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: 

• 301. Late Autumn Rambles, # 2 -  harmonicated diversions, guitar stylings from the father of DADGAD, Irish down-home swing, sombre Scottish love laments, universalist folk theology, Colombian prickly pear songs, American chambergrass, pan-Mediterranean rumba, fanciful flatpicking and places where no mandolin has gone before. 
• 300. Late Autumn Rambles, # 1 -  pure drop Irish reels, smooth vocals from that deep part of the soul, chaotic folk-punk singalongs, funky knitting fiddles, swirling Glasgow pipes, germinal folk rock from a half-century ago, a beautiful mess of folkgrass, troubadours to sooth your troubled minds, gospel sleep aids, Cape Breton lullabies, and the old-time urge to post a letter 
• 299. No Comment: An Hour for Peace, # 2 -  blues lessons, campfire singalongs, maudlin ballads of "collateral damage," sad songs of desperation, anthems of hope and resolve, the abuses of the old and powerful, the misues of nationalism, and reggae hymns reminding us that we can always turn the ship around 
• 298. No Comment: An Hour for Peace, # 1 -  peace marches, children's street songs about war, cautious tales of the foolish algebra of an eye for an eye, grand wishes, empty promises, plaintive laments, historical low points that repeat themselves, all from traditional sources and beyond 
• 297. Music Relatively New to This World, # 25 - the soundtrack for a half century of heritage activism, charming shepherdesses of French Cape Breton, druidic folk trance from deepest Winnipeg, intergenerational Acadian joy from Bathurst (the town in New Brunswick, not the street in Toronto), Western European Trad tunes that should lead to dancing, updated Italian folk-hop, and songs of travelling, exile and impossible love. 
• 296. Music Relatively New to This World, # 24 -  rippling koras, everyday folk vignettes, tunes from the epicentre of Quebec trad, tender and delicate - yet resilient - ballads of love, Acadian country shuffles, voices speaking truth to power, and radical klezmer for tumultuous times 
• 295. Music Relatively New to This World, # 23 -  soaring mystical celt-trance, bagpipes from the bothies & ceilidh halls, Romani-Syrian tango fusion from Montreal, symphonic Quebec trad with orchestral podyrhythm, faery-generated acid croft, and Colombian-Canadian Rock en espanol that'll get you on the dance floor (even if there isn't one) 
• 294. Music Relatively New to This World, # 22 -  subtly-nuanced joie de vivre, Scottish-Quebecois melanges, icebreaking Breton martime shanties, Ottawa Valley swing n' jive, Syrian-Canadian flamenco, jaw-dropping Irish music of champions, and Moroccan trance n' jazz 
• 293. Music Relatively New to This World, # 21 -   jaunty front porch shuffles, buckboard banjos, skittering fiddles, celtic boundary breaches, Afro-Caribbean steelpan jazz, sweet and savoury old-time music from darkest SW Ontario, poly-rhythmic voices of the past, pure drop Kerry polkas, spirited (yet dignified) classical celtic tunes 
• 292. Music Relatively New to This World, # 20 -   music for hobbit weddings, Atlantic legends, trad cello and fiddle pedagogy, joyous Irish abandon, banjo-grounded songwriters, dumpster-folk thriftstore Americana, and festive devils from Quebec kitchen parties 
• 291. Music Relatively New to This World, # 19 -  authentic outport accordion, intensely mesmeric Hebridean fiddle, bittersweet but hopeful narratives, rolling peatland tunes, old Dutch dances for lost cows, and Quebecois urban neo-folklore.
• 290. Music Relatively New to This World, # 18 -  intimate fiddles, Glasgow session aerobic workouts, celtic-Acadian kitchen parties, punchy jigs & soaring reels, the offspring of Quebec/Newfoundland intermingling, and the brilliant verve of new traditional material.
• 289. Summer on the Range, # 6 -  contra dance welcomes, transcendental folk, fanciful ideas from Merrie Olde Englande, celtic didgeridoo stylings, dignified Dartmoor hornpipes, 60s folk scare hitmakers, Canadian medieval tunes, early morning rain, organ funk, Quebecois effervescence, Scottish whiskey thoughts, and cold and lowdown bluegrass.
• 288d.  Quicksteps, mojo advice, kelp preparation suggestions, gold diggers, laments, navel-gazing introspection and pure religion. 
