Greetings and Happy New Year!

Last year was a big year. I released three new CDs (Heart's Ease, Live at the Cactus Cafe, and Happy Songs of Death) and finished recording a fourth (The Bridge) which is scheduled to be officially released on January 15th. I also released a compilation through my hit Celtic podcast (Best of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast). I played a ton of gigs from Denver to New York City, New Orleans to Chicago. Now I'm ready to do it all again in 2010.

What's in store fro 2010? I'll fill you in next week, because this weekend, I will lay down some goals for the year. So until then I want to throw out a quick reminder about the Louisiana Renaissance Festival Midwinter Music Party on Friday, January 29 at 7 PM here in New Orleans.

So have a great week and Slainte!

Listen to the Song of the Week: “Black Velvet Band” from The Bridge

This Week:

Quote of the Week: “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions.” – Joey Adams

CD of the Week: The Starlit Jewel: Songs of Tolkien by Broceliande. After seven years of negotiations, Broceliande has finally obtained the rights to re-release their album of original music set to the lyrics of JRR Tolkien. Only 2000 copies are currently being printed. That means, they may not be around for long. It's a beautiful album. Don't miss it!

Promotion of the Week: American Celtic Music iMix on iTunes. It features a bunch of Celtic American groups like yours truly. Your review will help me to climb the charts on iTunes. So please help out.

Celtic Invasion Vacations. Scotland has only a couple slots available for the May trip. This will be an amazing trip that you don't want to miss. So sign up soon. Right now, I'm working with Celtic Ways and Renaissance & Celtic Adventures to bring you a Women of Ireland tour of Ireland in August. Specific dates will be coming in a couple o'weeks.

Join the Celtic Folk Club. Introduce yourself and chat with other fans about Marc Gunn, his podcasts, Celtic Invasion Vacations and more.

A Few of my Random Links: St Patrick's Day Party Music, Irish Songs from Capt Black Jack Murphy, Unsigned Bands Promotion, A Dragon's Eye Fantasy Art.

10 Celtic Music Reviews and Features: “The Princess Royal” by Daphne Quigley-Freund and Tom Bradfish, “Always For Me” by Char Butler, “Raglan Road” by Luke Daniels, “Fairy of the Moor” by MaterDea

Ever wonder what it's like to host a House Concert? This new PDF from Concerts In Your Home breaks down the experience of how to get started.

Marc Gunn in the News:

The new Firefly compilation CD from The Signal Podcast, The First Rule of Flying: Songs from the Black II features “Monahan's Mudder's Milk” and the only live recording of the Brobdingnagian Bards playing “She Said Her Name Was Saffron”.

MarsCon Dementia Track Fund Raising CD features live songs by Marc Gunn.

The Top 100 Comedy Songs of 2009 on iFunnyRadio.com listed “Beer, Beer, Beer” at #73 and “Johnny Jump Up” at #63.

Upcoming Gigs:

Jan 29, 2010, Louisiana Renaissance Festival Midwinter Music Party, New Orleans, TX
Feb 27-28, 2010, Sherwood Forest Faire, McDade, TX
Mar 12-14, 2010, MidSouth Con, Memphis, TN
Mar 19, 2010, House Concert with Claire Roche, Robert, LA
Mar 26-28, 2010, I-Con 29, Stonybrook, NY
April 23, 2010, Nebraska Outback Concerts, Sutherland, NE

See details at Marc Gunn Shows. As always, don't forget to make a demand to see me perform and email booking@marcgunn.com if you'd like to host a house concert next year.

— Check me out on Celtic Folk Club, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, SoundClick, YouTube, Flickr Photos, Livejournal, and DeviantArt. And if you'd like a CD…

— Do you have a quote, movie, album, tip or suggestion that you'd like to share in my Weeklies? If so, post a comment with your suggestion here.