(Cat Zachary/UNC-Chapel Hill)
For five bluegrass students and 105 marching band students at Carolina, the start to this year will be anything but ordinary. Along with about 25 music faculty and staff members, they will travel to Dublin, Ireland, in conjunction with the Aug. 29 Tar Heel football game there against Texas Christian University.
Carolina Bluegrass explores its roots
Accompanying the Carolina Bluegrass students are band director Russell Johnson and Carolina Bluegrass Initiative director Jocelyn Neal. The students, Malcolm Douglas ’27 (mandolin), Will Palmer ’30 (banjo), Katherine Thomas ’28 (fiddle), Margaret Thornton ’27 (guitar) and John Wood ’27 (bass), all have experience in bluegrass.
But only Thomas plays traditional Irish music.
“This trip is a chance for me to play two types of music that I love and grew up with,” Thomas said. “While I’m a little rusty with my Irish repertoire, I can’t wait to join a jam session in Dublin and have fun connecting with people through music.”
Thanks to a generous donation from The Carlyle Adams Foundation and an anonymous donor, these students and faculty have the opportunity of a lifetime. They will play after the women’s soccer game, at The Songlines Symposium on Aug. 27 and at a selection of other gigs around Dublin.
Johnson likes watching his students grow through experiences outside of class. “They’ll be coming home with a deeper appreciation for how those traditions evolve and connect across generations and across oceans,” he said. “I know they’ll come home inspired, and I expect I will, too.”
Neal wants to explore how bluegrass grew from the musical traditions of Scottish and Irish immigrants who settled in the Appalachian Mountains.
“This is a chance to expand our students’ understanding and perspective in ways that will transform them, that will reframe the whole world as their campus,” Neal said. “And that learning is always a two-way street: They also get to take the best of our Carolina bluegrass program and share it with new audiences.”
Marcus Ginyard, Carolina’s director of special projects, was instrumental in breaking down barriers for this trip, from coordinating their lodging at Trinity College Dublin to helping find a donor.
“North Carolina has always had music in its DNA, and as the flagship university of a state where that tradition runs deep, we felt a responsibility to have our music on display,” said Ginyard.
Marching for new audiences
In February 2025, University bands director Jeffrey Fuchs received his first email about the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, featuring the Tar Heels and the Horned Frogs. Over 18 months, Fuchs and assistant director of bands Anna Scott have been in regular discussions with units across campus to plan the experience.
“I’m excited to watch the students’ faces,” said Fuchs. “That’s what I love about every place we go.”
The Tar Heel band will play at pep rallies and other gigs and will meet up with the TCU band for a Celtic Nights dinner and show.
“This trip means a lot to me because it’s my first time leaving the country, and getting to do it with my best friends in an environment that I feel really safe and comfortable in is unique,” said senior Rhyan Moore.
At the game, the bands will perform the national anthem together during the pre-game festivities, and each will perform separately during halftime. The Tar Heels show will feature music from across the state, from beach music to a mountain gospel tent revival.
“I’m so excited to be immersed in a different culture,” senior Toino McLemore said. “We’re in Ireland, and then we’re also at an American football game. It’s going to be such a unique experience doing something that we’ve done before in a completely new light.”
While the marching band had been planning this trip for over a year, the bluegrass band was a more recent addition, and funding was a top priority when discussing how to make this opportunity possible for the students. Thanks to a generous donation from The Carlyle Adams Foundation and an anonymous donor, these students and faculty are able to bring their talents abroad.