Routes & Branches & Beyond

---

 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: 

• 346. Calm Down and Listen, # 2 -  mellifluous Scottish fiddles, thoughtful woke-folk, harps to grow grass by, laughing 'till you boogie, quiet celtic hearts, thoughtful Zydeco swamp-dancing and ridiculous (though infectious) Welsh grooves. 
• 345. Calm Down and Listen, # 1 -  calming fiddles, quiet sax wilderness, soothing folk rain, smooth Caribbean seas, quiet Nova Scotia creeks, the quiet joys of harmony singing, the quiet chaos of celtic trad, ancient protest songs about the draft, folk-rock industrial nostalgia and calming roots legends 
• 344. Clearing the Shelf, # 3 -  indispensible instrumentalists, swirling border pipes, raging fiddles, Shetland hurricanes, dances for feeder mice, vintage swing with a grin, Cape Verdean morna legends, shady newgrass explorations, songs radio doesn't like, Scottish introspection, and Portuguese jazz waltzes from Newfoundland.  
• 343. Clearing the Shelf, # 2 -   climate change tunes from Scotland, the cello of resilience, Bach goes to a Cape Breton kitchen party, songs to remember Ron Hynes, reels on the tin sandwich, Irish piano hornpipes, evocative rural roads, inter-celtic siblings, bagpipes on the rave floor, and symphonic abandon 
• 342. Clearing the Shelf, # 1 -  Djangoesque Newfoundland fiddle on guitars, Irish circus trad, Norfolk County bluegrass, Western homecoming folk, Appalachian gospel, genre-crossing stories of the human race, early French electric folk Stan on the Island, and Irish clear-cutting laments 
• 341. Leaves, # 2 -   old-time two-steps, resilient folkies, patriotic dogs who save the country, swirling Czechgrass, Alberta-reared celtic rock, country banjo pioneers, Chattanoogian fancies, ballads from the most Canadian of US states, whistle wizardry, Cajun kitchen parties, and leaves of Ivy & Poppies & Clover 
• 340. Thanksgiving and Harvest -  At this time of year, in this country, we take time to rejoice in another harvest and to be thankful for all that we have. To help us in this, we listen to some tracks from Canada, Ireland, Scandinavia and beyond 
• 339. Leaves, # 1 -  Canadian barn dance chestnuts, poet-driven chamber folk, new versions of old national anthems, cabin fever tunes, hippie countercultural gems from your dimly-remembered past, updated medieval morality tales, Congotronics lullabyes, jazz classics from Perthshire and Germany, and progressive Loungegrass 
• 338. The September Rambles, # 4 -   forest strathspeys, fair and tender ladies, saints and angels, an austerity alphabet, extra miles, sweet pies, yeterday's news, clever foxes, lonely buskers and poignant waltzes 
• 337. The September Rambles, # 3 -  energetic Scottish preludes, earthy sea shanties, ballads of outlawed fashion options, lazy Sergeant Majors (are there any other kind?), inspiring medicine songs, neo-Appalachian hipsters, stirring Zimbabwean harmonies, a mini-set of Irish music from the Windy City, a Central Ontario happy anthem, and acoustic flatpicking breakouts 
• 336. The September Rambles, # 2 -  frenetic Slovak dances, Scottish rural romantics, Irish "pure drop" session tunes, school holiday trad bands, appalachian old-time inspirations, Waterloo bluegrass, East Coast fiddle stylings, harmonious odes to fall fairs, Glasgow hipster prowess, and Newfoundland thrash-trad 
• 335. The September Rambles, # 1 -   Music for shingling a roof, holding a shivaree, jogging, considering the potential of a man, frontier crossing, lonely roads, the blowing of winter winds, looking forward to better times and Tennessee waltzes 
• 334g. Summer re-run # 7 -  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. 
