Texas Scots #407

We visit the 2019 Texas Scottish Festival this week on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Celtic music from...

Scotland Rising, Beyond the Pale, The Selkie Girls, Reel Treble, Tullamore, Ed Miller, Jed Marum, Skeleton McKee, Anton & The Colts, Cleghorn, Willow and Her Giant, Brother, Jil Chambless, Scooter Muse

I hope you enjoyed this week's show. If you did, please share the show with ONE friend.

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is dedicated to growing our community and helping the incredible artists who so generously share their music. If you find music you love, buy their albums, shirts, and songbooks, follow them on Spotify, see their shows, and drop them an email to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast.

Remember also to Subscribe to the Celtic Music Magazine. Every week, I'll send you a few cool bits of Celtic music news. It's a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Plus, you'll get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free, just for signing up today. Thank you again for being a Celt of Kindness.

VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20
With the new year comes a new votes in the Celtic Top 20. This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. Just list the show number, and the name of as many bands in the episode as you like. Your vote helps me create next year's Best Celtic music of 2019 episode. Vote Now!

THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC

0:06 "Desert Reels" by Scotland Rising from Out of the Ashes

3:32 "The Tommy Jig-Dan Murphy's-Four Posts of the Bed" by Beyond the Pale from Wantin' Something More

6:29 "Mo Nighean Donn As Bòidhche" by The Selkie Girls from Pirate Queen

10:37 "Martin Wynne's #2/Dunmore Lasses/The Coalminer" by Reel Treble

14:50 "Sound the Pibroch" by Tullamore from Two to Get Ready

20:13 CELTIC FEEDBACK

24:28 "Room for Us All in the Dance" by Ed Miller from The Edinburgh Rambler

29:18 "Loch Lomond" by Jed Marum from Calla's Waltz

33:08 "Handsome Johnny Flynn" by Skeleton McKee from Leave the World Laughing

37:23 CELTIC PODCAST NEWS

39:09 "My Favourite Song" by Anton & The Colts from No End of the Line

44:56 "Hello Hello" by Cleghorn from Live in Greenville

48:51 "O'Carolan's Farewell to Music" by Willow and Her Giant

52:11 "Take Me Down" by Brother from Pax Romana MMV

59:00 "The Collier's Way" by Jil Chambless and Scooter Muse from The Lang Awa' Ships

The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather. To subscribe, go to Apple Podcasts or to our website where you can become a Patron of the Podcast for as little as $1 per episode. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/.

CELTIC PODCAST NEWS

* Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. My name is Marc Gunn. I am a Celtic musician and podcaster. This show is dedicated to the indie Celtic musicians. I want to ask you to support these artists. Share the show with your friends. And find more episodes at celticmusicpodcast.com. You can also support this podcast on Patreon.

Whenever you become a Patron of the Podcast, 10% of all the money I earn goes toward Celtic non-profits. I donate that because I want to help our fellow Celtic organizations grow.

One of the festivals I have supported over the years is the Texas Scottish Festival. Thanks to our patrons, I made another nice donation to this festival in North Texas. The festival takes place May 10-12, 2019 in Decatur, Texas. And this week, we're gonna highlight some of the amazing artists performing there this year as well as in past years.

I want to give you a quick heads up. I decided to skip the podcast next week. Our official move in date for Atlanta is next week. While we will still be in Birmingham for the most part, we will be getting everything setup at our new home. And since May has five Thursdays, instead of the usual four, I figured it was just easier and less financially stressful for many of our Patrons of the Podcast who don't set a cap on their pledges.

That said, I decided last minute to compile a short bonus podcast exclusively for our Patrons of the Podcast. If you want to support the show, please consider joining them.

TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS
Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through it's culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos. Join the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST!
There are many ways to support the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. You can make a donation through our website. You can buy a bumper sticker to show your support. You can buy a shirt or get the Sainted Song Henger Collection to tell the world you support Celtic culture through music. The best way is to become a Patron of the Podcast.

This show exists because of the kind patronage of people like you. You can make a pledge of a dollar or more per episode and cap how much you want to spend each month. Your generosity funds the creation, promotion and production of the show. It allows us to attract new listeners and to help our community grow. And you also get episodes before regular listeners.

You can become a generous Patron of the Podcast at http://patreon.com/celticpodcast.

I want to thank our newest patrons: Alexander P

I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK

What are you doing today while listening to the podcast? You can send a written comment along with a picture of what you're doing while listening. Email a voicemail message to celticpodcast@gmail.com

Lori Wilson emailed: "St. Patrick's Day goals! Didn't know if you saw this. Thought it was neat."
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190313-an-irish-pub-born-in-the-dark-ages

Mary Malyszka emailed: "Hi Marc - Devoted and highly supportive listener here! We love your podcast. My husband and family and I have a ritual - we love listening to your podcast as we cook dinner. We talk about our days and enjoy your wonderful music! Simple but wonderful! Thank you!

In any case, I was just listening to the current podcast, and you mentioned having a podcast devoted to the Celtic harp! I was thrilled. I've spent the last 20+ years studying the "clarsach" or 'Celtic harp - it is a passion. (I am actually a former president of the Scottish National Harp Society of America SHSA)). I wanted to offer some recommendations for some harpists that I've loved listening to over the years. There are so many great harpists - so this isn't a comprehensive list - just some that I feel are great because of their skill and talent as a performer, or because of their unique ability as a composer or arranger.

First, I'd like to suggest someone named Cynthia Cathcart. (http://www.cynthiacathcart.com) She is a Scottish US National Champion and professional musician. She plays the clarsach - which is the wire-strung harp played with one's fingernails. She is a small niche artist (even in the harp world), so any of her music from the "Alchemy of a Rose" album should be easy to get permission to play. (She does a great version of Brian Boru's March with the didgeridoo!)

I'd also like to suggest Ann Heymann - who, in my opinion, is the finest wire-strung harp player in the world. She is credited with re-inventing the wire strung technique based on extensive research of the Bunting manuscript (Irish harp source) and other sources. My favorite album is 'Queen of Harps'.

Another premier Scottish artist is Alison Kinnaird, who is considered one of the leading performers and researchers of the Scottish harp - her book "Tree of Strings" is a must-have for anyone doing historical harp research.

Other artists that are absolutely wonderful and renown in the Celtic harp world include Deborah Friou, Kim Robertson, Robin Huw Bowen (Welsh triple harp), Cheryl Ann Fulton, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, Patrick Ball, Laurie Rasmussen, and, of course, some of the original leaders in the Celtic harp world, such as Derek Bell and Alan Stivell. There are so many wonderful harpists that I could name! I hope you do consider doing this podcast. There are some great Celtic harp musicians out there that I know your listeners would welcome learning about. With respect for all the wonderful things you do!"