I'm sitting in Virginia overlooking a frozen lake catching up on work. Yesterday, I updated my calendar with a bunch of festivals and conventions I currently have booked. It's nice to see my calendar filling up already. Today, I finally sat down and wrote up my Mission for 2010.

The big news is that I will not be driving around the country near as much as I did in 2009. I want to build my local market. That's one of the first rules of business is to focus, focus, focus. Last year, I hopped around all over. Some of the tours I wanted to do, back to Chicago and the Northeast, sadly won't happen. Instead, I hope to have more local gigs in New Orleans and in the surrounding states.

That doesn't mean I won't fly up to Boston or Seattle for a show. I would love to. But it does mean, I'm gonna need a strong, active fan base in those areas to make it happen. So that's my challenge to you.

Course, I'm still trying to make it as easy as possible. That's why I offer free celtic music downloads and allow you to share my music under a Creative Commons license. I hope you will get excited enough to do just that.

In the meantime, I'm revved up for my Reston Virginia House Concert. I think there are still spots available, so please email me if you want details.

PS. I know many of us are concerned about Haiti. Jamie (who works in health care) recommends sending donations to Doctors Without Borders. It's a great organization with low overhead, already on the ground in Haiti, running 3 hospitals. So send money to http://doctorswithoutborders.org/. If you can't send money, please repost. Thanks!

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

This Week:

Quote of the Week: “You are here to enable the purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

What Color Is Your Podcast? I came up with this special promotion to raise money for DragonCon a couple years ago. The response was so great that I decided to revitalize it. This month, you can have your very own live show of me performing songs for you! There are only a SIX slots available. So you can support my music AND you get a unique performance when you tell me What Color Your Podcast is? Visit my homepage for details.

CD of the Week: Jiggery Pokery by Poitin. Rollicking, lollicking jigs and reels, haunting songs and melodies from Ireland, Scotland, England and Brittany. Fantastic music!

New Podcast: Twin Cities Irish Music Podcast and Celtic Dreamtime Podscape

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. Oban, Iona, Mull. Relax and enjoy the majesty of Scotland with me. I still have a couple spaces available for the trip. Don't miss out!

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, Renaissance Festival Podcast, Internet Archive Free Downloads of Marc Gunn, Autoharp Radio

10 Celtic Music Reviews and Features: MP3: “The Warlock” by Atlantic Wave, MP3: “Barley Bree” by Roscoe Vacant, MP3: “The Cobble Road” by The Scottish Rebel: Haro…, MP3: “Farewell to Carlingford” by Hank Cramer, MP3: “The Princess Royal” by Daphne Quigley-Freund…, MP3: “Always For Me” by Char Butler, MP3: “Raglan Road” by Luke Daniels, MP3: “Fairy of the Moor” by MaterDea, MP3: “Galway Shawl” by Collen Raney, MP3: “Ancient Song” by John McGaha

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 High Fiber Diet Podcast played my “Christmas Elf Conscription Song” as did EduGeek and the Autumn Lakes Podcast.

Sci Fi Picks marked my appearance as Guest of Honor at I-Con Science Fiction Convention in Stonybrook, NY in March.

“Peggy Gordon” won in the Celtic Top 5 of Show #76 of the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. Thanks to everyone who voted for it! 🙂

Sacred Shaman Drums played “The Hobbit Journey Home” from the soon to be late CD, A Tribute to Love.

Upcoming Gigs:

Jan 16, 2010, Fogel House Concert, Reston, VA
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, MidSouthCon, Memphis, TN
Mar 19, 2010, House Concert with Claire Roche, Robert, LA
Mar 26-28, 2010, I-Con 29, Stonybrook, NY
Apr 16-18, 2010, StarFest, Denver, CO
April 23, 2010, Nebraska Outback Concerts @ 7:30p, Sutherland, NE
Jun 4-6, 2010, Texas Scottish Festival, Arlington, TX

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.