Routes & Branches & Beyond

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 In the odd chance that you are interested in a range of celtic and roots music, you may enjoy this weekly show.  As I used to say, it is a way to travel the world without changing planes in Halifax.  Each 1-hour show features a unique range of tunes and songs, along with lots of context.  The following are links to some of the recent shows.  Click on the show to stream or download it: 

• 254. Autumn Harvests, # 3 -  blistering bluegrass families, darkly hypnotic sounds of pre-radio music, Atlantic songwriter angst, american primitive guitar, modest Gaelic funk fusion, octave gymnastics, fanciful harps, Australian neo-liberal protests, neo-medieval branles, modal Irish guitar, gospel aeroplanes and the foreboding fiddles of post-Brexit times 
• 253. Autumn Harvests, # 2 -   Irish slippery sliding, Scottish fishwives, Newfoundland bakery shanteys, southern sad songs, Italian everlasting accordions, Sami yoik dancing, Cuban Convent jazz, wise old market women, cheesy chord organ swing, perilous gravel roads and cowboy songs of the Wild East. 
• 252. Autumn Harvests, # 1 -  Irish trad royalty, plooboy laddies, cluckin' old hens, Breton gavottes, jazzy folk laments, retrofitted chestnuts, stark European political klezmer, pig foot BBQ tips, Galician dance hall tunes, sublime concertina mastery, deep south Peterborough blues and new age buskers. 
• 251. Relatively New to This World, # 10 -  spicy multicultural aural gumbo, rambling sailors & the fires down below, brave Montreal indie-folk, relentless high-octane pub folk, inspirational vocal aerobics, zombie post-folk cross-country skiing odes from Estonia, and Canadian Irish punk one-nighters that last over three decades
• 250. Relatively New to This World, # 9 -  Appalachian abandon, deep banjo-phonics, the sound of mountain air, outlaw trashgrass pioneers, pure drop Irish music from a trio from Tokyo, when charming turns to creeping, wanderers, wagoners, demons, fiddlers, horseracers and Old Bill. 
• 249. Relatively New to This World, #8 -  trusty Irish reels and laments, Labrador folk-rock insights, Appalachian music stylings from Quebec, high octane newgrass, heavy Celtic shanty riffs, lilting neo-Calypsonian dancehall wit and homesteader banjo vibes.  
• 248. October Rambles, # 4 -  Quebecois odes to the rather successful dandelion, tapping of feet and twisting of tongues, charming NL folkies, bluegrass low self-esteem, Irish commuting ditties, the one celtic song of a lovers' parting that turns out well, guitar rambles, how to rock in a weary land, Scottish shepherds, celtic flirtations with pop rock, and trad chaos theory 
• 247. October Rambles, # 3 -  musical journeywork, emotion-laden bluegrass, Appalachian banjo rockers, infectious fiddles (there's a vaccine for that now...), fantastical loggers' commutes, odes to this clumsy ol' world, reflective dish-washing folk, neo-gospel exhortations to love this life, celtic songs about arranged marriages, respect for indigenous grandfathers, wildwood harmonies, piano banjo, long-bow fiddling (as opposed to long-bow archery), Hawaiian slack-key guitars, and Glasgow session flair 
• 246. October Rambles, # 2 -  nordo-celtic sword dancing, odes to a noble and meditative form of transport (the canoe), spine-tingling anthems to nature, Italian vocal gymnastics, campfire chestnuts (but not the roasting kind), flood control ballads, the gospel recliner, the blues made-up mind, throwback bluegrass, celtic vision and Breton accordion delights (yes, those two last words can go together).  
• 245. October Rambles, # 1 -  reeling molybdomancy, anniversary Irish, trad tunes with brass, double bagpipe octane, Quebec je ne sais pas, Swedish bride marches, tree-planting campfire songs, Manx dances, power chord trad, Swiss celtic heroes, Icelandic chamber pop (not to be confused with an Icelandic chamber pot...), European folk walls of sound, and Nordy lads & Limerick lasses. 
• 244. The Oak Tree -  northeastern bluegrass, celtic electrification, Danish breakfast guitars, mournful gospel, shuffling Donegal fiddles, gruff-voiced story songs, Irish swing, sombre songs with a good beat about urban sprawl, chamber trad for soft-seat opera houses, and new songs that sound traditional along with traditional songs that sound new. 
• 243. The Pine Tree, # 2 -  old-timey country music from hip city folks, homestead homesickness, the solace of the banjo-filled pine cabin, Zydeco trail rides, government-commissioned folk songs (your tax dollars at work!), Brechtian cabaret folk, edgy mountain Irish, strutting Cajun, and bluegrass jam bands.
• 242. The Pine Tree, # 1 -  Cajun two-steps, blues chestnuts, tearful harmonies, shanty joy joviality, highland abandon, sad-eyed ladies, symbolic Ukrainian pines, and western progressivegrass.
