Celtfather Monthly September 2024 (Patreon)

Greetings

It's time once again for Dragon Con. This is my 22 time at the convention. I feel better prepared than I have in the past. I have set lists (whether I choose to follow them or not). I packed up CDs. I have 14 album pins, most are attached to new download cards for easier sales. I just feel more organized.

It helped that my prep for Gen Con felt so disorganized. That's one reason the album pins are set up... Which I'll talk about in a moment.

I went down to the con this morning. I got badges for Brobdingnagian Bards, our table helpers and for my family. I saw a few familiar faces. It's good to be back. I hope to share more next week.

In the meantime...

NEW ALBUM PIN SETUP

I'm far too excited about the album pin cards. That's because it's taken a few years for me to settle on this design which makes life so much easier and makes me question why I just didn't do this sooner.

So here's the deal. Each pin is now attached to a business card, just like something you might find from a typical enamel pin. On one side is my URL,  email address, and a picture of the album you're getting. On the other side is a QR code that goes to the also listed URL.

At the URL, you can sign up to my mailing list, download the MP3s, WAV, and graphs to the album you bought. You  can get streaming links to the album online. Plus you are introduced to my Patreon.

It's a lot like Bandcamp but there's no faulty download codes that I have to attach to the cards. It just makes the process a little more seamless. And hopefully, they end up joining my mailing list or following me on Patreon.

NEW TO PATREON

I am far too lax about promoting Patreon. And yet it is singularly the most-important thing about having a sustainable music career.

The new Album Pin cards put Patreon a bit more front and center. But I also made an even more important update.

I posted two compilation albums on Patreon. One is my Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers series. The other is my Sci Fi Drinking Songs series.

You can now buy these 5-6 album compilations. Or you can sign up on Patreon and get the MP3s absolutely free!

Well... you do need to be patron of course.

But you can sign up for as little as $5 and drop the membership immediately after downloading those 11 albums. All for just FIVE BUCKS!

While I obviously hope I'll get some new sign ups to my Patreon, I also hope that this will inspire me to actually talk about it.

I have CDs!

But I forget that I also have a Patreon. At least while I'm performing. So here's hoping I get a bunch of new patrons this weekend either for myself or for Brobdingnagian Bards. There's a similar deal on the Bards' Patreon.

THINGS TO SEE ON THE ISLE OF MAN

This was put on the side as I've been prepping and updating things for cons. I think I might have to slim down the 7 part series. I'm not sure I can get an interview with the tour guide. Stay subscribed for details.

Subscribe to my Celtic Invasion Vacations podcast.

CELTIC INVASION OF SCOTLAND'S WHISKY

One of the big challenges as I worked on the itinerary of my Celtic Invasion of Scotland was figuring out the whisky distilleries. I booked a few tours that have samples at the end. I felt I needed those before I could figure out where we were hiking.

If you've ever been on a distillery tour, you know they are mostly all alike. Most of what we want to do is tastings. What I haven't figured out is if we can just do tastings. Most distilleries don't broadcast that. So I'll find out about some of that when I get there I think.

Nevertheless we have a nice list of distilleries to visit and also a bunch of good hiking spots.

Find out about my Celtic Invasion Vacations.

COME ADVENTURE WITH ME

Come Adventure With Me is my newest album. It's still on sale and features 13 tracks of Celtic Geek music. There are songs inspired by The Hobbit, Doctor Who, Celtic mythology and legends and of course, Firefly.

The album is available to stream everywhere for FREE. What's your favorite song on the album?

Check it out.

DANCING WITH HOBBITS COMES OUT SEP 16

Dancing With Hobbits was successfully Kickstarted last year. It is finally scheduled for release on 16 September 2024, just days before Bilbo Baggins' big birthday party.

Dancing With Hobbits is an all-original album of hobbit dance music by myself and Sam Gillogly. We spent several years writing fun, upbeat dance tunes. The music is all-instrumental and will get your feet tapping.

We have CDs, Album Pins and also sheet music that will be available for sale.

They'll be available at Dragon Con.

BROBDINGNAGIAN BARDS KICKSTARTER DATE MOVED

Speaking of Kickstarters... Brobdingnagian Bards are working on a new album called Another Faire to Remember. The album will feature some fun Renaissance festival music.

