sarahillis's blog

Yes, Spanky and Our Gang said it all. However, little did they know their prophetic powers, because now that Mushroom FM has Celtic music on Sunday nights right after The Early Years and before Moon Dreams, your Sunday, gentle listener, really will never be the same again!

Alright, so here's what happened. I was sitting around all week procrastinating and wondering what I wanted to do for this week's episode of Come by the Hills, and then, like a firework streaking across the sky, it came to me. Since this is along weekend in Canada, why not do another "long songs" episode? (For my purposes, "long" means a duration of over 5 minutes.) So, that's what we're going to do.

It's time for another Celtic music extravaganza on Come by the Hills! Join me on Sunday at 8:00 PM for music from all over the Celtic world. We've got music from Wales and music made by Whales. We've got fiddles, harps and every instrument you cann think of! We've got a "Celtic Cover" in which Judy Collins meets Newfoundland folk group Ryan's Fancy, we've got music from the movie Titanic, and of course some great ballads and even some Celtic comedy.

Yes, it's all very exciting! In less than six hours, Come by the Hills is coming your way with another three hours of the best in Celtic music from around the world. We've got "Me Music" in the first hour, "Fiddlin' Around" in the second, and a really neat "Celtic Cover" featuring the scottish folk-rock band Wolfstone in the third hour.

As Monday is May 1, I thought we'd pay some attention to that fact in fine Celtic fashion on Come by the Hills. May Day or May-time was for a long time in European history associated with the end of planting and the beginning of summer. yes, summer used to begin much earlier than June 21, which is why that date is still known as Midsummer's Day in England. The Equinoxes and Solstices used to mark the mid-points, rather than the beginnings of seasons. So, May 1 was the beginning of summer in the old agricultural calendar.

I forgot to blog last week, but now that there's a lovely description of Come By The Hills in the schedule, I think I need to be extra vigilant from now on.

We've got an interesting song in "Celtic Covers" this week which, though often thought of as traditional, was written in the 20th century and whose tune has an interesting classical connection! I picked it at random because I had two versions of the song, and then I googled it and all this interesting information came out. I love it when that happens.

Come By The Hills is coming your way again this week with three more hours of the best in Celtic music from around the world. We'll have a good selection of jigs and reels, a balad or two, an amazing Celtic harp experience, and a "Celtic Cover" which is recycled but which is no less interesting for that.

So if it's Celtic music you crave, tune into Mushroom FM on Sunday night at 8:00 PM Eastern for Come By The Hills! The show is replayed every week on Friday morning at 4:00 AM Eastern, 9:00 AM in the UK and Ireland.

This Sunday, the Juno awards for the best in Canadian music are being given out. However, not to be outdone, Come by the Hills will be presenting a program of Celtic music with a Canadian flare. We have some Juno-nominated and Juno-winning artists on the bill in both "Fiddlin' Around" and "Celtic Covers," and of course there's "Me Music," which is Canadian by default. While I can't promise that all of the music has a Canadian connection, I can promise that all of it will be fun and interesting.

Yes, I'm back yet again this Sunday with another three hours of the best in Celtic music from around the world. There's no particular theme this week. There's just awesome music as usual.

It's chilly and wintry still here in my part of Canada, but the Spring Equinox is coming whether the weather knows it or not. So, in order to encourage hope that this winter really will end someday soon, I'm going to pack this week's Celtic music show full of Spring things!