• 241. The Willow Tree, # 2 -   a PB&J sandwich (pop, bluegrass & jazz), songs so sad only the Irish can sing them, Bretonesque hop dancing, reflections on a table setting design, Australian bushdancing, Appalachian burial instructions, disrespectful workplace issues on sailing ships, blues to weep by, and haunting fiddle odes from Fogo Island. 
• 240. The Willow Tree, # 1 -  fluid Cape Breton fiddle, melodious Irish larks, rowdy folk, bluegrass songs of Shakespearean themes, flutes from tree branches, nouveau old-time songs, sea shanties from the forest, heart-string-tugging waltzes, Appalachian songs from just north of Toronto and the dark side of willow gardens. 
• 239. August Rambles, # 4 -  mandolin marches, Irish buskers, reels of abandon (not to be confused with "real" abandon), sleep-inducing herbal remedies, high brow diddly-diddly music, Afro-European sacred stylings, Cape Verdean blues, de-folklorized ribabs, Gaelic deep atmosphere, DADGAD reverie, great big sea squared, Tejano fiestas, feathers and lost dogs. 
• 238. August Rambles, # 3 - blasts of rural trad brilliance, jolly beggars, musical royalty from Gweedore, tango dawgs, East Coast enigmas, telegraph sex, Kora Rock n' Roll from Switzerland, Schwyzerorgeli jams, Paganini meets the melodeon, Ukrainian street busking and a ballad from the Boss. 
• 237. August Rambles, # 2 -  frosty clawgrass, raucous dukes, calming snowbirds, bold trios, 1960s refugees, gaelic neo-trad, Latvian folklore heroes, Texican Rock n' Roll, atheist bluegrass laments, the joys of Joe Batt's Arm and dreamy open-hearted Brazilian ballads 
• 236. August Rambles, # 1 -  fiddles n' feet, the glories of work, wishful fishery bliss (say that 5 times fast!), stormy Gaelic fusion, all seven rejoices, home-schooled folksingers, bluegrass hellfire & brimstone, the comforting community theology of the cafe, bawdy renaissance suggestions, Quebec-Italian anthems, Mexican accordions and Senegalese guitars 
• 235. Extended Families, # 4 -  heavy fiddle fusion, Greenwich Village 60s refugees, the Stradivarius of the Ozarks, California psychafolkic jam, strange uncles from abroad (you know who you are...), breakdowns of the finest kind, Scottish cajun aces, masterless cousins, folk-punk family values and questionable family remedies of unknown legality 
• 234. Extended Families, # 3 -  nostalgic tunes for long-departed Aunts, itinerant mining Cousins, the bagpiping side of the family, troublesome middle-aged stringbands, bus-driving Appalachian stars, a motley quintet of Uncles (Joe, Pen, Dan, Rat & Tim), the effects of interest rate inflation down on the farm, bluegrass reunions, early 70s pop families and Cape Breton families who play together... stay together.
• 233. Extended Families, # 2 -  homemade plaster recipes, three different Auntie Marys (are they maybe related?), shepherd retirement schemes, Scottish street rhymes, waltzing with your big sister, whittling fidders, slippery contradances, awkward family reunions, funky new family dances, the unspoken rules of family life and a clatter of accordion playing aunties. 
• 232. Extended Families, # 1 -  jigging kin, wandering uncles, mountain tubthumping stringbands, sheep rustling, rodent courtship rituals, Irish Cajun cousins, alt-folk family planning, classic Irish trad reunions, obscure nonsense pop, Acadian kitchen stompers, autoharp reunions and Don Messer at a Jewish wedding. 
• 231. Relatively New to This World, # 7 - hearts dancing to crisp guitars, sprightly accordion grannies, Scots trad stride piano, Western grit for old souls, good-time songs for folksong jamborees, classical guitars dueling with a piano, music for squirrel watching, clusterfolk polka stylings and notable entries in the "What We Did During the Pandemic" contest.
• 230. Relatively New to This World, # 6 - remote Scottish electronocelt, romantic (but unrealistic) odes to ploughboy laddies, unforgetful travel tunes, Canadian harmonica wizardry, sublime vocals from the Barnsley nightingale, northern rhythm, jigs 'n lessons, and Irish-ish side projects
• 229. The Spring Rambles, # 5 - adrenalin-racing jazzgrass, guitar routes less travelled, fanciful cliffs, grievous angel laments, songwriters on mandolins, ethereal viola d'amores, waltzes that are almost certain French (or maybe Belgian), north country stories from the Yukon, great unknowns, Eton alumni with the blues, misty moisty mornings, Irish pop nightingales, and pre-pubescent radio dreams.
