sarahillis's blog

And just who, you may as, is Wade Hemsworth? Well, he was the mind behind several Canadian folk songs which people later described as simply "traditional." If you've heard songs such as "The Blackfly Song" or "The Wild Goose," then you've heard Wade Hemsworth's music; And perhaps the best thing of all about Wade Hemsworth is that he was born and raised in my own home town of Brantford Ontario before striking out for places as far-flung as Newfoundland, Northern Ontario, Eastern Quebec, and many other musically interesting spots in this great land of ours.

Well, Thanksgiving is all over and life continues on here in Canada as normal, and also as normal, I'm in the Funguy DJ chair at 8:00 PM Eastern on Sunday evening with three hours of the best in Celtic music from around the world. We'll have all our usual features, some new (to me at least) artists to experience, an English song which sounds suspiciously like an Italian song that Tom Dekker played on Woofman's World Music this past Monday, and even a bit of Celtic commedy from the one and only Tom Lehrer.

That's right, this weekend marks the Canadian holiday of Thanksgiving. It looks a lot like the American celebration, except that there's not so much football and there are no Christmas parades. Instead, we have decorative gourds, turkies, pies, pies, and yes, more pies! (Did I mention the pies?) So, whether you are full of Fall feasting or whether you simply want something fun to do on a Sunday night as usual, join me for a veritable cornucopia of Celtic creations both traditional and modern.

It would seem that October has descended upon us, at least here in Southern Ontario Canada, with a rain and a roar. It is chilly and wet out there, so I'm inviting you into my cozy Celtic cabbin for three hours of songs and tales to warm your bodies, minds, hearts and spirits.

Yes, the wind is crisping up and the trees are getting ready to shed their leaves, and we're celebrating (well sort of celebrating) Autumn this week on Come by the Hills, the Celtic Music Show. In reality, we will have a few songs throughout the show that have to do with Autumn or that have an Autumnal tone, but generally, it's just another three hours of some of the best in Celtic music from around the world.

Yes, for the past few weeks, I've either been intentionally organizing theme shows, or themes have emerged from the chaos that is my mind as a result of playlist creation. However, neither of these things happened this week, so instead of a theme, we're just going to play some cracking good music. I mean, isn't that what we're here for anyway?

It's been fifteen years since an unthinkable event occurred on a quiet tuesday morning in September, and throughout the world, violence and war and man's inhumanity to man just seem to persist. So, we'll be presenting songs about facing and overcoming adversity, songs about happy things, and songs that will make us reflect on the better world we would like to see here on earth.

We'll have our usual features of course, and we'll be hearing from Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Loreena McKennitt, Planxty and many more.

Yes, for some unfathomable reason, the Fungal Powers That Be have agreed to let me keep doing my crazy mixed-up musical show on the weekdays. In fact, starting today, the have agreed to let me lengthen and longthen it by one whole hour! Yes, that's right! From Monday to Thursday of this week, the Sara Hillis Show will begin at 3:00 PM Eastern and run until 5:00 PM.

Join me this Sunday evening at 8:00 PM Eastern for Come By The Hills: the Celtic Music Show, when we'll salute the fact that it's now September, the time when summer ends and the harvest begins in the Northern Hemisphere. Indeed, there was a time when the September Equinox would have marked the middle of Autumn rather than its outset. So, we'll be remembering the summer that is past and hoping for a plentiful harvest to come, with songs about the cycles of nature and about summer-related activities.

Starting today, from Monday to Friday at 4:00 PM Eastern, tune in to The Sara Hillis Show: the Show Where Anything Goes. Yes, just before Steve Cutway gets you lost in the fifties, I'll be presenting an eclectic mix of magic mushroom memories for your enjoyment.