• 288c. Yearning jigs, begging ballads, hot young bands and cool old bands, uplifting reels about a person's downfall, the beauty of North Atlantic cities... in the summer..., Appalachian blame-laying songs, fiddle/throat singing duets, chamber trad, Quebecois polyrhythms, bouncy Morris tunes, a new setting of an camping song, and a domestic song that can melt butter at 50 metres.
• 288b.   The usual mix of outlaw folk, fairy dances, bagpipe-driven pub songs, wide-open bluegrass, auction barn nostalgia, flea market love, sacred harps, carnival lights, country kids and a downpour of heavenly partiness. 
• 288. Summer on the Range, # 5 -  fiddle divas, anthemic Scottish folk, Irish jazz, refugee reggae, Cuban ska, Vancouver multicultural mocaics, a trinity of folk masters, salsamuffin stylings, dark bluegrass, banjos on the loose, and the Barnsley Nightingale. 
• 287. Music Relatively New to This World -  contemplative guitars, then on to meandering Flemish folk, Canadian blues (as if such a feeling exists in this country...), the big bottle of joy that is gospel, thoughful spirituality set to music, celestial celtic harps, and quiet ballads of everyday wonder.
• 286. Summer on the Range, # 4 -  waves of conta dance, homestead love, glorious guitars, Shetland neo-trad, Western rock 'n riddim, Fransaskois folk, Moroccan flamenco, the pints of Cape Breton, Irish played at Balkan speed, barnyard bachelors, ragged burglars, ethereal Gaelic harmonies, Cajun mambo and the dream life of devils.  
• 285. Summer on the Range, # 3 -  reverent hornpipes, Quebec suites, cowboy swagger 'n swing, jug-free rural ballads, jazzgrass wanderings, alt-country blues, west coast celtic rock, end-of-the-night waltzes, Turkish revery, the careless immaturity of the mass consumer, Irish cajun polka Queens, royal kitchen games and thoughtful jigs. 
• 284.  Summer on the Range, # 2 -  granola guitar, Irish trad trail-blazers, Newfoundland cello-driven folk, Scottish zen-pop, teeny-bopper organ, Appalachian guitar frailing, Dutch male choirs, dulcimer country, sober trad songs (sit up straight and be quiet during these...), Texican outlaw country, Canadian psychadelic folk, and British polka deliverance. 
• 283.  Music that is Relatively New to This World -  high-octane harmonica alongside classical accordion, British flute rock with a Scandinavian accent, bawdy hurdy-gurdies, diatonic walls of wound, shanties to make you feel good about your species, an ode to the NL phone code, reels up to St. John's speed, the mind-expanding potential of longhair bluegrass, and noble Morris marches 
• 282. Summer on the Range, # 1 -  Balkan celtic sailors, weathered soul, Northern dog tails, desert blues full of hope, Ethiopian one-stringed swing, islanders throwing caution to the wind, a flurry of reels, British dancing shoes, Quebecois django, summer wassailling, Vegas telephone calls, Cornish orchestral prog trad, and calming spacegrass. 
• 281. Celtic Spring, # 13 -  Anglo-French grit & bonhomie, English country dance reggae, Cornish Newfoundland ballads, chamber hoedowns, cluster rock ensembles, Quebec travelling comrades, folk operas about banishment, Scottish steam punk mosh pits, classic French folk-rock from three Johns, celtic punk tossers, complicated accordions and Dung beetle wedding polskas 
• 280. Celtic Spring, # 12 - Irish jam sessions, Scottish marmalade sessions, even a few Quebecois maple syrup sessions, pipes of all makes, soaring contra dances, and lots of bellows that wheeze and squeak, instruments that go plunk, and percussion that goes "diddley-duddley-doodley-thud." 
• 279. Celtic Spring, # 11 -  Breton festou-noz polkas, cajun Quebecois, garlic-breathing sailors, Scottish heartthrobs, glowing double plinns, chestnuts from the used bins, accordions on 78, celtic rock road warriors, Cape Breton fusion, sulphuric acid chasers, Irish trad swagger, Hebridean crooning of the highest order and tempo-crossing tunes (which are illegal in some States). 