• 228. The Spring Rambles, # 4 - Northern Peninsula doubles, Acadian voyageur chanteys, ditzy & zesty newgrass, Tuscan folk jazz, cursed wives of Connaught and the farmers who sing about them, traditional resurrection ballads, chamber roots quartets, silver-tongued quickgrass, Neil Young retrofits and suggestive western swing
• 227. The Spring Rambles, # 3 - the blazing fiddles of youth, slip jigs for a Sunday morning, whistles of many notes, twangy alt-rock, fizzing mandolin virtuosity, funky blue reels you can throat sing along with, silky freight trains, unsquare dances in 7/4 time, folk happiness, rumba redemption, Hungarian abandon, music hall window cleaners, shuffling laments and jubilant (though alarming) anthems
• 226. The Spring Rambles, # 2 - blistering old grass, Canadian bush swing, Ozark cosmic churning, path-clearing Irish proto-folk, blues from Middle Ontario, Scotland's unofficial anthem, shoeless polskas, the damned northern wind, slippery guitar runs, Brazilian reggae funk groove, soulful gypsy swing machines, a Saturday night prairie dance hall and reckless love 
• 225.5. Look What I Found! - Come-from-away fiddles, bluegrass harmonicas, French versions of Dylan, resurrections of old classics, impossible guitar licks, even a bit of Irish-Quebecois.
• 225. The Spring Rambles, # 1 - a blast from the first family of Cape Breton music, baroque letting its hair down, maritime railroad chanteys, tentative Canadian pride (sorry about that one...), reworked ominous pop country ditties, appropriate disdain for political lackeys, the smallish glory of internet sessions, an Istanbul cafe that serves Greek pastries Cajun guitar stylings, electrosonic folk from Italy, Fransaskois raquette, frenetic Romani brass and calming cauld wind pipes.
• 224. Not Quite New to This World - slides to honour the neuroses of of felines, Ukrainian-Canadian speed folk from NL, liminal threshold-straddling British stylings, Irish hogeyes and wild roads, dandy duets from a couple with more than a century on the guitar, Scottish post-pop neo-trad, octogenarian AFro-Colombian celebration, mystery trains, and nordic brudpolskas
• 223. Relatively New to This World, # 5 - rippling sinewy harps, passionate Welsh joy, undiminished creative energy from session folk-rockers who didn't get the memo about retirement, pop-inspired pan-celtic dancing, resurrectionist prog-rock and intense Tuscan spirits
• 222. Relatively New to This World, # 4 - joyous Quebecois, continent-straddling trad backbeats from the international departure lounge, approachably-complex neograss, rooted rural NL originals, quirky soaring polka battles, sparkling gaelic americana and Canadian old-timey tunes from the lake.
• 221. Saints, # 3 - Euro-Quebec "come what may" attitude, Scots-Canadian carpenter ruminations, kitchen step-dancing, landscapes put to music, Hebridean wedding marches, folkish complaints, tasty competition fiddle, neo-vaudeville troubadours, toxic patriotism, Irish jazz harps, Dixieland street beats and Trinidadian vignettes.
• 220. Saints, # 2 - buzzin' Quebecois, windy jawharps, Belgian brass, heartstring-tugging laments, Acadian disturbances, celtic jazz, ramblin' hospital blues, saintly odes to the pagan celts, trad with a global twist, "joie de jazz," dashing cowboys and the loneliness of old dictators
• 219. Saints, # 1 - ticklish mazurkas, Townie waltzes, smashing arrivals, reeling accordions, Acadia-Cajun gumbo, critiques of over-imbibing audience members, cemetery swing, whistles and bodhrans in honour of the Irish, stark-ravin' fiddles, blues on the ranch and Midwestern Scottish stagger.
• 218. Winter Rambles, # 9 - celtic whistle mindwarps, dark-eyed baritones, frantic table scraps, the most famous pier in Canada, guitars caught in traffic, briny laments, the waters of forgetfulness, Latino rock anthems and cinematic quasi-bluegrass jazz tracks.
• 217. Winter Rambles, # 8 - Shetland harps, new-age trad, Polish-Arabic-Rom stew, Greek accordion ballads, Pogueish chaos, doo-wop from the 60s, old-timey revisions, Franco-Ontarien families, Sandpiper Dolls and Crooked Brothers.
• 216. Winter Rambles, # 7 - pan-celtic supergroups, long-winded jam bands, French theatrical ballads, heart-on-the-sleeve British storytelling, accordions and petticoats.
• 215. Winter Rambles, # 6 - peripatetic Swiss banjo, government road-building shanties, elderly female garrett-dweller laments, flying klezmer ghosts and frailing bluegrass guitar.
• 214. Winter Rambles, # 5 - troll dancing,  Western angst, Appalachian rodent longings, mesmeric Irish fiddles, Swedish nimbleness, crunchy henhouse blues, and Ostrobothian cattle-herding calls.
• 213. Winter Rambles, # 4 -  Gaelic tongue-acrobatics, catchy classical Arabian scales, Malian blues, British early proto-folk, southern shelter, uplifting sunday school songs and Newfoundland dance tunes.
