Céad Míle Fáilte
It is Todd once again. In this issue we celebrate Earth Week with music that breathes, roams, and takes root. Fourteen artists. One green hour. Let's go. It’s the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #756. The other podcasts highlighted are Folk on Foot & Jock’s Celtic Calamity. The featured articles are about Michael Banahan, where to find Scotland’s best seafood, and an Irish Music Festival being postponed. There is also a list of new Celtic albums. The spotlighted festival is the Decatur Celtic Festival, taking place May 1 – 3, at the Wise County Fairgrounds in Decatur, TX. We hope you enjoy this issue. Until next time, Sláinte mhaith!
IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST #756: FOUR THOUSAND WEEKS, HAPPY EARTH WEEK
- Santiago Molina, The Here & Now, The Irish Lassies, Brad The Piper, Kevin Herron, Cedar Dobson Music, Clare Sands, Chloe Matharu, Ed Yother, Kellys Wayke, Voice of Lir, Bealtaine, Reilly, Liam Vincent & The Odd Foxes
- A special thanks to our new and continued patrons: Claire Fitzpatrick, Cecilia LaBonte
CAST YOUR VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20
- Every year, I publish the Celtic Top 20. This is your pick of the best, most-popular songs of the year. But to make the show great, I need you to vote for your favorite songs in each episode.
- Just list each of the bands performing those favorite songs to quickly and easily cast your vote.
WHAT'S NEW WITH CELTIC MUSIC
& CULTURE ONLINE?
NEW CELTIC ALBUMS
- EP – 2026 – by Dan Musil (Releases 4/24/2026)
- Cuentos del alicorniu – by Jorge Mendez
- Requiem – by Jorge Mendez
- Alicornae ~ A Decade of Musical Stories – by Jyc Row
- Medieval Castle Music Fantasy for Lute, Celtic Violin, Folk Guitar & Flute – by Andrei Krylov
- Born of Ash and Lake – by The Everdawn
- Exiles – Rarities – by Argonath
- Far – by Jon Skarin
- Unfurling – by Songwoods
- Matkaaja – by Polenta
- Do Not Do For Naught – by Raidio Music
Attn Bands: Go to 4celts.com to submit your band to the podcast.
FOLK ON FOOT: THE YOUNG ‘UNS AT ROSEBERRY TOPPING
- Nearly eight years after they first appeared on Folk on Foot, that irrepressible trio The Young’Uns are back – with Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes performing songs new and old as we climb the Teesside landmark Roseberry Topping. The conversation ranges from learning to laughs – especially given David’s impeccable comic timing. We discuss the challenges of writing songs about living people, hear about the music inspired by the industrial transformation of the area and find out how David used an accordion to contact his Dad in the early hours of the morning. Join us for an uplifting day out.
MICHAEL BANAHAN’S DEBUT FINDS ITS VOICE
- ROSCOMMON musician and long-time promoter Michael Banahan steps into new territory with Broken Heart, his first album of entirely original material — a reflective, country-tinged collection shaped by personal experience, loss and, ultimately, resilience.
- Best known across the Midlands and beyond as a promoter and manager who has worked with artists including Christy Moore, Sharon Shannon, Paul Brady and Eleanor Shanley, Banahan has spent decades supporting other musicians. With Broken Heart, he moves decisively to the front of the stage.
To read more, go here!
JOCK'S CELTIC CALAMITY: NO 579
- Celtic Fiddle Festival, Buílle, Skipinnish, Fisherman’s Friends, Northern Resonance, Julia Michelle, Basset, The Ocelots, Ailie Robertson, Pauline Scanlon, Garden Of Delight, Empty Pages, Khristian Mizzi, Inn Echo , Nickel Creek, Mànran, Mountain Grass Unit, Ron Block, Amber Lawrence, Conor Lamb, Brendan Mulholland, Ennis Sisters, Dave Gunning, Ten Strings and a Goat Skin, Seo Linn, Boiled In Lead, Fintan Vallely, Mischa MacPherson, Michael Doucet, Pharis & Jason Romero, Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningh…, The Urban Folk Quartet, Kornog, Ossian, Réalta & Mark Knopfler
WHERE TO FIND SCOTLAND’S BEST SEAFOOD. CLUE: THESE PLACES ARE JUST METRES FROM THE WATER
- The best oysters of my life arrive on a polystyrene tray, eaten elbow-to-elbow with strangers at a table littered with empty shells and damp paper napkins. We huddle beneath a tarpaulin, sheltering from the fine spray of rain rattling on the roof, the wind whipping around the hulking CalMac ferry moored metres away, and the beady-eyed scavenging gulls.
- “Have you tried this? You have to,” says a woman who has driven from Glasgow just to eat here, pressing a rollmop herring into my hand. I take a bite, the thick skin giving way to sweet and salty flesh, juices running down my chin. Elegant dining this is not, but all the better for it. This is Oban Seafood Hut, tucked beside the ferry terminal for boats heading into the Sound of Mull. Diners shuffle around a shared table, listening for order numbers, with plates piled high with langoustines, crab and oysters. It’s cash only. In the back room, a team of women butter thick slices of soft white bread for crab sandwiches, wrapping them in clingfilm without ceremony, to be sold within minutes.
To read more, go here!
IRISH MUSIC FESTIVAL ON GLASGOW GREEN POSTPONED UNTIL 2027
- A two-day Irish music festival set to be held on Glasgow Green has been postponed just weeks before it was to take place.
- GlasGael was scheduled to be held on 2-3 May in the city centre, featuring acts like The High Kings, the Tumbling Paddies and Derek Ryan.
- organisers say the event's financial model has been impacted by world events, resulting in escalating costs that have stopped it going ahead.
To read more, go here!
THE DECATUR CELTIC FESTIVAL
- Decatur Celtic Festival is a new, grass-roots event to remember, honor, and advance the Celtic Cultural Traditions (of Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Briton, Isle of Man, Cornish and Scots-Irish peoples). We seek to recognize their profound contributions to music, song, literature, and the settlement of the American frontier. We honor their memory through a safe, fun, memorable day of music, food, drink, dance, and other activities for clans and community. Make plans to join in the festivities this year!
- Some of the entertainers you will see are River Driver, KinFolk, Sombati, Celtic or Not, Thistle Ridge, and many more!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHILE LISTENING?
You can send a comment or a picture of what you're doing. You can also send a photo from one of your trips to a Celtic nation or anywhere around the globe.
Slainte!
Todd Wiley (he/him) & Marc Gunn (he/him), The Celtfather
April 23, 2026
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