November 10, 2007. . .
Well, happy anniversary of the last time I wrote in this column! It's been a musical roller coaster of a year, and the only excuse I can give for being so silent here is having been so busy here and there. But “it's all good” and so I'm lifting my head above water for a minute to provide an update. Welcome back, and thanks for being patient . . .

Transatlantic Sessions 3 TV Series has been showing on BBC (UK) and RTE (Ireland) since September. This series of six specials was filmed in Pitlochry, Scotland earlier this year, and features a world-class group in what's described as "back porch" music (ha ha). Masters of ceremony and musical directors are Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas, and on hand are Joan Osborne, Iris Dement, Paul Brady, Dónal Lunny, Karen Matheson, Mike McGoldrick, Tim O'Brien, Russ Barenburg and on and on. It was incredibly exciting to be a part of this.

Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny & Mozaik. We're celebrating the Compass Records U.S. release of our second CD and first time in the studio! Changing Trains features new tunes and songs by Andy and Dónal in the mind-numbing array of instruments and settings that Mozaik has become known for. Available here.

Just returned from Nickel Creek’s “Farewell (for now) Tour”. It was a thrill to be asked and we had some wonderful times on and off stage- they rock SO hard! My final show with them took place at the legendary 9:30 Club in D.C. and is available in it’s entirety here. Bruce & Nickel Creek on NPR.

When we formed Highland, Heath & Holler last year, the initial plan was to showcase musical roots - Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas were going to assume the Highland part, Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill the Heath, and me, well, you get the idea. But the collaborative aspect got real serious real quick, and has become the main focus of our concerts together. Next shows are in Tacoma and Kirkland, Washington later this month; we’re also coming to Rockville, MD; Wilmington, DE; and Clinton, NY early in 2008. Check my Schedule Page for more info.

Aly Bain, Ale Moller & Bruce Molsky touring March '08. Details to follow - it's happening in Sweden; info on locations and venues will be available soon. Ale Moller is one of the godfathers of Scandinavian music, and his work with Aly has been legendary in recent years. I was one of Boys of the Lough’s biggest fans years ago, and have always admired Aly’s passionate fiddle style and also his commitment to honoring and preserving his own Shetland roots in the music.

Fiddle Rendezvous is touring in ’08 with Mary Ann Kennedy, Jerry O'Connor & Gilles Le Bigot, and Mike & Ali Vass. Our first performance will be at Celtic Connections Festival on January 31, 2008 and promises to be a great evening of musical crossover. The Fiddle Rendezvous tour happens in May 2008 as part of the Scottish ‘Tune Up Tour’ program.

Also at Celtic Connections will be the quartet of great hardangfele player Annbjørg Lien, Mikael Marin (of Väsen), fabulous cellist Christine Hanson and yours truly. This past summer we performed a suite of tunes and songs in Bø, Norway composed by Annbjørg for the Telemark Festival there. That became the CD Waltz With Me, to be released in January 2008 on Grappa Records/Norway. We’ll be performing that work in Glasgow on January 28, 2008.

Well, there’s more to come, but I’d better get back to work. Thanks for checking in. Our ISP decided to go out of business last week without informing any of its customers (grrrrr), so it’s been a scramble to get it all back on-line. Everything should be operational, or will be shortly. Please let me know if you see a bug. HUGE, MONSTROUSLY HUGE thanks to Audrey Molsky for rescuing all the web files and creating the new site!!!

Take care and stay in touch. . .
Peace,