• 212. Winter Rambles, # 3 -  cardeen quartets, blues powerhouses, hurtin' Albertans, pepperpots, funeral jazz, bandura abundances, rattling stovepipes, old bones, water sprites and maniacs by the thousand.
• 211. Winter Rambles, # 2 -  live-captured mazurkas, jangly 12-string Rickenbackers, Italian fire mist, Cuban cigar royalty, what to do when love comes to town and North America's only coal miner chorus 
• 210. Winter Rambles, # 1 -  we start with High Culture, but we quickly descend into more comfortable territory .
• 209. Relatively New to This World, # 3 -  old men, contortionists, rat patrols, orange clowns, kind words, shanty boys, sanshin surf rockers, twisters, and the funny side of mortality. Oh, and God too.  
• Low Context Christmas Show, # 6 -  Music of the Christmas season that sounds fun, even after the season itself gets a bit tiring. 
• Low Context Christmas Show, # 5 -  With so many thousands of holiday/ Christmas/ Solstice/ New Year's/ etc. songs around, how do radio hosts choose which ones to play?   Listen to the show and see if you find out.
• 208. Music of the Season, # 2 - join me in the gingerbread house to sing along with a variety of seasonal tunes.  Some of them you may even recognize.
• Low Context Christmas Show, # 4 - more seasonal music with a celtic/blues/folk/unexpected bent, but without a lot of talking. 
• Low Contet Christmas Show,  # 3 -  German appalachian, Newfoundland swing, American bluegrass, holiday R&B, Latin Christmas, acadian celebration, southern swagger, British pagan sensitivity and lots of harps (but not so many that it becomes grating on the ears). 
• 207. Music of the Season, # 1 -  on this show, we acknowledge a wide variety of symbols and metaphors of the season - in hopes that at least one of them is authentic and potentially efficacious 
• 206. Relatively New to This World, # 2 -  new fiddle duos, reassembled Big Folk bands, trans-national musical collectives, jug band hall of famers, Nordic lullabies and pandemic dreams of family reunions.
• 205. Relatively New to This World, # 1 - a set of tracks I need to play before I change the calendars yet again.
• 204. Friends, # 4 - when friends get together to make a CD, without bothering to form a band and hire a manager.
• 203. Friends, #3 - friends are the kin you get to choose.
• 202. Friends, #2 - the joys of having them and the sadness of parting with them.
• 201. Friends, #1 - celebrating all of the folks who surround and support us through this life.
• 200D. Ghosts and Graves.
• 200C. The Delights of Meetings.
• 200B. A Road Trip Mix
• 200A.  Bonfires and Beyond
• 200. Celebrating 200 - taking a moment to celebrate 200 episodes of this show, with the usual mix of trad revisions, fusions, cultural melanges and other terms from publicity releases.
• 199. Summer Rambles # 4 - Glaswegian salsa, banshee fiddle, swirling Colombian accordions and banjo tunes from the wilds of southern Ontario.
• 198. Summer Rambles # 3 - from Quebec reels to icons of Canadian DIY capitalism to a celtic Swedish love tryst.
• 197. Summer Rambles # 2 - What does good weather and good music have in common?  Both make it hard to sit still.  So this week, another round of rambling!
• 196. Summer Rambles # 1 -  Quicksteps, mojo advice, kelp preparation suggestions, gold diggers, laments, navel-gazing introspection and pure religion 
• 195. Remember Concerts...? #6 -  the merry sisters of fate, jailer etiquette, hanging out down at the twist and shout, effective salary negotiations, the zen of waiting, beatnik folk blues, locomotive breath, how to get to Memphis and the amazing grace of bass players 
• 194. Remember Concerts...? #5 -  hip hop flamenco, mournful Irish slides, Finno-Ugric warnings about choosing a wise husband, Algerian funk, and Scottish tunes dragged (screaming) out of an electric guitar.
• 193. Remember Concerts...? #4. -  an all-Canada show with steel pan jigs,  barnyards, bon buveurs, mighty big cars, New York girls, and ending with a magic carpet ride .
• 192. Remember Concerts...? #3 - Get out your sun screen and glow sticks and let's listen to some live music!
• 191. Remember Concerts...?  #2 - Pack up your mask and hand sanitizer and your vaccinated self and head on over for some live music.
• 190. Remember Concerts...?  #1 - a seclec tion of music recorded at festivals and concerts, to remind us of the joys we have opening up before us slowly... oh, so slowly....
• 189. In the Garden #5 (or is that "Dans le Jardin?") - more songs about gardens, mostly in French, pour votre plaisir.
• 188. In the Garden #4 - songs of ploughboys, jolly and mundane, quiet and roving, pretty and simple.
• 187. In the Garden #3 - more songs about reaping what you sow and the dangers of laziness.
• 186. In the Garden #2 - a smattering of songs from the intersection of gardening and farming, and coming from hither and yon.  But mostly from yon.