• 334f. Summer re-run # 6 -  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 
• 334e. Summer re-run # 5 -  Glaswegian salsa, Australian ode to the land, NL ode to a broken heart, melodica-driven Reggae, British coal scab ballads, Danish guitar folk, fiddle Banshees, swirling accordions of Colombia, alt-gospel, Scottish arena rock, North African/ Indian crossover, banjo tunes from the wilds of southern Ontario and Cape Breton frenzy captured live 
• 334d. Summer re-run # 4 -  celtic and bluegrass to dixieland jazz to Irish soul to reggae to South African Mbqange, to seemingly unusual collaborations, to northern Indigenous anthems to Newfoundland classics to modern gospel to then end with some calming harp 
• 334c. Summer re-run # 3 -  cross-cultural encounters with accordions and fiddles, a Quebecois classic from a Scottish-Latvian singer from Alberta, a Canadian reggae rendition of a British chestnut, Black Sabbath meets the bagpipes, guitar surf rock about a funeral fashion faux pas, a ballad about love and hate, a western Canadian track on how a banjo tune is as good as a whiskey, an anthem of hope that the US turns toward democracy (hold your breath, everyone...), and an anxious jig and some bridge music from a new release from Scroggins and Rose 
• 334b. Summer re-run # 2 -  dazzling Scottish-German guitar duos, anthemic folk rock, Anglo-Australian fancies, lullabies about Herring, ethereal trios with classic folk-rock chestnuts, foggy bluegrass, Cuban trad, songs of lovers (both fair and foul), tunes of civil war and constitutional breakdowns, advanced didgeridoo techniques, tunes to celebrate comings and (especially) goings, and the Great Shetland Fiddle. All in a snug little hour. 
• 334a. Summer re-run # 1 -  cosmic celtic banjos, re-imagined appalachian chestnuts, hoedowns for legendary fiddlers and bright Scottish swing about industrial wastelands. There are songs of indifference (and difference) about dashing fencing masters, small fish in tins, hard-living authors, old farmers not doing well, root vegetables and maggoty fish 
• 334. Roses - the noun, not the verb, # 5 -  Irish musical canines, British art-folk, confusing Newfoundland intersections, Quebec/Acadian trad, pensive Western reflections, hipster darlings, close harmony duets about love, southwestern Ontario swing, Ukrainian post-punk, Americana-grass, Cape Breton sibling magic, and kitchen music that gets a makeover 
• 333. Roses - the noun, not the verb, # 4 -  western swing, Brit neo-folk, Sydney Mines ceilidhs, Texican rock, Scottish rasta gems, misty Swedish folklore, Kentucky bluegrass, sparse Highland ambiance, and lots of briars and roses 
• 332. Roses - the noun, not the verb, # 3 -  rosebuds, roseberries, rose trees, wild roses, rodeo roses and lots and lots of red, red roses 
• 331. Roses - the noun, not the verb, # 2 -  Music from Quebec, Ireland, Britain, Germany, Newfoundland, Scotland, Alberta, and some anonymous contra dance somewhere 
• 330. Roses - the noun, not the verb, # 1 -   red roses, blarney roses, Virginia roses, belle roses, tattoed roses, roses in a vase, and a dozen bloody roses 
• 329. Celtic Flowers, # 4 -  Acadian fiddle, Quebecois trad jazz, Irish bounce, inter-generational pollination, banjophonics for the brave, movie stars who sing, heavy folk from Scotland, Cajun magnolias, hot stringband, and 22 strings from Flanders. 
• 328. Celtic Flowers, # 3 -   groovy sunflowers, tulipa negras, fleurs de Lavande or de Quebec or de Niee or du bois, lindos flores, gypsy daisies, heavenly tulips, and crazy daisies 
• 327. Celtic Flowers, # 2 -   fiddle-accordion delights, wildflower banjo honey, cello-soaked laments, the flowers of Saskatchewan or of Bermuda or of the Red Mill of of teh Dell (there beside the Farmer), and even a few dried flowers, just for a touch of accent in the roo 
• 326. Celtic Flowers, # 1 -  butterflies and bees and flowers, pretty fair maids in the garden, flowers of sweet Erin the green or of Kilkenny or of the forest or of red hill, and even a tune on taking the flower arrangements home after the wedding 
• 325. Music for the Potting Shed, # 2 -   gravel walks, sentinel crows, June days, local barrel daredevils, big sky blues, Locaber dances, raven hair, Scottish passions, night advances, river crossings, lots of trees and even a wang dang doodle or two 
• 324. Music for the Potting Shed, # 1 -   Welsh triple harp & pibgorn, percussive mariners, close New England harmonies, upstate New York history, reggae pioneers meet outlaw country, prairie roots meet Appalachian old-time, Saskatoon blues angels, St. John's rebels, and chamber folk from Daniel's Harbour. 
