by Marc Gunn

Last year, I screwed up. When we were compiling the Renaissance Festival Awards, I realized the form did not properly add the Best New CD category. So we compiled a list of all the new CDs that were released in 2009.

This year, we remembered that category. But what a great way to promote all the great Ren Faire musical groups out there! I asked Ren Fest Awards compiler Tony Artym to compile this year’s list. So without further adieu, here is what we hope is a complete list of new Renaissance Festival CDs for 2009.

• “Castle-Queen’s Side” by Queen’s Gambit
• “High Sea’s Drifter” by Musical Blades
• “Serenata” by Serenata
• “The Rakish Rogue and the Sultry Sirens Of Sin” by The Sultry Sirens Of Sin
• “Home Brew” by 3 Pints Gone
• “A Kilted Christmas” by Coyote Run
• “The Life and Rhythms of Arthur Greenleaf Holmes” by Arthur Greenleaf Holmes
• “Band on the Rum” by Pirates for Sail
• “Bawdy by Nature (EP)” by The Bawdy Boys
• “Sex, Drunks & Folk Music” by The Bawdy Boys
• “Bitter & Stout” by The Poxy Boggards
• “Secret Voyage” by Blackmore’s Night
• “Blood Red” by Blackwolf the Bard
• “Celtic Mayhem” by Celtic Mayhem
• “Drunk & Sailor” by Cheap Green Beer
• “On The Salt Sea” by Henry Martin
• “Eleven Lives” by Circa Paleo
• “Live in Berlin” by Corvus Corax
• “Manticores and Owlbears” by Dan Marcotte
• “Vibrabimus!” by Diabolis In Musica
• “Faire Play” by Terry Griffith
• “Live at Pubs and Pirate-Core” by Musical Blades
• “Happy Endings” by Merry Wives of Windsor
• “Happy Songs of Death” by Marc Gunn
• “Heart’s Ease: Instrumental Autoharp Music“by Marc Gunn
• “Irish Drinking Songs“by Marc Gunn
• “Heroes and Scoundrels” by The Lost Boys
• “Twisted Path” by Michi
• “The Misfits of Avalon” by Misfits of Avalon
• “The Dance Goes On” by Mystic Minstrels
• “Wrath of LepreKAHN!” by O’Danny Girls
• “Dreadnaughts & Derelicts” by Porter and Stout
• “Samsara” by Wine & Alchemy
• “We Brought the Summer With Us” by Sarah Marie Mullen
• “The Crossroads Faire” by Season’s Melody
• “Shine” by ShaeLaurel
• “Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?” by The Dregs
• “Dance of Souls” by Three Men and a Bunch Of Drums
• “The Gold Ring” by Ogham
• “Rennies Of Unusual Sound” by Tulstin Troubadours

Feel free to contact us if we missed some. Slainte!

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Marc Gunn is an acoustic Celtic folk musician, called “The Godfather of Celtic music online” for his steadfast support of indie Celtic music, free Celtic music downloads, and his award-winning Irish and Celtic Music Podcast, one of the most-popular music podcasts on iTunes. He has helped 1000s of musicians save and make money with their musical groups through The Bards Crier Music Marketing Ezine. Now you can get FREE “how-to” music marketing and promotion advice, plus tips on how to sell more CDs when you subscribe today. Subscribe at www.bardscrier.com!

Published by Celtic MP3s Music Magazine. Don’t just download. Support your favorite Celtic music groups. Buy Celtic music CDs. Join Song Henge.

by Michelle Osborne

The story of St. Patrick’s Day begins around 385 AD with a man named Maewyn. At age 16, the Pagan Maewyn was sold into slavery, which brought him closer to God. He finally managed to escape slavery six years later and headed to a monastery in Gaul to study, where he adopted the Christian name “Patrick.” Upon ending his studies, he moved to Ireland, where he felt his calling in life was to convert Pagans to Christianity. For the next 30 years, he traveled throughout the country, setting up monasteries and converting the natives. After his death in 461 (on March 17th, when else did you expect?), he was declared a saint.

So what happened from there? How did a man who spent his entire life converting Pagans to Christianity result in a day devoted to rowdy songs, parades, and drinking green beer, a day when everyone is just a wee bit Irish? The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was in America, not Ireland. It took place in New York City in 1762, and consisted of Irish soldiers in the English military marching through the city. This was a chance for the soldiers to reconnect with their heritage. Eventually, as more Irish immigrants came to America, the parades were a show of strength for Irish-Americans and political candidates had to make an appearance at them. Now a regular annual event, people of all backgrounds celebrate this day.

Ireland, on the other hand, does not have such a long history of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Prior to the 1970s, it was a religious occasion and, indeed, Irish law mandated that pubs be closed on March 17! Apparently, there was no green beer for those in Ireland. This changed around 1995, when the government made a push to use St. Patrick’s Day as a way to drive tourism and to showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Parades and celebrations are now common in Ireland around this day (in fact, their celebrations last several days) and some one million people took part in last year’s festivities in Dublin.