• 185. In the Garden #1 - songs and tunes dragged from obscurity, dusted off, outfitted in some genteel duds, and mixed with some new ingredients., 
• 184. April Rambles # 4 - genre-jumping tracks chosen with random abandon.
• 183. April Rambles # 3 - foggy love, gentle Greenlandic music, ruthlessly ancient groove, aboriginal funk fusion, Inuktitut roots and more.
• 182. April Rambles # 2 - reels, desires, chestnuts, celebrations and forest management.
• 181. April Rambles # 1 - angst, sadness, romanticization and gentle energy for the emergence of spring.
• 180. The April Fool - songs and tunes that celebrate (and sometimes commiserate with) the fool in all of us.
• 179. March Rambles -  fiddling stepdancers, retrofitted country wailing, jazzy trad harp, modern 60s folk from the Trans-Siberian Railway,  Scottish sock-hop teeny-bop classics, Russian songs about splitting headaches, and more.
• 178. Paddy in Song and Tune, part 2 - we tag along with Paddy while he is feeling rakish, lamentatious, thoughful, at work or with rambling on his mind (which is most of the time).
• 177. Paddy in Song and Tune, part 1 - we follow the exploits of Paddy, whether they be to heaven, to the Punjab, to Trinidad, even to the kitchen and the sauna. 
• 176. A March-ing Show -  March is the only month that is a direct command, and so on this show we will march!
• 175. A February Rambles - spirited Acadiana, Old-time Irish hoedowns, slack key therapy, country folk gratitude, introspective pub bands and original trad tunes.
• 174. Love and all that, part 2 - another hour about love, as therapy, challenge, lottery, lament, and occasionally a prime site for awkwardness.
• 173. Love and all that, part 1 - exploring the finest of human emotions with Finnish folk, appalachian mountain longbow, bluegrass indie, Cajun gumbo, rowdy folk, high lonesome nasal arias, Afro-Irish fusion, and old-time down-home cowboy rumba.
• 172. Celtic Connections 2021 - a few selected highlights from artists at this year's Glasgow-based Celtic Connections festival.  Can you spare an hour for Scotland?
• 171. January Rambles # 2 -  brassy folk orchestral stylings,  multicultural delights from Kosovo, honky-tonk wisdom and cello-led-boundary-blurring world folk, and more.
• 170. January Rambles # 1 -  complex indie folkrock, Covid fiddle projects, tips on foie gras production, Appalachian music from rural China,  an American bluegrass legend sings Canadiana, a Danish accordionist goes Reggae and some sizzling Romani jazz 
• 169. Songs of new, episode 3 - new post offices, barn dances, souls, copper plates, songs, rigged ships, burying grounds, even new car smells
• 168. Songs of new, episode 2 - still more songs about new years and lands and songs and dances and countrries and plans and reels and moons and even hats - imagine that!
• 167. Songs of New, episode 1 - celebrating things new - whether they be mornings or shoes or even the new Math.
• 166. Familiar Music for an Unfamiliar Year, # 2 -  Kings, cherry trees, dances, lights, wonder, ivy, hope, peace, joy & love.
• Low Context Christmas Show #2 for 2020 -  Jingle Jangle Aeroplanes, trees, rebels, smiling morns, moons, noels, bells, flambeaux and ding dongs .
• Low Context Christmas Show #1 for 2020 -  lots of frost and wassail and carols and bells and even the angel Santa... or was that Gabriel?
• 165. Familiar Music for an Unfamiliar Year, # 1 - bells, heralds, shepherds, boar's heads, solstice carols, merry gentlemen 
• 164. December Rambles - Gaelic kinship, French perfume, flamin' hen factories, Australian house blessings, soaring waltzes and new music from lockdown.
• 163. Time: Episode # 4 - times a' changin', time to ring some changes, long time comin', so little time, jigtime and last time for time.
• 162. Time: Episode # 3 -  Time - a bunch of it, pressed for it, doin' it, take your time and do it right, and does anybody really know what time it is? 
• 161. Time: Episode # 2 -  Good time, old time, hard time, a little more time, any old time, old before our time, doing our time, new time, even tea time.
• 160. Time: Episode # 1 - marking time with Barcelona bluegrass, existential Afropop, blues and torch, country psychodelia, sweet Mennonite hymns and lusty shanties that it is all downhill from here.
• 159. Early November Rambles - tongue-twisting Welsh tunes, heavy metal Irish trad, warm Yukon tales, tear-stained Scottish patriotism, celtic swamp fusion, strident art folk and sprightly tunes of woolgathering.
• 158. Cardinal Directions: North, #4 - one last wistful look at the lure and beauty and danger of the north, and a reminder that the postal code of the soul of Canada starts with an "A"
• 157. Cardinal Directions: North, #3 - blackfly blues, hapless explorers, camp songs and the beauty of everyday things.
• 156. October Rambles, #2 - some music for a gloomy world with power reels, Berlin Speed Polka, Gaelic milking songs and  and the inspiration of multiculturalism.
