sarahillis's blog

Hello, hello! Sara Hillis here to preview this week's blessedly live edition of Come by the Hills! Yes, I'm actually taking to the air waves in real time today (Saturday) at 2:00 PM Eastern with a bunch of great Folk and Celtic music, some festive and some not. We've got a couple of favourites which often make our Mushroom FM Holiday Countdown, we've got some of my favourites and hopefully some of yours, and we've got Me Music as well! In short, it'll be a fun time as always!

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you about this week's upcoming episode of Come by the Hills, the Folk and Celtic music show on Mushroom FM! We've got a whole bunch of songs from Scotland in honour of St. Andrew's Day, which is coming up on November 30. Also, we're beginning to ring in the festive season with a half hour or so of holiday tunes in honour of the launch of voting for our annual Holiday Countdown and Christmas Party! Votes are now open, and the countdown will take place live on Mushroom FM on Saturday, December 17, 2022, from 7:00 AM Eastern to 5:00 PM Eastern.

Hello! Sara Hillis here to let you know what's happening on today's very imminent episode of Come by the Hills, the Folk and Celtic music show here on Mushroom FM! First, it's a voicetracked show this week, but there's no shortage of great music for you to enjoy. We've got a really neat song by Roy Bailey which I've not played before on the show, a really cool version of Barbara Alan, some Me Music, and much, much more!

It's almost time for another episode of Come by the Hills, Mushroom FM's Folk and Celtic music show. This time, we're presenting an episode originally aired on November 8, 2020, in honour of Remembrance Day. This means that you'll hear some out-of-date promos and such. Also, at that time, the show was presented on Sundays at 8:00 PM eastern rather than Saturdays at 2:00 PM Eastern, so you'll notice some differences there as well. The episode is very good, however, and I have some things to catch up on this weekend, so I hope it won't be too disorientating for you.

Well, we're mere hours away from this week's episode of Come by the Hills, in which we hear about a plethora of women named Polly, some soldiers, including one sung about in Gaelic by Mary Chapin Carpenter, and a demo recording from Joni Mitchell's archives that I don't think I've ever played on the show before. We'll also have a battle of the Belle Dames, in which we pit my setting of Keats's poem "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" against that done by Loreena McKennitt, as well as the usual three hours of great Folk and Celtic music! It'll be a fun show as always, so I hope you'll join me!

Yes, it's that time of year again: time to tell spooky stories and listen to haunting songs in honour of Halloween on Mushroom FM's Folk and Celtic music show! We'll learn about All Soul's Night, demon lovers, restless ghosts, and encounters with elves, fairies and other strange beings. IN short, we'll have a fun time! We'll be drawing greatly on the ballads collected some hundred years ago by Francis Child. They're often long, are filled with a healthy dose of spook, and are simply fascinating. The show won't be live this week, but I'll be with you--of course--in spirit.

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you about this week's fast approaching edition of Come by the Hills, Mushroom FM's Folk and Celtic music show. Along with our usual mix of interesting music which spans many decades and continents, I'm going to be featuring some of the work of Folk Singer and musician Mary McCaslin, who passed away this week. To be completely honest, I did not know that I had ever heard her music before today, but as it turns out, one of my very favourite songs was written by her.

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you about this week's upcoming episode of Come by the Hills, the Folk and Celtic music show on Mushroom FM. Aside from our usual three hours of great Folk and Celtic music, we've got some songs by Loretta Lynn in the Roots genre from later in her life. it'll be a fun time as always, so come along and join me!

Catch Come by the Hills live on Saturday at 2:00 PM Eastern, or check out the replay on Tuesday at 5:00 AM Eastern. However and whenever you listen, enjoy!

Hello! Sara Hillis here to tell you that once again, we have an encore presentation of Come by the Hills for you this week. This time, it's a repeat of last year's live show celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving from October 9, 2021. We've got lots of John Barleycorn for you, songs about being thankful, and a whole lot more. I'm doing this because I have the rare ability to attend thanksgiving meals this year with both sections of my family, and I can't wait! Also, this week has been more than a bit hectic with various things happening around here.

Today, we lost a true treasure of Country music in Loretta Lynn. With a career spanning many decades and a talent for telling complicated stories in a simple and relatable way, she was the undisputed Queen of Country. So, on Sara Smiles for two entire hours, on Wednesday, October 5, I'll be honouring her life and work with songs and stories about her life and also her impact on my own life. As I grew up in a primarily Country-influenced household, Loretta's music simply became a part of my DNA.