I went to an Alison Krauss concert last night, and I got to thinking that she took part in a session the Chieftains did with some Nashville artists. Their feeling was that some of the old mountain songs in the US were strikingly similar to Irish folk songs, due of course to common heritage.

Anyway, the paired with several different artists from the country music industry. They play some Irish and some American folk music.

Especially good, in my opinion, is the song where they team with Alison Krauss. She sings the old Irish song "Molly Ban". While the song is trajic, Alison's voice is hauntingly beautiful.

They did enough material to make two albums: Down the Old Plank Road and Further Down the Old Plank Road. Even if this isn't your normal music style, it's worth a listen.