Stars, stories, and music

Looking forward, looking back...

and wishing all here, regular reader or first time visitor, all the best in this coming year

It is likley to be a year of uncertainty and change.

Music wil continue to be a good companion and a way to conect in these times.

I’ve many more good ideas on that to share with you here in days to come.

For the looking back part, several of your favourite stores from the past

Irish music, Irish landscape

Music and Mystery: a conversation with Carrie Newcomer

Scotland’s music: Laws of Motion from Karine Polwart, inge Thompson, and Steven Polwart

Spell Songs II: Let the Light In from Kris Drever, Julie Fowlis, Seckou Keita, Rachel Newton, and more...

Fine Winter’s Night from Matt and Shannon heaton

To the looking forward part, I expect to b telling you about music from a range of musicians from Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and the many musics which make up the folk music of the United States.

I invite you to explore otehr places where I write too including

The ongoing Music for Shifting Times series at Wandering Educators

Regular stories at Perceptive Travel

Alongside the Music Road, my newsletter at Substack

You may also find me on facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and BlueSky

Thank you for reading here.

As we come into this new year, I’d also remind you of these words about courage in hard times, true for the United States auduence to whom they were addressed and beyond America as well:

"There is an adage: Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. For the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But, America, if it is: Let us fill the sky with the light of a billion brilliant stars.

"May the light of optimism, faith, truth, and service guide us—even in the face of setbacks—toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America."
Kamala Harris

and these words also

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I've begun publishing an occasional newsletter at Substack with more stories about music, the people who make it, and the places which inspire it. Come visit and check it out...

Photograph of birds by Andreas Hoja from Pixabay

At the year's turning: 5 songs for new year's reflection

At the turning of the year, it is a time of looking forward and looking back. As ever here at Music Road, the stories found in music are company along the way, and guides to help think about the challenges, acceprt the sorrows, and share the celebrations of the turn of seasons.

Carrie Newcomer’s song Singing in the Dark works for this point in the seasons and beyond.

The idea for the song sparked for Newcomer when she spent a bit of time at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. A respected writer, artist, and thinker on matters of the spirit, she’d been invited to experience the place where spiritual teacher and writer Thomas Merton had lived.

While there, she attended several of the services through which the monks keep hours of the day -- matins, lauds, vespers, compline, for example -- some of which occur in the dark of night and the dark of very early hours of the morning.

On new year’s eve and other times, someone is always singing in the dark...

You will find Singing in the Dark on Carrie Newcomer’s album A Great Wild Mercy.

Waitin’ on Mary is a Christmas song, yes. It also works really well with the atmosphere and events going in in the world just now: finding reasons to hope amidst despair, for one thing. Gretchen Peters wrote it. You will find it on her album Northern Lights.

Rani Arbo has set words of Alfred Lord Tennyson to music in Ring Out Wild Bells. Each of the verses she’s chosen speaks to today as much as they did to Tennyson’s time.

You will find it recorded on the Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem album Wintersong.

In Scotland, the celebration of midnight as one year turns to another is marked by and is called the bells. Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem’s song is a nod to that, and so is this...

Auld Lang Syne, as well known as it is, really does belong as a part on one year turning into another. Here’s a fine version of it by Hannah Rarity and Blazin’ Fiddles. You will want to listen, yes, but then perhaps second time round go ahead and sing along.

Bittersweet as the turning of a year may seem at times, it is also a time which invites celebration, connection and hope. Cajun musicians Canray Fontenot and Michael Doucet caught that ideas well in their song Bonne Annee. So did Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem in their performance of it, on their album Wintersong.

Wishing you all the best at the turning of this year, and as the new year unfolds.

You may also wish to see
Three more songs for the new year, from Kris Drever, Fara, and Olivia Newton-John
Ireland, Scotland, and story
December: music for a time of hope and reflection at Wandering Educators
Music for peace, understanding, and connection at Wandering Educators

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or you could

and thank you

If you enjoy what you are reading here, I've recently begun publishing an occasional newsletter at Substack with more stories about music, the people who make it, and the places which inspire it. Come visit and check it out!

New year's eve, and into a new year: 3 songs for company

At the turning of the year, thoughts and ideas of change, of regret, of hope, and many more things arise.

Accept them all, send the ones which need to go, as a friend of mine says, up in the smoke of a new year’s blaze.

Embrace the good ideas, the community, the hope.

