sarahillis's blog

Today, we lost a true treasure of Country music in Loretta Lynn. With a career spanning many decades and a talent for telling complicated stories in a simple and relatable way, she was the undisputed Queen of Country. So, on Sara Smiles for two entire hours, on Wednesday, October 5, I'll be honouring her life and work with songs and stories about her life and also her impact on my own life. As I grew up in a primarily Country-influenced household, Loretta's music simply became a part of my DNA.

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you what's coming up on this week's edition of Come by the Hills, Mushroom FM's Folk and Celtic music show. As I'm off on a trip this weekend, I've decided to revisit an episode from last year. On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of her breakthrough album, The Visit, Canadian singer and composer Loreena McKennitt released a box set called The Visit, the Definitive Edition.

Hello again! Sara Hilis here to tell you about this week's edition of Come by the Hills. We're live again this week, and we've got songs about the return of autumn to the Northern Hemisphere, songs about winds and rains in honour of Feona, now causing havoc to the east coast of Canada, and songs about that urge for going. There's even more than this of course, so I hope you can join me! If you can't do so because of the big storm, then please stay safe!

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you about this week's episode of Come by the Hills, Mushroom FM's Folk and Celtic music show. This time, I'll be paying tribute in song and story to my dear friend Shannon Smith, who passed away only a few weeks after her 40th birthday on September 16th, 2017. So, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of her death, I'll be sharing songs she enjoyed as well as a bit of her own voice. We've also got a request to fulfill, so it's an action-packed show this week.

Hello! Sara Hillis here once again to tell you about this week's episode of Come by the Hills, Mushroom FM's Folk and Celtic music show. We are witnessing a moment in history with the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III. I wanted to do at least a little something to pay tribute to this moment, and whether you're a royalist or not, I think you'll enjoy the selection of songs about kings and queens of all kinds that I have for you this time around.

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you about this week's all new edition of Come by the Hills, Mushroom FM's Folk and Celtic music show! This week, it's all about work and workers, the people who love them, and the consequences of doing certain jobs. It's Labour Day Weekend here in North America, and as I try to do every year, I found several songs for you about people who hold various occupations and the ups and downs of these lives. Of course, there is a wee bit of unionizing in there too, as the unions have traditionally been a preoccupation of the modern Folk movement.

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you about this week's all new episode of Come by the Hills. I'll be playing our usual mix of great Folk and Celtic music, including a three-song set from one of Loreena McKennitt's albums on the occasion of its upcoming release on vinyl. I myself do not understand this new vinyl craze, but it gives me a good excuse to dip into this album a bit, so why not? I'll also play a song by Stan Rogers which was mentioned to me recently by a listener, and of course there will be Me Music as well.

Hello again! Sara Hillis here to tell you that we will actually be replaying the Come by the Hills show from April 2, 2022 this weekend. I had promised you that one two weeks ago, but instead, I ended up playing the show from June 4 by mistake. I'm hopeful that this will be the final rerun in this covid-inspired series of encore presentations, but only time will tell. I am feeling mostly better, but I do have a lingering cough which still affects my voice at times.

Sara Hillis here again. I believe I mentioned that I had had four vaccinations for Covid in the entry I posted before. I have only had three. I don't know why I added the extra one. Fourth shots were only made available to my cohort in Ontario about a month ago.

Hello there! Sara Hillis here to tell you that I am still dealing with the craziness that is Covid, and I do not have the brain power or the bodily energy to attempt a live show this weekend. However, as luck would have it, I've had a request from a listener to replay the Stan Rogers episode we did in June, and I can't think of a better encore presentation to give you.