Kaz Inaba & the Bluegrass Buddies with Trey Wellington in Bangkok (11/29/25)
This report on the Southeastern Old Time Gathering in Thailand comes from Kaz Inaba, Japan’s leading bluegrass entertainer and promoter.
Country Gongbang of South Korea toured in Japan in February, and so did Tom Peng and the Newgrasslands in September. David Grier toured in Japan in October/November, Peter Rowan in November, Anya Hinkle in November, and the Ashville Mountain Boys in November/December. A busy year, wasn’t it?
In Thailand, the second annual Southeastern Old Time Gathering in Bangkok was held on November 29-30. Kazuhiro Inaba and the Bluegrass Buddies were invited as a headliner for the festival, along with Trey Wellington, Tom Nechville & Linda Leavitt from the States, and Snasta from Ireland.
The festival was held indoors at Public House Hotel, and it was a sold-out event of bluegrass, old time, and Irish music with many music lovers from all over the world.
It was my very first experience visiting Thailand and to see the people and its culture, which was an awesome experience in my life.
The Thai version of the Bluegrass Buddies consisted of Hitoshi Imamura (banjo) and Yoshie Sakamoto (vocal) from Japan, and with the help of Baron Collins-Hill (mandolin), Jittima R. Catalano (bass), Paul Flynn (bass), and myself (guitar). We did two shows – Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon sets, and we were so grateful that we were received so warmly by the enthusiastic audience.
I deeply appreciate Sunny Sachdev, the festival organizer, who invited us and showed us the warm hospitality, and Masutomi Koga, our tour conductor who showed us around.
I believe Southeastern Old Time Gathering in Thailand will be more active from now on, so keep your eyes on the bluegrass move in Asia!