• 155. October Rambles, # 1 -  a meandering path, from Shetland tunes about ship rigging and late sleeping, to complicated love stories, to music from the threshold of the world of fairies.
• 154. Covid Cancellations, # 4 - some artists I planned to see live this summer, until a large obstcle appered.  But I'm not bitter.
• 153. Cardinal Directions: North, #2 - we breath the fresh air of the north, with baroque trad, ballads about flies, and new Inuktitut Roots from Iqaluit.
• 152. Cardinal Directions: North, #1 - we head in my favourite direction, north, and find there rocks, trees, jigs, soul singers, dazzling lights, the back o' the north wind, rocks and trees.  Did I mention rocks and trees?
• 151. September Rambles Two - celtic, bluegrass, Quebecois, Zydeco, Metis, and a rant on the desecration of rural Canada.
• 150. September Rambles One - despite being freed from the tyranny of a theme, it seems that we end up listening to the same peculiar mix of music as always.  See if you agree.
• 149.  Covid Cancellations, # 3 - music of joy and melancholy, hope and uncertainty, simplicity and complexity - kind of like life itself. 
• 148. The August Rambles - cross-cultural encounters with accordions and fiddles, a Canadian reggae rendition of a British chestnut, Black Sabbath meets the bagpipes, guitar surf rock about a funeral fashion faux pas, and an anthem of hope that the US turns toward democracy.
• 147. The Cardinal Directions: East (3) -  tenor banjos, folk pioneers, tight mountain harmonies, frenetic contra dances, down east trad hooks, Tuvan throat singing, gypsy punk excess and wildcrafted new music .
• 146. The Cardinal Directions: East (2) - gritty jive, pop ballads, alt-country and eastern, classical plugs in and goes east, bouncy chica groove grunge and other adjectives.
• 145. The Cardinal Directions: East (1) - Irish-Balkan-Belgian vindaloo, big band rockabilly, Mennonite celtic rock, Scottish mood, Ethiopian reggae jazz, all celebrating East.
• 144. July Rambles -  symphonic fiddles, fiery mandolins, harp tangos, Acadian jam bands, Norwegian hardanger hoedowns, Scottish snaps, and gospel drinking music.
• 143. The Cardinal Directions: South (3) -  a set of rousing, twisted, progressive, relaxed and gloriously chaotic music.  Speed-folk & Latingrass & more.
• 142. The Cardinal Directions: South (2) - what happens in the south, doesn't stay there.  Fortunately.  We haul back waltzes, airs, ballads, parade songs and some Trad Goth.
• 141. The Cardinal Directions: South (1) - a set of tunes, ethereal and sublime - and a few of their musical opposites, to celebrate the south of the mind, the south of the heart, and anywhere just a bit south of where you are at the moment.
• 140. New Music for a New Season -  to celebrate the moment, this show features pecuniary polkas, frenetic Irish slides from Glasgow, lusty (but appropriately physically-distanced) shanties, Danish hygge, Finnish romance, wild waltzes and happy hopsas.
• 139. The Covid Cancellations, #2 - more shows I didn't see, with music that is joyous, angsty, charmingly-accurate, mellow, brassy, world-wise and road-worthy.
• 138. The Cardinal Directions: West (#2) - another show celebrating points western with plunkin' banjos, ethereal whistles, dusty cowboy tales, ominous Irish-Americana, deep-throated singers and utopian yearnings.
• 137. The Cardinal Directions: West (#1) - wherever you are, someplace is still further west; celebrating that with gypsy swing,folk punk, fancy harmonies, and troublesome creeks.
• 136. The Covid Cancellations, #1 - artists I was going to see in concert before all of this other stuff happened - crooked tunes, maritime laments, hillbilly melodies and more.
• 135. May Rambles, still with Physical Distancing - interceltic tunes, jaunty songs, honky-tonkin', Chines music from Turkey and Beethoven played on power tools.  Yes, power tools.
• 134. May Rambles, with Physical Distancing - crumhorn folk, existential bluegrass, respect for bodhran players, chamber blues, a prod to the big banks to share the pain, and more.
• 133. Celebrating May Month, part 2 - dusty ballads, flowery sweetness, young life gone astray, songs of love and lust and thing in between.
• 132. Celebrating May Month, part 1 - songs, tunes and traditions of the happiest month of the year.
• 131. Some New Sounds for April - Flemish swing, Galway celtgrass, hopeful blues, Scottish chamber-trad, Euro-dance and a Breton shanty.
• 130.  April (Virtual) Rambles - songs of fish-gutters, spit & polish and haggis eggs, all broadcast from a safe distance.
• 129. The Comforts of Home, Part 3 - more songs about home, written by musicians who are always on the road.
• 128. The Comforts of Home, Part 2 - we continue to celebrate our homes as a place of refuge - and one of the few places that we are legally allowed to be these days...
