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 Thistle is 30!
On June 4th, 1983, the Thistle & Shamrock debuted nationally on public radio across the U.S. We're celebrating our 30th anniversary with a giveaway. Check back here soon for details!
ThistleRadio: Your Summertime Soundtrack
Over 400 tracks now streaming on our 24/7 channel. We hope you're finding ThistleRadio to be essential listening as this music establishes its new online home. As the channel grows, I'm introducing new tracks to the mix, both from established architects of the genre and from the rising tide of new talent, so visit often and let us know how you are using ThistleRadio! Listen now to ThistleRadio
Our Thistleradio t-shirt design is a winner!
 When Krystine Kercher creates her art, she often listens to folk and Celtic music, both sacred and secular. A particular radio favouriteis The Thistle & Shamrock. So she's thrilled to have been chosen as the winner of our competition to design the new Thistleradio t-shirt.
Krystine has always been very creative but owing to chronic disability, eventually diagnosed as multiple chemical sensitivities, she had to give up many of her artistic endeavours. The advent of digital photography opened up new creative possibilities for her and she began selling digital artwork online. She now runs several online stores under the name of Ms. Contrary.
Krystine's faith has always given her the strength to endure difficulties and she hopes her artwork encourages others towards faith. View her art at Contrary Market, which also links to her Zazzle.com stores.
Congratulations Krystine and thank you for capturing the essence of Thistleradio with your playful t-shirt design. We love it!
Listen Again X 10!
You asked for it and here it is: we have more than tripled the number of programs streaming via NPR Music. If you missed something on your radio, you can listen again, and again, and again... Have a look.
Facebook
Just when you thought you probably didn't need yet another way to keep in touch, we started a Facebook community page. If you have a FB account you may find this is a a useful way of keeping up with what's on the radio shows and other bits an pieces. Just go to Facebook and look for (and 'like'!) Thistleradio.
Scottish Field
 Scottish Field magazine featured a glimpse behind the scenes at Thistle, including the photo (below right) of Fiona near her studio in Scotland.
(Photo credit: Roy Summers, Scottish Field).
Pete Seeger
Winner of two awards at the New York Festival of Radio Programming and Promotion, "The Wisdom of Pete Seeger" is one of our best received radio shows. So how did it all come about? A wintry train journey up the eastern shore of the Hudson River to Duchess County near the town of Beacon, NY, took us towards the high ridge home of Pete and Toshi Seeger.
 "Homestead" may be a better way to describe the scene of their original house, a log cabin built by Pete on land he cleared in 1947, that sits adjacent to their present home. Newly chopped wood was piled by the door, a daily chore for Pete, now over 90. The aroma of hot soup filled the air. This was the setting for one of the my most enjoyable radio interviews. I travelled there with Doug and Darcy Orr and we shared lunch with the Seegers before settling in for a chat with Pete. Anecdotes, insights, memories and music flowed around the kitchen table. You can still share in these great memories by reading a full transcript of the interview. Click here (This show picked up two medals at the New York Festivals® Radio Program and Promotion Awards recognizing the World's Best Radio Programs™. The silver Medal was awarded in the category of Entertainment: Best Regularly Scheduled Music Program, and the show also won a bronze medal in the Information/Documentary: Culture & The Arts category.) Jean Ritchie
Having made a remarkable recovery from her stroke, sadly Jean lost her husband George Pickow in 2010.
Please send out your kindest thoughts and prayers to the Ritchie family.
Many of us sing Jean's "Peace Round" as the bells toll for New Year. You can find the words and melody on You Tube.
What a goodly thing
If the children of the earth
Could dwell together In peace. Share Jean's wonderful insights on songwriting and hear her perform with her son Jon Pickow from our grand reunion at the Swannanoa Gathering. (Click here for clips from our meeting)
Thistle on Minnesota Public Radio's new Web and HD service: Radio Heartland
An eclectic mix of Acoustic, Americana and Roots music throughout the day and Thistle three times a week: check out Radio Heartland the new 24-hour online service offering everything from the washboard to the fretboard! Fridays at 6pm, Saturdays at 10am and Sundays at noon are the treasured time slots. Click here for the full schedule.
TDS (Thistle Deprivation Syndrome)
Some listeners have been in touch to to say that the show is no longer available in some public radio coverage areas. We know! Margaret Kennedy of our North Carolina office is usually the first to become aware of any change like this as her e-mail, phone mail and snail mail boxes are suddenly inundated by concerned listeners all living in the same zip codes. For those of you who lament the show's absence all I can suggest is that you write and support your station to see if they'll bring it back. Do you know a local business who could underwrite the NPR fee for The Thistle & Shamrock? That may help. We have recently reappeared on a number of stations.
As with the music business and media in general, the landscape of radio has been changing at a staggering pace in recent years. Even public radio stations, though ever true to their core values, feel the pressure of market forces. This is why they sometimes streamline program schedules and one-hour programs like mine can suddenly disappear. But Thistle can be reinstated just as suddenly when there's enough interest. So don't give up!
Fiona
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