With all that in mind, music to accompany you in to the new year

Here’s one to honor looking back and looking forward, and to honor the hope found in community. It is called Just a Lot of Folk, sung by Olivia Newton-John. You will find on an album from the early folk/country days of Olivia’s career, called Clearly Love.

Thrift is a plant that grows at the edge of the sea in Scotland, hanging on through all sorts of weather and circumstance. The song Thrift celebrate hope, persistence, and other good qualities such as that. Karine Polwart sings lead, and in this video you will see her with her musical friends who form the Spell Songs singers: Rachel Newton, Beth Porter, Sekou Keita, Jim Molyneux, Kris Drever, and Julie Fowlis. Engineer/producer Andy Bell, part of the collaboration, is there too. You will find the song on the album Spell Songs II: Let the Light In.

It may have been inspired by the Orkney legend of a witch who sold fair winds to sailors, but...Jeana Leslie, who wrote the song Fair Winds and sings lead, and her friends who form the band Fara have turned it into a song of hope. Kristan Harvey, Caitriona Price, and Rory Matheson -- the other musicians who make up Fara-- join Jeana on the song, which you will find on their album Energy Islands.

Band members tell the backstory of the song ...

You may also wish to see
More about the album Spell Songs II:let the Light In
At Wandering Educators, Music for peace, undertanding, and connection (there’s another Spell Songs video in this, too)
The album Laws of Motion from Karine Polwart,
Thoughtful songs from Ireland’s Cara Dillon: Wanderer.

-->Your support for Music Road is welcome and needed. If you are able to chip in, here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.

You could also

If you enjoy what you are reading here, check out my newsletter at Substack for more stories about music, the people who make it and the places which inspire it.

New Year's Eve

Wishing you a bright and happy new year filled with music.

To help you celebrate, here are

Carrie Newcomer with her song Lean In Toward the Light, which you will find on her album The Beautiful Not Yet

Cathie Ryan with Walk the Road, written by Kate Rusby. You will find it recorded on Cathie’s album Through Wind and Rain

Eddi Reader from her album Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns... with Auld Lang Syne

Thank you for your company here along the music road. I hope you will continue to join in the journey.

Image from the Pentland Hills in Scotland by Andrew Murray from Pixabay

You may also wish to see
The Lost Words: Spell Songs about the music and the book which inspired it
More about Cathie Ryan’s album Through Wind and Rain
At Wandering Educators, more music for winter reflection

-->Your support for Music Road is welcome and needed. If you are able to chip in, here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.

Music, friendship, and the turning of the year

At the turning of the year, it is often a time for reflection, for thinking back and thinking forward. Though times may change and at times friends may come and go, still the value of friendship and the memories of times shared with good friends are keeping things.

Music to go along with thoughts on the subject of friendship:

As Eddi Reader points out in her introduction to this song, Robert Burns may be best known for his love songs. Burns wrote about quite a few subjects in his life though, and friendship is one. Take a listen to Eddi Reader with the lively song Willie Stewart, which she has recorded on her album Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns,

Whether for a short time or a long one, one thing that comes along with good friendship is parting and spending time apart. At times the mingled joy of realizing how much you love someone and sorrow at parting make that moment of leave taking the hardest part. That is captured in the song The Parting Glass. Cara Dillon songs it here. She has recorded it on her album Hill of Thieves and it also appears on the collection Celtic Cafe from Putumayo Music.

Carrie Newcomer explores another of the many aspects that friendship may take in her song The Gathering of Spirits recognizing that there is mystery in it as well as, perhaps as part of, love and lasting connection. One of my favorite lines is “... and we’ll take up where we left off when we all meet again.” Newcomer chose The Gathering of Spirits as the title of one of her albums, and the song also appears on Betty's Diner: The Best of Carrie Newcomer

To close this meditation on music and friendship I’ll send you back again to Eddi Reader and back again to Robert Burns, with a song that, among other things, connects people the world around at New Year’s time. Take a listen to Reader’s reflective take on the song, which she has recorded on Eddi Reader Sings the Songs of Robert Burns.

Photograph by Kerry Dexter. Thank you for respecting copyright.

You may also wish to see
Emily Smith, Jamie McClennan, and Robert Burns
Eddi Reader sings more of the songs of Robert Burns
Cathie Ryan: Through Wind and Rain
Celtic Cafe at Wandering Educators

If you'd like to support my creative work at Music Road,
here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.

