sarahillis's blog

What is Burns Night? No, it's not a chili cook-off, it's a celebration of the Scottish poet and song-collector Robert Burns. Celebrated every year on his birthday, January 25th, it is a festival which honours both his contributions to Scottish culture as well as the culture at large. Accordingly, even though we're a day late, I have a show filled with Burns songs and poems, info about his life, and lots of Scottish favourites. So, grab your favourite Scotch Whiskey and a wee scoop o' haggis and come along!

Hello! Sara Hillis popping up again to let you know about this week's extremely-iminent edition of Come by the Hills, the Folk and Celtic music show on Mushroom FM! I've got an eclectic mix of music this week, including a contribution made by a listener thanks to the Peter Yarrow tribute from last week. I finally got the link he sent me to work, and I now have a very cool tune to share with you! We'll also be hearing the musical commedy stylings of Lorne Elliott, a couple of songs in honour of the cold, and whatever else I (or you) feel like playing.

Last week, we lost one of the great apologists for peace and justice in the world, Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Marry. So, on this week's episode of Come by the Hills, I'll be paying tribute to him and to the group by playing their songs and also some interviews. As always, requests are welcome, and if you have any memories you'd like to share about the music, you can email sara@mushroomfm.com. That way, I'll be sure to get your contributions.

"If music be the food of love, play on..." So we will, this week on the Folk and Celtic music show on Mushroom FM! It will be Twelfth Night on Sunday, so I'll be playing a few songs from Shakespeare's play of that name, as well as discussing the hunting of the wren, which is an old English custom both for St. Stephen's Day (Boxing Day, the day after Christmas,) and also on Twelfth Night. We've also got a long-sought-for Welsh tune to play, and of course we'll have lots of great Folky things to enjoy as usual. So join me for a virtual Twelfthcake and let us revel!

Hello! Sara Hillis just popping in to say that I hope your holiday season is going well and that I, in defference to that holiday frame of mind, will be taking a break from producing Come by the Hills for this week. Instead, I'll be sharing an encore presentation of the show that changed everything this year, the Saint Patrick's Day episode which launched the show's return to Sundays at 8:00 PM Eastern! So raise a glass and revisit March 17, 2024 with a former audio iteration of me, and, God willing, I'll be with you again live in 2025!

Well, another fabulous countdown is in the books, and we have you to thank for its fabulousness! You built us an amazing chart with your votes, and we'd like to thank you for that. If you didn't catch the whole countdown, it will be replayed starting at midhtnight Eastern Time on Christmas Day, and if you want to see the full chart, you can do so at https://www.mushroomfm.com/countdown2024.

Are you a Dasher or a Dancer, a Prancer or a Vixen? No, this is not some sort of holiday-themed personality test. These are just the names of our virtual tables here in Portobello Hall for our virtual Christmas party which is taking place in conjunction with the presentation of our annual Holiday Countdown! When you voted, you were issued an invitation and given a seat at one of these four tables. To find out which table you're at, you can go to our Seating Plan page. And, even though voting is now closed, you can still be added to a table.

It's time once again for the Come by the Hills Holiday extravaganza! I've got three hours of festive-themed tunes coming your way, including a really lovely reading of Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales, which was performed as part of a seasonal concert that Loreena McKennitt mounted called Under a Winter's Moon. So, if you're not all Christmased out after the countdown, I hope you can join me for some festive folkish fun!

We'd like to thank everyone who has voted in this year's Mushroom FM Holiday Countdown! All the contributions are officially in and collected, and now that the vote-validation elves have done their work, it's time for them to switch gears. (well, do elves have gears? Maybe hats is better.) Okay, so it's time for the elves to switch hats and get Portobello Hall cleaned up for your impending arrival! The Christmas tree is being brought in and decorated, and there will be lots of wood for the log fire, or if you prefer it, the windows can be opened to let in the summer breeze.

Today is the final day to make your festive favourites known by voting for them in our Mushroom FM Holiday Countdown! You only have until the end of today, that's 11:59 PM North American Eastern time, to vote and to have your vote validated. The validation part is very important, so don't wait till the last possible moment! Just drop in on our handy little Countdown page and do your thing! The elves will make sure you get a seat at one of our virtual tables for the big celebration on Sunday!