Blogs

On Monday, May 1, 2023, we lost one of the greats of Canadian Folk and Pop music, Gordon Lightfoot. In fact, even to classify his music is a bit difficult. It was distinctly his own, and yet it was also everyone's. It has formed some of the soundtrack to many people's lives including mine, and the more of it I've heard over the years, the more I've come to view Lightfoot as a rarely gifted songsmith of the first order. Thus, I couldn't let this week pass without devoting an episode of Come by the Hills to this music.

On Saturday, his majesty King Charles III will be crowned. Regardless of people’s opinions on the relevance of the monarchy in the 21st century, a coronation is an event most of us haven’t experienced before, with the last one having been 70 years ago.

All the music on the next Mosen Explosion has been chosen by King Charles III, taken from the official playlist of the coronation. And it’s quite an eclectic collection which may surprise you in places.

The "Juke In The Back" focuses on the " soul that came before rock n' roll," the records that inspired Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and countless others.
This week, "Juke In The Back" features another unsung hero of early Rhythm & Blues, Floyd Dixon. He's often overlooked or labeled as a Charles Brown sound-alike, but Dixon was a prolific songwriter who made a great contribution to the R&B foundation of Rock n' Roll.

This week it's our birthday, and we have a fun guy guest in the backpack studio. We feature an artist who is a favourite of mine and hers, Bette Midler. We look from a distance, have the wind beneath my wings, and hear about the boogie-woogie bugle boy.

Tune in on Monday at 4 PM Eastern, which is 6 AM Tuesday in Eastern Australia. Or at 6 AM Wednesday Eastern, which is 8 PM in Eastern Australia. Just ask your SmartSpeaker of choice to play Mushroom FM and you will be at our birthday party in an instant.

Hello! Yes, it's time once again for the Come by the Hills May Day celebrations. No, we won't be marching in the streets for workers' rights, but we will be having songs about May-time, May poles, Cuckoos and many other things, and the best news of all is that the show will be presented live this week! I am likely dooming myself to technical failures by sayin this, but I think I have whatever was wrong with my technology resolved, and this without my doing much of anything at all, which is rather scary. The hope is that we will connect on time for the beginning of the show.

After you've enjoyed Come By The Hills with Sara Hillis, tomorrow afternoon from 02:00 PM to 05:00 PM, don't touch that dial, device, PC, Mac or smart speaker and join me for The Early Years where and when you'll hear the best music from the first half of the Rock and Roll era with nods to other decades and genres.
I will finish the listener suggested theme begun last week "Devil songs" or "Songs about Devils" spanning 67 years.

Only on Mushroom escape:
http://www.mushroomfm.com/escape
From this Saturday at 12am Eastern, that’s 4pm Saturday in NZ, 2pm in Sydney and 5am in the UK, and repeated every four hours throughout the day, it’s the described movies, The Music Man from 2003, and City of Angels from 1998.
The Music Man is a 2003 American made-for-television musical film directed by Jeff Bleckner with a teleplay by Sally Robinson.

Join The Song Remembers When this Sunday at 4 pm Eastern to take a trip without leaving your living room... Or, perhaps take us on the road with you to keep you company on your travels! This week I feature songs about travel and how it changes us, and also about modes of transportation. You'll hear songs about trains, jet planes, cars, and buses, and perhaps even one about a yellow submarine (though it might not be the version you'd expect!) If you are traveling on Sunday, do not fear. You can catch The Song Remembers When on Thursday at 5 am Eastern.

The "Juke In The Back" focuses on the " soul that came before rock n' roll," the records that inspired Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and countless others.
Matt The Cat and the "Juke In The Back" feature Fortune Records, another small, independent record label that made a sizable contribution to Rhythm & Blues and early Rock n' Roll.

This week on Deep Dive we enjoy the talents of a group we got to know as children, Peter, Paul and Mary. We don't think twice it's all right, we have a hammer, and we meet Puff the magic dragon.

Tune in at 4 PM Eastern Monday, and 6 AM Tuesday in Eastern Australia. Or at 6 AM Eastern Wednesday, 8 PM in Eastern Australia. Gently encourage that SmartSpeaker of yours to play Mushroom FM and you will be there in two shakes of a proverbial lamb's tail.

Deep Dive, where we focus on one artist for one hour, is heard exclusively on Mushroom FM, home of the fun guys.