Music and the new year

It is a time of year for resolutions, changes, and making lists. It is also often quite a shift from the warmth of connection and the quiet reflective days called forth by the major winter holidays. As you move into the work and life of the new month and this new year, music can serve as a companion and encouragement for exploration. Let it also be a reminder to keep the warmth and reflection and good things about the holidays alive in your heart and life as you take your next steps.

and to add to your plans for this new year, support live music. Go to a concert or a festival, and bring a friend or two along.

music to go along with these ideas
over at A Traveler’s Library in repsonse to a request for a story to fit in with a week of best of lists, I offer a list fo best music for journeys real and spiritual
you may also wish to see my choices for best music, 2012
and this music, silence, and spiritual journey

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Turning of the year and music: favorite stories and a hint of what's ahead

At the turning of the year, Music Road and the journey of music winds on.
Among your favorite articles published this year were seasonal posts on Advent and music, the conclusion of the great American Road trip series, and these


Carrie Newcomer considers the sacred, the ordinary, and what she learned and is reflecting upon after an unexpected time spent sharing her music and ideas with people in India on India to Indiana: Everything Is Everywhere


Cathie Ryan speaks of her knowledge of and passion for sharing her music, and the legends and stories she draws on when presenting music of Ireland, in teaching tradition

A look at the many aspects of winter, the hope of spring, Celtic harp, folk orchestra and the occasional electric guitar held your interest as you read about Jennifer Cutting and the Ocean Orchestra’s work on Song of Solstice.

An American folk song book, a concert from the Highlands in Scottish Gaelic, a twist on traditional Irish music from a Boston based all star quartet, and a basketful of other journeys along the music road: Best Music of the Year, a regular feature each November along the Music Road, also continues to hold your interest.


The philosophical side of things and reflections on music and creativity do, as well. Rest in music, an article on the rhythms of music and conversation, proved a favorite, as did this reflection on the connections among friendship, time , and music: music, autumn, and a cup of tea


You also enjoyed this video of Emily Smith, from Scotland, singing a song of faith by an American songwriter, which comes with entirely appropriate shots of the Jacobite Steam Train (watch the video, you'll understand): Song for the weekend: Emily Smith: Glory Bound.

What’s ahead along the music road? Continuing travels in the music of Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and across the United States, as well as other landscapes on occasion, along with deeper excursions into the ways music connects us all and helps us understand life and each other. There might be a musical road trip across Canada, and there will be consideration of new music from favorite artists and from artists and projects new to the music road as well, thoughts on an album inspired by the writings of ancient Ireland, and a few surprises along the way too.

Thank you for being part of the Music Road community, It’s been nearly six years now (for the online part of it, that is), so there's a wealth of musical knowledge, inspiration, and reflection here which I encourage you to explore. The journey continues, and to borrow a song title from Texan songwriter Robert Earl Keen, the road goes on forever. Happy new year!

The photograph is of a fireplace in Louth, Ireland. Thank you for respecting copyright.

to keep up with what's ahead along the Music Road this year, check out the sidebar on the right for ways to subscribe through email, RSS feed, and Kindle. thanks!

you may also wish to see
Music Road: Music for the first week in Advent: candle in the window
Music Road: Seven Stories

-->If you'd like to support my creative work,
here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this.Thank you.

You can also

At the turning of the year: music and change

The turning of the years is often a time of change, a time of looking forward and looking back, a time for forgiveness, for beginning anew. The sort of music we meet here along the music road speaks of all these things, at times. Here are several albums which make good companions for such reflection. In the songs on her album Before & After, Carrie Newcomer invites consideration of the joy and hardship of change, and the mysteries involved with it Tommy Sands knows a good bit about change as it plays out through politics, and through the movements of history. Take a listen to how he puts this into song on Arising from the Troubles The gifts of winter and longing for spring are both part of the landscape Jennifer Cutting and her fellow musicians in the Ocean Orchestra explore through their music on Song of Solstice Legend and myth, the natural world, and how those resonate with the courage it takes to risk change are part of what Cathie Ryan considers through the songs she covers and the songs she writes for her album The Farthest Wave you may also wish to see Music Road: rest in music Music Road: Best Music, 2011

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Looking forward, looking back: happy new year

happy new year!
what’s ahead along the music road
a series on artists of the decade: thinking about how to do this I decided their work was work more than a just a listing

further adventures as the Great American Road Trip travels in the American west

deeper reflections on music and creative practice
continuing with occasional photo focused posts

and of course, continued insights into Irish, Scottish. Americana. and folk music from many different neighbourhoods, and sometimes, from behind the scenes

looking back at a few favorites

I considered several reflections on music and creative practice from the past year on New Year's Eve

over at A Traveler’s Library, Vera Marie Badertscher, the instigator of The Great American Road Trip, takes a look at what states you liked best in books and references a post I did a bit ago on what parts of the trip you were enjoying most through music. Michigan, Indiana, and Alabama ranked high, and there are two more to add: road trip music New York City: Irish Musicians and road trip music: American west.