When people nowadays think of this day, they get an image of the shamrock in their head. You see it on the sides of buildings, on hats and clothing, on balloons and decorations. Why? Its origins are rooted in Patrick himself. He used the shamrock as a way to show how the trinity works: three separate elements of the same entity.

So wherever you are, whether you’re Irish or not, get out there and enjoy the day!

If you would like more information on the holiday, the History Channel will be showing The History of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 and 7pm/6 central.

More St Patrick’s Day Music Links:

• St Patrick’s Day Music in Austin
• Marc Gunn’s latest CD of Irish music for St. Patrick’s Day, Happy Songs of Death
• Free Irish Music Downloads
• Irish Song Lyrics
• St Patrick’s Day Music & Poetry

Looking for Celtic Harp Wedding Music for your celebration. Here are four CDs you might want to consider. Each touches a beautiful aspect of the Celtic music:

Haste To The Wedding by Anne Roos
Anne Roos performs Celtic music on the Celtic harp with accompanying instruments. The tracks flow in the order that music flows at a wedding. Ideal for future brides and lovers of Celtic music alike. This unique CD was recorded live in a church, without overdubbing, to give the feeling of a live ensemble performing at a wedding.

Vow: An Irish Wedding Celebration by Aine Minogue
This is a beautiful CD of traditional Irish wedding ceremony music. The music is very well-produced with a beautiful modern new age sound that could be likened to Enya playing irish wedding music. The vocals are exquisite. The performance is fantastic .The music is beautiful and enrapturing. All in all, this is just a great CD and well worth the experience.

Princess of Flowers by Margaret Davis
The instrument Margaret performs on, the Celtic Harp, is based on the traditional British Isles instrument that predates the modern concert harp. Of Scottish heritage herself, Margaret has created a repertoire of traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, and England, as well as Medieval and Renaissance music from England, France, and Germany.

A Celtic Renaissance Wedding by Brobdingnagian Bards
No, it’s not actually harp music. Instead, there’s an autoharp. However, this CD is a beautiful and mesmerizing album of romantic Celtic wedding music. In addition to being one of the band’s best-selling albums, it also receives high-marks from wedding couples worldwide.

by Marc Gunn

Kristen and I are not alone in wanting to hear your thoughts on the Renaissance Festival Podcast. Your kind words give us light and make our “jobs” worthwhile. If you enjoy the podcast, please give us a call and let us know what you think. Here’s the number: 512.879.NEWT

What kind of message should you leave?

It may not always happen, but we try to keep the podcast to about thirty minutes. For that reason, short messages are best. And of course, originality is always preferred.

You can make the message shine by answering one of these questions:

• Who did you like in the last podcast?
• What faire did you attend last?
• What faire are you about to attend?
• Who is your favorite Renaissance festival performer?
• How did you find this podcast?
• How did you get started going to Renaissance festivals?
• What was your first Renaissance festival?
• What got you hooked on faires?
• How do you pass your time in between faires?
• What is your favorite faire memory?
• What is your favorite faire vendor?
• What is your favorite street character that you’ve met?

Those questions should get your brain juices flowing. If you want to pick the phone and call (512) 879-NEWT, you can do that now.

Or if you want to keep from sputtering, like I always do. Write it down and then make a phone call. For example:

“This is YOUR NAME from YOUR HOME FAIRE. The Renaissance Festival Podcast helps me survive in between faires.”

“This is YOUR NAME from YOUR HOME FAIRE. I enjoy your podcasts so much that it is now all that I listen to at work.”

Well, that’s about all there is to it. So give us a call and let us share your message with other Ren faire fans!

Call 512.879.NEWT (She turned me into a Newt! … I got better.) That’s 512.879.6398.

by Marc Gunn

There are a lot of great performers at faires. You can see that just by checking out the Renaissance Festival Performer Awards.

The awards are over for last year. You may have several months to go before you are eligible to win next year. So how do you get your name out to those who attend Renaissance festivals? Radio sweeps!

What are radio sweeps?

Radio sweeps are simple saying telling our listeners who you are and what show they are listening to.

“My name is Marc Gunn. And you’re listening to the Renaissance Festival Podcast at Renaissance Festival Music.com”

It’s really that simple.

Now we prefer it if you add a little bit more. Spice it up. How? With your faire character if you have one. Here are a few suggestions on how you can do a radio sweep that shines.

• Act out a scene from your show,
• Talk in character,
• Hawk the show,
• Sing your sweep,
• Say it in verse, or
• Add public domain or original music under your vocals.

How do I leave a radio sweep?

If you have home recording equipment, record yourself at home and send us an MP3.

If you don’t have home recording equipment or you’re like me, too lazy to record something at home, we made it extra, extra easy for you to leave a radio sweep. Just give us a call. The number is 512.879.NEWT.

Practice what you’re gonna say a couple times before calling. Dial us. Speak clearly. And we’ll take care of the rest.

What are you waiting for? Call 512.879.NEWT (She turned me into a Newt! … I got better.) That’s 512.879.6398.