightly regarded as one of Nashville's best-kept secrets. Paul Burch used to be, too, but it seems that, like Ryan Adams before him, he won't have to wait long before the majors start knocking, especially now his songs are being picked up for Hollywood soundtracks. A special talent, Burch is an exceptional, no-frills artist who sings of drifters, grifters and people who find it hard to find a place in the world.

Suzie Ungerleider, who goes by the name Oh Susanna, also sings of outsiders. She's a Toronto-based singer-songwriter with an attitude straight out of her material: Sleepy Little Sailor and Bullish Little Nature could equally be about her.

Mixing country noir with blues and rock to bring to mind the sleazier aspects of the Rolling Stones, Ungerleider finished her set with a radical version of Dylan's I'll Keep It With Mine - and marvellous it was

too.

There was nothing other-worldly about Laura Cantrell, who brought bucketloads of traditional country music - and a sense of simplicity - with her. Songs such as Don't Break The Heart, Queen Of The Coast, Early Years, Churches Off The Interstate and The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter were blessed with an authority and sense of history that made them - and Cantrell - stand out as a festival highlight.

Yet even Cantrell had to take second place to Buddy Miller. Rangy and slightly surreal, Miller effortlessly mixed the rock 'n' roll swagger of Midnight And Lonesome and The Price Of Love with the bottle-of-Bud balladeering of When It Comes To You, A Showman's Life and Quecreek. The result was more than just engaging: biblical, desperate imagery dancing a Tennessee waltz with expressive guitar work about sums it up.

Hem qualified as this year's quietist and most rarified act, yet there was such a fragile quality to their material you'd wonder whether any ordinary venue would be right for them. Kathleen Edwards was the opposite.Her rough-hewn guitar-oriented roots rock was a fine way to end the weekend - although her almost perfect blend of vulnerability and arrogance was occasionally thrown off balance by haywire guitar heroics and a lack of stage experience. The verdict? The whole weekend was a treat for fans of real music. Until next year, then.

Tony Clayton-Lea