• 278. Music Relatively New to This World -  the Quebec trad maturity of Genticorum, the bootstrap philosophy and folksy blues of Chris Coole, the pure drop Irish soul of the Jeremiahs, the Cape Breton winter swamp music of Lookout Tower, the whimsical pandemic-inspired liminal ballads of Kate Weekes, the intricately-frenetic Irish rhythms of John Doyle & Mick McAuley, and the starkly scenic Highland palette of Assynt 
• 277. Celtic Spring, # 10 -  saltfish whisky, Cuban-Scottish cumbias, acid croft for attic dancing, anthemic trad music for the hockey arena, swaggering jigs, crooked tunes from quaint villages, swinging down the gravel path to Stravinsky's cottage, Irish American wanderlust, Cape Breton goes to Calgary, and the gentle pulse of beating harps 
• 276. Celtic Spring, # 9 -  honorary Danish dancing, Swedish folk trance, turbulent Finnish nordgrass, Scottish social conscience, trusty Irish reels, intergenerational UK groove folk bands, Riverdance connections, Breton electric guitar and bombarde duels, lockdown lights, Acadian river shanties, North Sea bonhomie, non-woolly folk music, and music to eat fishcakes by. 
• 275. Celtic Spring, # 8 -  mature pan-Atlantic tunes, musical fox-hunters, triplets playing triplets, Gaelic christmas drinking rhymes, cheeky soft drinks, shanties used for human anatomy texts, first loves who end up marrying a tinker lad, the joys of breakfast before bed, Newfoundland accordion singles (not the dating site though), fiddlers with bus passes, narcoleptic gamekeepers and figgy kisses. 
• 274. Celtic Spring, # 7 -  celtic at home on the range, a Newfoundland chestnut meets the multicultural west coast, a flock of beavers, Australian wedding bands, prog-trad rave tracks, Irish vagabonds, head-banger trad, golden-throated stonemasons, German celtic dances, anti-fascist shanties, an ode to a controlled substance (cod liver oil), fisherman's blues and short-grass loggers.  
• 273. Celtic Spring, # 6 -  a smattering of slides, witch trial transcripts set to music, damp shepherds, Galway girls, lost harmonica reels, job application ballads, laddie-o-s who have trouble following directions, Scottish rhythm n' Swing, destination weddings in the outer Hebrides, Chicago night life and harsh winter jigs. 
• 272. Celtic Spring, # 5 -  morning night caps, maidens on the sore, Acadian bridges, rabbits complaining to hunters about foxes, the musicial progeny of Portuguese wine and Galician sun, idioglot reed aerophones, peripatetic polskas, unfaithful swallow fanciers, the dangers of the 24 ounce steak, well-dressed Welsh accordions and passionate Gaelic tongue twisters. 
• 271. Music that is relatively new to this world -  pure drop gypsy jazz, Acadian amour, jaunty shanties, old-school folk rock, multicultural palettes beyond the causeway, inclusive folk songs, earnest indie contemplation and western cello rock 
• 270. Celtic Spring, # 4 -  solid tunes for questionable politicians, romantic songs of the good ole' fishery, polka in the corners, wistful melancholy, life after Riverdance, men behaving badly, big muddy harps, lazy Flemish waltzes, Cape Breton bedlam, fiddle trios playing tunes about quints, and Irish Arran sweater sex symbols. 
• 269. Celtic Spring, # 3 -  Nordy lads, Limerick lasses, Belfast combos, Manx octopi, Minneapolis rock 'n reel, ocean-straddling accordions, jazzed up Quebecois trad, Euro dance wall of sound, voices so lovely they will haunt you, left-handed tin whistle tunes, trad dissing of replacement workers, percussive pianos and high impact pipes.  
• 268. Celtic Spring, # 2 -  Donegal craic, google frenzy put to music, impossible time signatures for sword dancers, Breton crop circles, bright but flickering sailors, cajun bagpipes, jigs 'n talkin' drums, waves of crunchy folk rock, a banjo for Spiderman, downhome gypsy jazz and bodhrans on the brain.