• 323. Music Relatively New to This World, #28 -  the dewy dells of Yarrow, fire walking, new jackets, yacht money, flying beetles, torn calico (there's a story there...), lonely roads, and advice for the wicked 
• 322. Celtic Spring, # 6 -  wing commanders, peculiar ferrets, green bushes, shoals, skylarks, merry sisters, hash (not the expensive kind), false young men, good beer, speedy ploughs and a mess of feathers 
• 321. Celtic Spring, # 5 -  a smattering of Irish pipe dainties, Breton-Scottish hybrids, blooming bright stars, singing dairy farmers, grown-up folk rock, transendental guitarists, avant-garde old-timey fiddle, golden Anstruther voices, the joyful melancholy of Gaelic songs, and Caribbean/ Scots pipe and percussion combos 
• 320. Celtic Spring, # 4 - Tourmakeady accordions, celtic yacht rock, traditional swagger, dazzling musical lights, Breton sparks of creativity, west coast ceilidh-rock stylings, music from the mythical UK/Sweden borderlands, heavy winds from St. John's, Dingle Berbers, and nonconformist flutes 
• 319. Celtic Spring, # 3 -   jolly beggarmen, haggis fondue (focus on that for a moment...), mysterious yet alluring black-haired maidens, tuxedos and firewood, 75 pound fines, Paddy in heaven, acid croft and generally amazing things. 
• 318. Celtic Spring 2024, # 2 -  the rhythmic stuttering of the tenor banjo and the dulcit tones of a Scottish love lilt and the strident dry-stone-wall-of-sound of the bagpipes and blistering political critique with an Irish jazz-rock soundtrack and German Celtic trombone and Shropshire cajun and dignified Galician anthems and the bounce of the Cape Breton fiddle 
• 317. Celtic Spring 2024, # 1 -  Shetland bluegrass fusion, gaelic fiddle divas, yearning uillean pipes, Breton flute 'n fiddle trances, patriotic Irish ballads sung by Scots, Quebec dance soundtracks, singing poets, flowing flutes & percussive guitars, down-under bush bands, heavy folk and wholesom (but unrefined) stepdancing. 
• 316. From the "Now Playing" Shelf, # 3 -  Scottish bonnets, Newfoundland federally-controlled substances, best uses for old tombs, proletariat pride from the kitchen, coal dust grins from western Canada, Franco-Ontarien prog rock, Pacificanadiana anthems, and Cape Breton fiddle evangelists. 
• 315. From the "Now Playing " Shelf, # 2 -  the same old Irish flashy slip jigs, Scottish romanticism, Dublin tourism appeals, country-folk theology, Calypso double entendre, UK folk royalty, Gaelic entreaties about something or other that is likely important to someone or other, Canadian celtic with a western twang, and whirling Newfoundland accordions 
• 314. From the "Now Playing" Shelf, # 1 -   fiddle 'n bone tunes, high lonesome mandolins, intense classic country, Abbotsford ghost towns, how bluegrass gets allowed in folk clubs, interracial stringband anthems, robot love songs (as opposed to "robotic" love songs), mighty fine days, road warrior apologies, golden barley voices and Bonne Bay accordions. 
