The Tanglewood TW47e Acoustic Guitar (pictured above) which will be offered as a listener's prize on the new series of Roots Freeway. The prize is sponsored by I'MINMUSIC SHOP IN Carlow, and Tanglewood Guitars Ireland, and comes complete with hard shell case, strap, spare strings and tuner, the whole package valued at over €1000.00. All-in-all, a beautiful instrument, and it can be yours, absolutely free !!!!!

Our listener's competition will begin on the Roots Freeway show broadcast on January the 14th 2012 and will run for 6 shows with a question on each show, so listeners have to tune in on Saturday nights to hear all six questions. The process is similar to our previous competitions for Gibson and Martin Guitars, and the Tommy Cussen Banjos.

www.tanglewoodguitars.ie

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Niall Toner presenting James Finlan of Moycullen, Galway, with the Martin Guitar he won on the recent Roots Freeway competition on RTE Radio One. The presentation was made at Perfect Pitch music shop in Dublin. This wonderful prize was sponsored by Perfect Pitch and Martin Guitars.

Programme 8: 25th February 2012

Programme 7: 18th February 2012

Programme 6: 11th February 2012

Programme 5: 4th February 2012

Programme 4: 28th January 2012

Programme 3: 21st January 2012

Programme 2: 14th January 2012

Programme 1: 7th January 2012

Niall Toner

Niall Toner is, first and foremost, a music fan, and if he wasn't presenting Roots Freeway, he would be at home listening to the same variety of music himself. Niall says that being on Radio One is just like having a hobby turn in to a job, and the thrill of bringing such a wide range of Roots music to such a large audience is both an honour and a pleasure.

Niall was born in Dublin, and nurtured an early interest in music by tuning in to Radio Luxemburg and the AFN radio service from Germany. The saturday night re-broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry from Nashville was his first exposure to Country music, and when a local schoolfriend showed up with a collection that included the music of Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, The Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers, Niall's musical fate was sealed.

As well as presenting Roots Freeway, Niall is a songwriter and a musican, playing guitar and mandolin with his own NTB, and his songs have been recorded by Bill Wyman, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Albert Lee and The Special Consensus, to name but a few. Niall alsso writes extensivley on the subject, and his articles have been published by Hot Press, Maverick and Country Music Plus. He is also the authour of Nuts and Bolts, a guide to writing better songs. Niall and his wife, Moira, live near Myshall in Co. Carlow.

Further Information : www.nialltonerband.com