reviews of recordings by a top fiddler and composer, an Irish songwriter, and a rising star from Scotland, and a selection of the best releases of 2010:
Hanneke Cassel: For Reasons Unseen
Dreams in America: Luka Bloom
Musical imagination: Matheu Watson
Best Music, 2010

two stories, one about the bodhran and another about kickstarting an Irish music recording.


at Perceptive Travel an evening in Belfast
Song Journeys
and at Wandering Educators
Scottish musician Sarah-Jane Summers shares the best of the Highlands

thanks for reading, and being part of things here, and thanks especially to all musicians who shared their music and their ideas. here’s to a bright new year for us all.

-->Your support for Music Road is welcome and needed. If you are able to chip in, here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.

New Year's Eve

Wishing you all good things at the turning of the year.
May each of us share the light and light each other’s ways as we walk through the year ahead -- and may we all share in the music, as well.


Thank you for walking the music road with me, and for being part of a community of readers which circles the world, from New Zealand to Chile, from Thailand to Romania, from Hawaii to Tucson to San Marcos and Austin, to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Tallahassee, Florida, to Bloomington, Indiana, to Medford, Massachusetts, up through Halifax, Sydney, and St. John’s in the Maritimes, over to Calgary on the western plains, across the wide ocean to Stornoway in the Western Isles, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Perth in Scotland’s east, all through the central belt from Edinburgh to Glasgow, to Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and over to Ireland, from Waterford to Cork to Kerry to Limerick to Galway to Sligo to Donegal to Tyrone and through Derry, Belfast, Armagh, Down, Louth, Meath, and Dublin.

You’ll know, perhaps, that here along the music road I often write reflections on creative practice with ideas for music to accompany them, as well as writing on music and musicians. At this turning of the year, here is a look back at several of my favorite reflections, and yours, from the year that’s turning.

here are two from the winter holidays
listening to Christmas: Shannon Heaton, Cathie Ryan, Mary Black, Hanneke Cassel
third week in Advent: connection

and three from earlier this year
patrick season: music and mist
trust and music
music and focus

you may also wish to see
Delicious Baby's Photo Friday, where travelers offer new insights to the world each Friday.

-->Your support for Music Road is welcome and needed. If you are able to chip in, here is a way to do that, through PayPal. Note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to do this. Thank you.

Happy new year, thanks, and Robert Burns

Thank you for coming along the music road this year. Many of you have been with us in the years since the beginning, four years ago now, and some of you are finding us for the first time today. Thank you for reading and for being part of the community, and as always, you're invited to stay awhile and explore.

You may like to know that in the past year, you've been joined by readers from each state in United States. We’ve long had faithful visitors in Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, Minnesota, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and New York, and this year North and South Dakota, West Virginia, and Idaho have made themselves heard as well. In Canada, we’ve had friends across the Maritimes, and in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta since the beginning of things here, and this year the prairie provinces and the NWT have joined us as well. Many readers come from from Ireland [though... Donegal and Down, miss you] and many from Scotland, with a special shout out to our friends in Glasgow and a welcome to new visitors from Aberdeen and Inverness this year. Germany, Norway, Spain, Italy, Australia, The Netherlands and New Zealand are home to longtime readers. Ever since this journey began we’ve had regular visitors from Thailand, and this year quite a few people from across Asia and South America, as well as Africa, have stopped by. Iceland has been heard from as well, along with Belarus and Latvia, and indeed every country in western Europe and many in the Middle East .

In 2009 Music Road was nominated as best music blog and several posts for best post in the Irish Blog Awards, mentioned in Intelligent Traveler from National Geographic Traveler and in Things We Like Reading from Poetry Ireland, and named as a featured best of the web blogger at Lonely Planet. Thank you to all who helped those recognitions come about, and welcome to all who have found Music Road through those ways. A special welcome too, and thanks, to all those who have found us because a friend recommended Music Road.

Here’s to a bright new year for us all, and more miles. songs, and tunes along the music road. Below is a video from Celtic Connections 2009, a moment in the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall which had and has its own way of reaching across Scotland, and across the world.






you may also wish to see

Music Road: eddi reader, willie stewart, and the search for haggis

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