• 267. Celtic Spring, # 1 -  Welsh tongue-twisting tunes, Irish anti-sobriety ditties, pan-celtic emanations, well-timed Swiss tunes, heavy trad anthems, nouveau Euro-Quebecois, jaunty Welsh melodeons, wandering Slangpolskas, rainforest piping chants, cascading harps and persistent hurdy-gurdys
• 266. Mid-Winter Rambles, # 5 -  Orkney weddings, Liverpool pilots, small town excitement, the saga of the unappreciated folksinger, the fondness of waltzes, rock & roll banjo, apple wassailling, sword dancing, snowshoeing beside the caribou un the moonlight, Romanian accordions that defy the laws of physics, and hammered (dulcimer) country.
• 265. Mid-Winter Rambles, # 4 -  Irish trad divinity trinity, obscure fishing terminology, red clay halos, unfaithful hearts, contested tune titles, sleepless knights in the Virgin Islands, British ballads meet reggae rhythms, a yaffle of old-time lost city pioneers, and tasty banjo stylings. 
• 264. Mid-Winter Rambles, # 3 -  Irish road reels, coal mining blues, French guitar stylings, awkward high school waltzes, lusty Québecois a capella, wild west music from the middle of the continent, yet one more Robbie Burns song, classical guitar therapy (followed by some Acadian energy to revive you), Ghanaian sweet organ, George Street raggle taggles, Dutch shanties and maritime birchgrass. 
• 263. Mid-Winter Rambles, # 2 -  Scottish frenzy, rural Cajun existentialism, garage swagger swing, folkish questions, country Queens, Australian music for upside-down dancing, stadium rock for the bedroom, French mouregues (whatever those are), little packs of Irish tailors, carnival Zouk from Guadaloupe, American Idol hits, gospel quartettes and blackberry banjo blossoms 
• 262. Mid-Winter Rambles, # 1 -  Sliabh Luachra polkas, revitalized Brit trad, odes to honeycombed hexagonal columns of basalt, songs of unravelling covenants, Manitoba Métis reels, throwback pop rock, Andalusian flamenco jazz, name-dropping love songs for the Maritimes, East LA cumbia rock, appalachian free-falling, and weeping ukuleles 
• 261. Hope & the Better Life, # 3 -  wild hope of the forest, transatlantic new years, jingoism put to catchy tunes, brilliant relationship timing, celtic drinking songs (just the one), Zimbabwean mbira divas, ska from the Rock, middle eastern multicultural celebration, folk punk brass, blood-pressure-calming guitars and Scottish highland delicacies 
• 260. Hope & the Better Life, # 2 -   uillean piping pleasures, quiet anthems of better days, electric blues optimism, shanty-singing fishers, Aztec funk that will get you dancing, Zimbabwean goodwill, post-hardcore folk, circus sideshow joy, gospel from Memphis North, Methodist hymns and jigs of abandon 
• 259. Hope & the Better Life, # 1 -  jigs of hope, the comfort of stunning northern expanses, sacred spaces where it is always sunset, the abuses of history, lands of hopes and dreams, morris dances, sawdust trail gospel gems, anthems, prayers, contemplations, resistance, defiance, and downright danceable beats 
• 258. New Tunes for a New Year - folk rock ploughboys, denture pop, anthems in praise of praise, wistful reflections on working in tall buildings, memories of gathering around the radio, s(w)inging about talking, the long and joyful tunnel of life, hip Hebridean tweed-working songs, west coast cajun heat, and what happens when the funeral director meets the master of controlled collective descent into chaos. 
• 257. Oh No, It's That Time of Year Again!, # 3 -  Christmas polka sambas, indie folk holiday angst, New Year's pop, Ukrainian flamenco mashups, Cape Breton ukuleles, stray rockabilly swing jazz, bluegrass counting songs, ethereal druidic carols, a hymn to radical inclusivity and the best darn Ukrainian band in all of Newfoundland and Labrador! 
• 256. Oh No, It's That Time of Year Again!, # 2 - Cajun extraterrestrial arrivals, jaunty songs of the return of light, syncopated nowells, hammered hymns, Galician cathedral jigs, British traditional class consciousness-raising, Ukrainianized carols, as well as garlands, drummers, kings and travelling foxes. 
• 255. Oh No, It's That Time of Year Again!, # 1 -  Christmas eve whistles, fond harmonic hearts, trees trimmed with jazz chords, Chanukah Christmas, Irish kitchen traditions, alehouse celebrations, wassailling shanties, Venezuelan burritos, Cajun carols, and Baroque dancing Noëls.
• 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 mus