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Ragamuffin's Brian and Mike have been championing music below the radar before the pod was cast . . .

WEATHER REPORT

A crisp morning and day in the Shires two days before Christmas

"There ain't no such thing as a sanity clause."

E. Normouse Richard and our "Program Director"
 

This Sunday it's Christmas in the shires with more music and tales than you can wag a stick at with Ragamuffin's Brian and Mike.

Listen to Christmas in the Shires show

Last weeks Sunday in the Shires show

Time to put some wood in the stove, the coffee pot on the boil, butter the toast and play some music for a Sunday morning.

The playlist:

• No One Will Ever Know - Billy and Harry
  from Back to Basics - Billy and Harry
• Shall We Gather At The River - Mike Westbrook Brass Band
• Jelly Roll Blues - Mike Westbrook Brass Band
• Bartlemy Fair - Mike Westbrook Brass Band
  back to vinyl with Mike Westbrook's Brass Band performing the classic tune from John Ford's western the Searchers, Jelly Roll Morton's signature tune and an olde English classic sung by the awesome talent of Phil Minton.
• Silver Dagger - Dolly Parton
  from Dolly Parton's The Grass Is Blue album, we heard this arrangement performed at the Nonesuch Folk club by RMA and it knocked us off our feet.
• Beads of Sweat - Laura Nyro
  On Christmas Eve at the Bottom Line, New York Laura Nyro would perform a concert. After her death in 1997 a live album from the Bottom Line has been released. The track here comes from Laura Nyro's earlier Christmas And The Beads of Sweat album. The lead guitar is Duane Allman.
• Uncle Charlie - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  
• Randy Lynn Rag - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• House At Pooh Corner - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
  back to vinyl, Uncle Charlie And His Dog Named Teddy classic from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. House At Pooh Corner was written by Kenny Loggins.
• West Coast Of Clare - Maura O'Connell
  
• Twinkling Lights Of Doolin - Ragamuffin Brian
  Brian reads his poem over Chip Mergott's rendition of Away In A Manager
• Down Where The Drunkards Roll - Maura O'Connell
  Two tracks from Maura O'Connell's Wandering Home album with Ragamuffin Brian's Twinkling Lights of Doolin sandwiched in the middle, a cracking trip to Ireland in a matter of minutes.
• Daddy's Gone To Knoxville - Mark Knopfler
  
• When You Coming Home Girl - Minton Sparks
  Mike went past Knoxville last August and thought of Mark Knopfler's classic song from Ragpicker's Dreams. Minton Sparkes is a poet from Nashville reading her evocative ballad from her album This Dress.
• Snowing on Raton - Neal Smelser
  The late Neal Smelser loved the music of Townes Van Zandt and this live performance comes from an analog recording made by Nath Dresser and digital production by Jim Morrow and a CD entitled 'live at treasures in the bakery, recorded at the richland center, wisconsin, feb 25th, 2000.
• Angels At Christmas - Ragamuffin Brian
  Brian reads Angels At Christmas over Chip Mergott's version of Silent Night
• Plays out with No One Will Ever Know - Billy and Harry
  from Back to Basics - Billy and Harry from Bellbuckle, Tennessee.

A Ragamuffin Media Production

Listen to Christmas in the Shires