St. Patrick's Day Songs for Kids is now officially on sale all around the ‘net. You can buy it via CD Baby in my Celtic Music CD Store, or on iTunes and Amazon. The physical album looks great, and it's a lot of fun. So far, I have 10 reviews on Amazon from some fans who got early copies. I still hope to have 20 by the end of the week. That'll help the album rank well, which means greater visibility. I love all the honest reviews. To all my earlier reviewers, thank you!

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I've been listening to St Patrick's Day Songs for Kids for the past week. I do that when I want to get in the mood for promoting what needs promoting. It helps me better I understand and remember what the album is all about. I feel it could be confusing.

There are fifteen songs on the album. Nine of them are traditional. Six are original. Of the traditional, some are Irish, some Scottish, and some just folk. All were recorded by me or Brobdingnagian Bards on different albums. Three of the originals have I previously recorded–“Happily Ever After“, “Lord of the Pounce“, and “The Leprechaun“. The other three are all new recordings–“Wherever I May Roam“, “Irish Lilting”, and “I Love Crunching Nuts“. That's a quick breakdown.

What sticks out most for me on this album is that this is the first solo album since Soul of a Harper, that was just me singing with the autoharp. The production is small and intimate. This is the music you hear when you see me perform live. Very rarely do I play with other musicians. So this is often what you get.

The performances are fun too. Since I planned this album for kids, I thought some very upbeat, faster than usual performances was necessary to give it the feel that kids would enjoy. More reviews will tell me for sure. But the upbeat energy makes for a glowing, fun CD.

Why did I record St. Patrick's Day Songs for Kids?

That's a great question. I've wanted to record a kids CD since my daughter was born in 2010. Admittedly, I wanted to write more songs for her as well, far more than I've written. This idea has been at the back of my head for a LONG time.

I also remember searching iTunes when she was born to try and find some Celtic kids music. I was not overly impressed with the quality of music. Much like the popular Kidz Bop music, the Celtic Children's music seemed full of half rate Celtic songs. I think the market is a little better than the Celtic Christmas market, but not a whole lot better. I wanted something good and fun.

I confess, I don't know if this album is over Irish. Yes, I have a bunch of fun traditional Irish and Celtic songs, but as everyone knows, I play the autoharp. It's not an overly Celtic instrument. My “Irish Lilting” song tries to capture the spirit of Irish lilting but with a contemporary bouncy rhythm. It's only the “Red-Haired Boy Lilting” track that truly captures the magic of traditional Irish music for me. The rest are just fun Celtic songs. That's what I do best.

Of course, that's why I named it “St Patrick's Day Songs”. I think it captures some of that St. Patrick's Day magic.

Of course, there's another reason why I want an album of St. Patrick's Day songs for people to enjoy, that's because St. Patrick's Day is also my birthday. (shameless plug) And in my true hobbity nature, if you love St. Patrick's Day, I'm gonna give you a whole bunch of free music for St. Patrick's Day (check my podcasts).

In fact, in show #198 of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast, you'll be able to listen to St Patrick's Day Songs for Kids in its entirety. Look for that this Thursday.

You can also find a ton more free St. Patrick's Day music here. And don't miss my two St. Patrick's Day internet concerts as part of the St. Patrick's Day Internet Music Festival. There's a bunch of bands lined up for the event.

Anyway, I hope you found this interesting. If you have any questions about the album, post in the comments below and I'll try to give some more thoughts and feedback.

Thanks and Slainte!
Marc Gunn, The Celtfather

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