• 127. The Comforts of Home, Part 1 -  due to Covid-19, we are all spending more time at home than we'd thought possible.  So I play tracks that explore the glory and comfort of a place of refuge.
• 126. Around the Old Peat Fire, Part 2 - another week of Irish music, with  tunes about bonnets, pullets, fiddle cushions, and petticoats; and songs of jolly ploughmen with breath as sweet as a rose and of the hope for peace throughout all of Ireland. 
• 125. Around the Old Peat Fire, Part 1 -    a celebration of Irish music with  rollicking tenor banjos, keening uillean pipes, peripatetic concertinas, frenetic fiddles, yearning vocals and  mid-set key changes.  Guardians and Innovators. 
• 124. March Rambles -   kitchen parties, singing kettles, lush harps, swirling kilts, calming chambergrass, all with a celtic Kiss 
• 123. The St. David's Day Welsh Show - rippling triple harps, deft accordions, insistent pibgorns, soaring fiddles, crystal-clear voices, polite diddling,  morris tunes of grace and gravitas, and plenty of idioglot reed aerophones.
• 122. February Rambles - kanteles, double entendres, flamenco bagpipes, frenetic banjo blues and some cracking good singles
• 121. The Relatively Recent - jolly, demure, sublime, haunting, joyful tracks recently birthed to our world
• 120. Love, etc. -  gaelic baroque, cosmopolitan rural banjo, fairy tales of domestic love, Zeppelinized hayseed music, rebellious gypsy punk, cowboy rumba, delightful jazzy odes to jilted love & deft tunes about clumsy love. 
• 119. January Rambles # 2 -  chambergrass for the lowdown highbrows, shimmering harps, acid croft tunes about folk police and old music so authentic you'll get a Folklore credit if you listen to the whole track.  
• 118. January Rambles #1 - emigration laments, Irish harp slides,Arabic-Spanish pessimism, the AC/DC of celtic punk, old-timey trouble in your mind, jazzed-up Hank, and a melodeon update of a Beatles classic 
• 117. Changes, part two - more introspection with old-timey retro, bluegrassified Zeppelin,cowboy songs full of premonition and tremolo, evocative flutes, Irish abandon, soaring guitars and oud-driven gospel 
• 116. Changes, part one - some annual introspection with waves of bluegrass, ethereal harmonies, dreamy Arabic-Gypsy anthems and more.
• 115. Trading in an old year for a new year -  yearning waltzes, moist-eyed anthems, complicated ballads, unrepentant jigs,  and gospel shouts. 
• 114. A World of Christmas -polkas, Galician odes, little papa Noels naughty mackerels and mixed marriage music.
• 113. Christmas Rambles in the Celtic Realm - shepherds, stars, confused kings and ding dong merrily on high.
• 112. Party Tyme -  honouring the season of parties, with spooky Orkney tunes, quilting ballads, hogmanay trad house, new age reggae bluegrass positivity and Breton electronic stomp .
• 111. Stovepiles & Woodpiles - sparks, smokey banjos, muddy water and homesteading.
• 110. November Rambles, #2 - reckless slip jigs, early morning accordions, mystical celtblues and untamed bluegrass.
• 109. November Rambles, #1 - a chance to play some music from various traditions - fusion, but no fuzak!
• 108. Celebrating Light, in the Midst of Shortening Days - we glory in the delight of light, with gaelic rhythm & swing, Russo-Finnish polka & roll, art country and Belizean-Canadian worldbeat.
• 107. Bonfires and Beyond - as temperatures decrease in northern climates, we gather around fires to listen to curious and enticing tunes.
• 106. Honouring the Spirits - progressive soul dance appalachian high-octane exuberant pagan classics to celebrate the time of year.
• 105. The October Rambles -  Austro-Caledonian tune sets, feather-fingered guitar, medieval Danish mouthbow fusion, and more
• 104. Songs of Turkey and Pumpkins... and Beyond - music of the ,turkey and pumpkin season, and some distractions added in - like the holiday itself!
• 103. The Delights of Meetings - fresh from a conference, I celebrate meetings, with fun combinations of sounds, ska ceilidhs, Quebec gypsy jazz, Scottish house trance, Breton free jazz and spacegrass.
• 102. Embracing Autumn - we celebrate the start of this wonderful season with erhus, steampunk, questionable pedigrees and fingerlicking good guitar.
• 101. New Releases - a scattered lot of new releases to increase our general sense of joy
• 100. Celebrating 100 with Random Number Generation - a selection from the early shows, Icelandic motown reggae, nordic trad jazz and whale fat rendering chanties.
• 99. Summer Rambles, #10 - the last of our summer folly, with mid-life angst, controlled substances, famous Canuck canines and Hebridean be-bop.
• 98. Summer Rambles, #9 - the usual blasts of fiddle mixed in with ethereal pagan spirituality.
• 97. Summer Rambles, #8 - outlaw folk, flea market love, false teeth and a downpour of heavenly partiness.