• 313. The Eucharist Elements of St. Valentine - Sugar & Chocolate, # 2 -  music from the Chocolate lands (such as Cuba, Newfoundland, Ireland and Austin, Texas), tunes about the science of chocolate and even ballads about the bitter colonial taste of sugar. And, given the effects of sugar and chocolate, there will be lots of frenetic fiddles, swirling banjos and hyped-up drums 
• 312. The Eucharist Elements of St. Valentine - Sugar & Chocolate, # 1 -  music that pairs chocolate with Scotch... and with beer, liberal uses of sugar as a metaphor for love, the darker side of a holiday for love, sugar bush breakfasts, a few bubblegum hits just for the season, and all tied up with a lovely Scandinavian waltz about nordic Valentines 
• 311. The January Rambles, # 4 -  Chase-the-Ace lucky fiddle tunes, stadium rock for the bedroom, collisions of rock n' twang, bluegrassified Zeppelin, coal minin' ennui, gospel footwear, Bay Area bluegrass stylings, the rhythm method for fiddle, Muskoka syrup tales, indie bands play the ultimate Canadian indie icon, and ghosts of Acadian trad 
• 310. The January Rambles, # 3 -  flashy finger picking, Playford dancing delights, singing cowboys, uxorious highwaymen, Bluegrass from that yonder mountain, stringband anthems from the hollers of SW Ontario, and important signs on the freewa 
• 309. The January Rambles, # 2 -  rags (not the kind you wipe up spilled milk with), giants (the friendly kind), chickens (the fried kind), jars (the kind containing whiskey), strangers (the alluring kind), life (the everlasting kind), hotels (the kind you can check out of but can never leave), and love (the kind that conquers hate) 
• 308. The January Rambles, # 1 -  astounding sibling tunesmiths, a rather laconic b'y, ballad writers writing about ballad writers, the glories of work (as seen by folksingers), Big Land anthems, gothic chamber folk, Canadian bluegrass from the last century, everyday Hebridean lads, hand-picked guitar pickers, torch fiddle, the banks of Newfoundland (not TD or BMO or RBC, etc....), and a Venezuelan- Senegalese harp duo 
• 307. Music relatively new to this world, # 27 -  singles (not the umarried kind), bankers (not the service-fee-charging kind), clowns (not the scary kind), blues (not the seedy kind), rain (the prayed-for kind), junctions (the hip kind), Gaelic maritime laments (the gothic kind), ghost towns (the interior kind), and self-help advice (the uplifting kind) 
• 306. Music relatively new to this world, # 26 -   seriously-noteworthy mandolin, ringing solstice bells, funky shepherds, excessively-merry gentlemen, overflowing wassail bowls, mummer's play cameos, Danish children's music, Anglo-Appalachian ballads and New Year renewal shanties 
• 305. Is it That Time of Year Already?, # 2 -  laugh-out-loud samba polkas, Gaelic high-brow hymns, folk blues laments, and lots of tales of angels, merry gentlemen, wassails, mistletoe cuddling, sweet bells and the holly and the ivy 
• 304. Is it That Time of Year Already?, # 1 - progressive rock bourees, eastern stars, little dusty roads, three highly-visible ships, old men - sometimes with white beards, holy suspicions and cherry trees, waltzes in the kitchen, a night of a million stars, and goodwill to all. 
• 303. Late Autumn Rambles, # 4 -  unleashed French tangos, Irish easy listening summer music, ballads for a dance club mix, northern banjo folklore, catchy Cape Breton nationalism, hurtin' songs from south of the 401, deep Tasmanian blues, Americana-tinged analyses of the working class, Latino soul for restless feet, East Coast celtic pop fusion, and harp music for dancing. 
• 302. Late Autumn Rambles, # 3 -   Irish with a Quebec accent, East Indian waulking songs from PEI, central Canadian smooth jazz fiddle, deep-throated shanties from the deep seas, Sicilian-Canadian jazz, midwestern back alley swing blues, Glaswegians abroad in Montreal, old-time river music, clear-eyed psychadelic pop about tyrants, mid-eastern Ontario roots tunes, and Australian sheep-shearing anthems. 
• 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, Fre