13 Apr 2007
I write this while being
driven in a bus across the vast plains of Saskatchewan. Today we drive
from Saskatoon to Lethbridge, AB today – a mere 400 miles virtually
across the entire state! And if that seems like 'nothing', on arrival we
sound check, dress, eat on the run and perform a show at 8! Super
human or what, I ask?
The countryside is that dull
khaki colour and is certainly hypnotic. There are great big open skies
here and the sun shines for the most part. Alas, there are many signs of
Spring awakening! Buds are just appearing, cattle are outside grazing in
the grey fields and the last of the snow is melting. I dare say that
this is such a cold place in Winter and I deeply admire anyone who lives
here – particularly farmers!
So far I
have found the people in all the cities we've performed in to be very
amicable and down-to-earth. This is just how I remember Canada from my
'Lord of The Dance' touring
days! The people and the Rockies! I can't wait to see these
wondrous, majestic mountains again!
Best
wishes from Canada.
Deirdre
Shannon
06 Apr 2007
Well having finished up
touring in the US, there are some outstanding things I have to comment
on. First and foremost, I'd like to mention a few special people. There
is a lovely lady called Ennica who attended both Charleston WV Symphony
concerts last month. I have to say that she really is a ray of sunshine
as her alias 'Sunbeam' alludes to! George accompanied her at one of the
concerts and he is wonderful – I nearly dropped when he told me how many
hours he had travelled to be there! Thank you both. To Dale, I have to
say a big thanks for your bright ideas and support. To Linda, Gary,
Daniel, Madeleine, Tony, Tom and and last but by no means least, Mark -
a great big thanks to you all for coming to see me.
Having seen some awesome
sights over the last week – the rocks, mountains & canyons of Utah, and
the massive dairy and potato farmlands of Idaho and glorious rolling
countryside in between, I feel injected with the energy of all this
natural beauty, enough to propel me for the next month of touring in
more northern climes!
Talk to y'all from somewhere
in cold Canada next week!!
30 Mar 2006
We're on the
wagon once again, touring about Idaho and Utah all this week. I will
meet one of my longest standing fans in a few days, a man called Don
Leavitt. I look forward to this very much! He will be in St. George with
his family. It's always lovely to meet someone face to face with whom
you've established contact online! The company will end up in Fargo,
before leaving the country for our Canadian tour!
22 March 2007
I just learned
that I won the Traditional Roots Award 2007 for best track of the
year! The Prayer, a duet with my brother Matthew, which I
recorded on my latest album Deirdre Shannon, was nominated some
time ago for this award by
http://www.celticradio.net/.
This has not been the only award... I picked up two in January for
Best Album 2006 and Best Track 2006 for She Moved Through
The Fair from Scottish radio program No Celtic Boundaries
which broadcasts in both Scotland and the US!
At this stage I
must say a heartfelt 'Thank You' to all of you who voted for me. These
awards are no small things (the Internet radio station is one of the
biggest!) Much thanks to Jenny and Brian in the US also, who encouraged
voting both sides of the Atlantic.
Now looking
forward to days of relaxation in our beach house in Newport, LA ...oooh.
The weekend just gone by was definitely a difficult one, as our flights
were cancelled. It turned out that myself and Matt (tour manager) had to
travel separately from the rest of the company. To get from Rexburgh ID
to our destination in LA took a gruelling 25 hours! I missed the
concert that day in Glendora, but they managed just fine without me! I
also hated missing some of my fans who came specially to meet me. Alas
we'll meet again!
15 March 2007
Having had a
few lovely days off in the hot desert of the Southwest, we are feeling
rather energized, dare I say! We visited an Indian Reserve, 'White
Sands' and walked the hills looking for snakes, spiders and lizards (we
had no joy finding any thankfully!) However, everything changes when we
learn that Joyce's dad has just passed away. We are all very sad for
her. She flies back home and we tuck into more shows without our
wonderful merchandise saleswoman/therapist. Our thoughts and prayers are
with her.
8 March 2007
With lots of
symphony concerts to do this week, I have to say that spirits are high.
We love to perform with orchestra - it is such a luxury! It would be
hard to get better than the Cincinnati Pops and indeed the
West Virginia Symphony. This is when David Munro really shines. He
is a wonderful communicator and as musical director gets right in there.
Within two hours the entire orchestra and conductor are briefed in
detail as to the running order of the show. And we get to do it twice
and three times with both orchestras. Nice!
I meet with
some very lovely and loyal friends here in Charleston and must mention
them. Rich, Lynn, Brian, Jenny Joe, Tanya and Caitlin - thank you all so
very much for coming all the way to see me!! Your support means a lot to
me!
1 March 2007
Well we're off
to the US once more. I look forward to touring with the Celtic Tenors
again – they are such a laugh! But before we start though, I need to
give a concert in LA. Donna will be taking my place in Bluebell PA, she
is a gem and is taking time out from college to come over and fill in!
In the meanwhile I join forces with some other renowned Irish musicians
- Frank McNamara (piano), Cora Smyth (fiddle) and Derek Maloney (tenor).
We perform a concert with the Redlands Symphony Orchestra entitled
'If You're Irish' – no prizes for guessing what the theme is? It's
that time of year again, with St. Patrick's Day fast approaching!