• 96. Summer Rambles, #7 - Serbian trumpets, elephants on the Highlands, percussive suitcases, butter & snow, koras & guitars.
• 95. Summer Rambles, #6 - songs of lovers (fair and foul), foggy bluegrass, Cuban trad, ethereal trios,  anthemic folk rock and Herring bribes.
• 94. Summer Rambles, #5 - Irish neo-pagan anthems, wise sextons, the joys of biking, Farmer's Market bluegrass and the Great Shetland Fiddle.
• 93. Summer Rambles, #4 - cosmic banjo, fencing masters, clumsy lovers, Scottish industrial swing, old farmers not doing well, and little fish in tins.
• 92. Summer Rambles, #3 - Gaelic tweed-working songs, Maritime love, uke-driven summer laziness, and high-brow camping songs.
• 91, Summer Rambles, #2 - bluegrassified Lightfoot, Hogtown syncopations, Gaelic funk, alt-folk from Ferney, and more
• 90. Summer Rambles, #1 - Irish soul, Canadian blues, Appalachian roots and a Full English.
• 89. My Canada Includes These, part 2 - bog trots, swing punk, Breton trances and other Canadian tracks.
• 88. My Canada Includes These, part 1 - Canadian artists that are part of the texture of our music, but that I've never played on the radio
• 87. Approaching Summer - new beer, old cheese, and life-affirming bonfires.
• 86, Leftovers - tracks that I had prepared, but didn't have time to play, from former shows.
• 85. From the VOBB Vaults, Episode 2 - a second set of tunes and songs collected from the dusty basement labyrinth of the Voice of Bonne Bay radio station
• 84. From the VOBB Vaults, Episode 1 - a set of tunes and songs collected from the dusty basement labyrinth rooms of the Voice of Bonne Bay radio station
• 83. New Releases Double Plays - a half dozen new CDs, and I play two tracks from each.  Because I can.
• 82. To Honour Victoria, and All Queens Everywhere - celebrating the woman who gave us a long weekend in May
• 81. A Visit to Australia Through Music - a mix of sounds from another side of the world
• 80. Tell us lies and feed us candy: celebrating election season - a selection of tracks about indecision, promises made, and hope.
• 79. Look What I Found - some modern archaeology uncovers CDs under papers on my desk.
• 78. Easter and Beyond - shows about rabbits and chocolate, but no chocolate rabbits...
• 77. Spring Cleaning on my CD Shelves - a variety of tracks from twangers to blues to bagpipes to arena rock.
• 76. New releases for a new season - a mix of new songs, from the pious to the profane, the ribald to the revolutionary.
• 75, Music from the Happiest Country on Earth - a joyous set of tunes and songs from Finland
• 74.  The Emerald Isle, part 2 - still more time to focus on a still-wider range of Irish music
• 73. The Emerald Isle, part 1 - a time to focus on a range of Irish music
• 72. Stayin' Home - a time to relax with some home-grown talent.
• 71. Marches for March Month - celebrating the only month that is also a popular music time signature
• 70. Music for a stormy day, or week, or month - a wide selection of songs with "storm" in the title, in case you need to hunker down this winter
• 69. Love and all that cozy stuff - some dandy songs and tunes about love - the good kind and the type that goes awry
• 68. Stayin' Close to Home - some Canadian tracks about paving roads and more.
• 67. Classic Nederfolk - classic tracks from the 70s and 80s folk-rock genre in the Netherlands
• 66. The Land of Cheese and Bicycles - a wander through some of the roots and folk and Nordic noir of Danish music.
• 65. Bring Your Passport - new releases from last year, including Gaelic crossovers, African remakes of American pop songs, Cumbia meets the Mediterranean, and more.
• 64. A Week in Music at Our Place - I clear off a random shelf of CDs and play them before they get filed away
• 63. New Music for a New Year - a set of recent releases to welcome another year
• 62. Getting Creative with Christmas - a show of some of my favourite cross-over genre-benders of the season
• 61. Hail Smiling Morn - a few songs of Christmas, as well as a healthy dose of pub carols
• 60. Happy Belated Hanukkah - the spirit of Hanukkah (light over darkness, good over evil) is still with us, even if the latkes are all eaten.
• 59. Welcoming December Quietly - a set of tracks, on the quiet side, that have December somewhere in the title.
• 58. The Road Trip Mix - a collection of music that served as a sound track to a recent road trip through a snowy NL
• 57. Order in Randomness - a random collection of tracks that seems to gain a logic in listening them together
• 56. Redoing Dylan - a set of covers of Bob Dylan songs
• 55. The Thrift Shop Show - all tracks that were purchased at the finest of thrift stores
• 54. Celebrating a New Month - with a set of new releases
• 53. Ghosts and Graves - a set of songs for Hallowe'en and associated celebrations
• 52. CDs from my car - these have been riding around with me for too long - it's time to play them on a sho