We originally planned to launch the Kickstarter this week. But we haven't had time to work on it. Now Andrew is in the middle of an unexpected move. So we are pushing the release date of the Kickstarter back a bit. In the meantime...

Sign up to the Brobdingnagian Bards Pre-Launch Page.

JOIN ME FOR COFFEE

Coffee with The Celtfather is back starting Wednesday, 14 August 2024. The show is at 11:30 AM Eastern.

UPCOMING SHOWS

AUG 29-SEP 2: Dragon Con, Atlanta, GA

THURS 8:30 PM: Geeky Sea Shanties w/Filk Track @ 8:30 PM, Hyatt Hanover C/D/E

FRIDAY 10:00 AM: Firefly Drinking Songs w/Marc Gunn & Mikey Mason, Hyatt Hanover C/D/E

SATURDAY

10:00 AM Recording on a Budget w/Andrew McKee, Hyatt Hanover F/G

1:00 PM: InstaFilk with Filk Track, Hyatt Hanover F/G

5:30 PM: Group Sing - The Muppets, Hyatt Hanover C/D/E

8:30 PM: Brobdingnagian Bards, Hyatt Hanover C/D/E

SUNDAY 8:30 PM: Hobbit Drinking Songs w/Brobdingnagian Bards, Location TBA

MONDAY

10:00 AM: Kids Filk w/Inara and Marc Gunn, Location TBA

11:30 AM: Pub Songs & Stories Live, Location TBA

SEP 28 - OCT 5: Celtic Invasion of Scotland's Whisky, UK

OCT 18-20: MultiVerse, Atlanta, GA

NOV 9: IrishFest Atlanta, Roswell, GA with Inara

NOV 15-17: CONjuration, Duluth, GA

PLUS Georgia Ren Faire this Fall!

If you want to see the latest places I'm performing at, make sure you check my homepage.

Here's a complete list of What I'm Doing Now.

STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1161 is up 4

Celtic Music Magazine = 4033 is down 11

YouTube Subscribers = 6208 is up 25

Facebook Likes = 4266 is up 9

Instagram = 2119 is up 7

Spotify followers: 2580 is up 33

# Number of streams on Spotify: 7197

LATEST SPOTIFY ALBUM STATS

Most-popular songs on Spotify, Last 28 Days:

The Widow and the Devil (6786)

Hero of Canton (5751)

A-Working in the Garden (1886)

Hobbit Hornpipe (1643)

Doctor of Gallifrey (1337)

Slainte Mhaith (1143)

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (701)

Reavers, Malcolm, Reavers (516)

Proudfoot Shuffle (189)

Hobbit Polka (188)

Brandywine River Reel (184)

As Long As I'm Flyin' (180)

Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (153)

Bring Me Home, Boys (110)

Top albums on Amazon, Last 28 Days:

Sci Fi Drinking Songs (1795)

Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (512)

Kilted For Her Pleasure (195)

Firefly Drinking Songs (184)

Scottish Songs of Drinking & Rebellion (153)

Best Irish Drinking Songs (136)

Most-popular songs on Amazon Music, Last 28 Days:

Doctor of Gallifrey (1011)

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (329)

The Widow and the Devil (124)

Don't Go Drinking With Hobbis (101)

Prancing Pony (89)

Spotify playlists:

Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2024:  102

Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2023: 168

Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2022: 231

Top Irish & Celtic Music: 776

Firefly Drinking Songs: 162

Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers: 112

Joyful Celtic Christmas Music: 158

Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families: 1999

GUNN RUNNERS CLUB ON PATREON

Thank you to all of my Patrons in the Gunn Runners Club who support my music for as little as a buck a month. Even with the low posts on Patreon, I feel like the club still offers a ton of value. I hope you're enjoying the podcasts, albums, exclusive songs andy my blog.

If you haven't done so, please Subscribe now!

Patreon Subscribers: 152 paid, 293 total members

BREAKING DOWN THE SUPPORT

Thanks as always for supporting my music.

Streaming music gives you a quick and easy way to sample all of my music.

Digital sales keep my business running.

Tips, CD sales, and album pins allow me to tour.

Kickstarter funds physical products like CDs, shirts, pin and other merch.

And Patreon funds my livelihood as a musician!

Join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon to support my songwriting. You will step behind-the-scenes with new music, bonus podcasts, videos, and live concerts. 

Thank you for supporting Sci F'Irish music!

#CFMonthly