This is the time of year when the seedlings are in their annual migration pattern.  After weeks in the lights in the basement, they are now outside for a good day, back in on frosty overnights, back out in the morning, then quickly back in during a thunderstorm, then back out, etc.  It is a spring dance, for sure.  So today on Routes & Branches & Beyond, in between moving plants around, I'll play the first of a series of Spring Rambles for 2025.

There will be great Cape Breton fiddles, Pembroke moonshiners, Acadian Beau Gallants, British mod rockers, Scottish celt funk, ceilidh bands with social media over-exposure, blacklisted treasures, Parisien accordeon energy, folk rock staples, country music heads to rehab, and the bagpiper goes to the cathedral.  From musicians such as the Barra MacNeils, April Verch, Les Mechants Maquereaux, The Who, Capercaillie, Heron Valley, Bohinta, Pete Seeger, Armand Lassagne, The Band, New Country Rehab, Genticorum, and Ian McKinnon & Gayle h. Martin.   Set down that flat of peppers and join me.


Routes & Branches & Beyond show # 370 2025 05 15

In the middle of a hot day, a normal human body starts to close down - to protect key organs.  Kind of like when your laptop decides to upgrade right before that big cofernece presentation!  In some cultures, there is an attempt to ignore the body's pleas for rest, and people strive to produce at the same level as always.  On the other hand, in many civilized coutnries they close down for several hours every mid-day during the hot season, or sometimes massive numbers of workers take 4 or 6 weeks off during the hottest months.  So here on Routes & Branches & Beyond we are observing these laws of the universe by relaxing into our Summer on the Range series.

Today I'll have Atlantic Canadian moose avoidance fiddles, Irish poteen anthems, nordic folk noir, Danish world travelling music, bagpipe-driven blues, pleas for peace from the voice of the 60s, odes to the transfixing solitudes of northern Ontario, heart-wrenching Latinex love ballads and Scottish dance club jigs.  All from musicians such as Mark Sullivan,Viik,Baltinget,Altan,Back Alley John, Joan Baez, Hart Rouge, Rodney Brown & the Northern Roots Band, Maná, and Capercaillie.  Set up that hammock and join me.

Routes & Branches & Beyond show # 375 2025 07 17

Today on another episode of Summer on the Range we begin in Prince Edward Island, amidst fiddles and potatoes, head to Argentina for some accordion stylings, then over to the UK to celebrate the origins of skiffle, back across the pond to a classic Newfoundland pub, down to American spacegrass territory, back over to Britain for a folk punk lesson in ideology, back to middle America for some uppity blues, over to South Africa for some classic mbaqanga jive, then back to Louisiana for a cajun-Innu crossover, then we end up back in PEI.  Hope you've got your passport with you.

All from musicians such as Barachois, Inn Echo, Acadilac, Chango Spasiuk, Van Morrison & Lonnie Donegan & Chris Barber, The Government Rams, Tony Rice Unit, Ry Cooder, Billy Bragg, Saffire, The Mahotella Queens, and Zachary Richard & Florent Vollant.  Grab your travel ginger tablets and join me.


Routes & Branches & Beyond show # 376 2025 07 24

"Goodbye to Molly Malone" is a heartfelt, modern folk-ballad that recalls a classic symbol of Irish heritage. The iconic image of Molly Malone has been part of the Dublin image for many years. This song laments the passing of old Dublin ways and a simpler way of life as represented by Molly. The song recalls an Ireland and a city now fading and overrun by modern ways. 

With emotional vocals, traditional melodic undertones, and a rich acoustic backdrop, this track is a soulful tribute to memory, place, and identity — saying farewell while holding tight to what matters.

This song was written by Mark with good friend, artist and musician  Frank O'Dea

For fans of:

Glen Hansard

Damien Rice

The Lumineers

Christy Moore

Hozier (early work)

Genre: Folk / Singer-Songwriter
Ideal for: Celtic folk playlists, acoustic storytelling, introspective listening, heritage ballads

New tracks tagged #celtic roots