Celtfather Monthly October 2024 (Patreon)

Greetings

I'm getting ready to fly to Scotland. Once again, I was struck by a scare. A tropical storm is coming out of the Gulf. Will it turn into a hurricane? Will I be able to depart on Thursday? I ran into a similar problem this summer for the Isle of Man.

I don't know if I'm just getting more anxious as I grow older and realize the precariousness of my Celtic Invasions if random circumstances delay my travel or if this is just the first and now second time that I've had to worry about it.

Whatever the case, I hate the feeling. I think I'm gonna have to give myself a little more lead time.

WHAT'S NEW?

SUCCESS: NEW ALBUM PIN SETUP

The new album pin setup is working great. I even got new sign ups to my mailing list and new followers on Patreon.

Pin sales continue to vary. I have a few new special offers. But I'd definitely like to sell more of the new album, which is...

DANCING WITH HOBBITS

One reason I do Kickstarters is because the album always sells better on Kickstarter than on Bandcamp. Dancing with Hobbits is no exception.

My goal is to make $300 but I've barely earned $60 since the album released on September 16.

That may well be a product of lack of promotion on my part. I'm not bombarding my mailing list with news about the new album. I haven't done any Pub Songs & Stories podcasts on it because instrumental albums are so much harder to talk about.

Nevertheless, I will definitely try when I get to Scotland in a few days.

PUB SONGS & STORIES

As I said, I am planning a series on Dancing with Hobbits. But I haven't started it yet. Just made a few notes to talk about the songs. Definitely thinking of shorter episodes for this series, 10-15 minutes.

But before that series continues, I'll have a live episode of Pub Songs & Stories that was recorded for my love Pub Songs podcast. That'll come out after the Invasion. I just can't seem to pull it together before I head out of town,.

Subscribe to Pub Songs & Stories.

BROBDINGNAGIAN BARDS

Speaking of live recordings at Dragon Con, Andrew and I recorded a three podcast episodes last week. One is just for Nagians, one is a live concert from the convention, and one is us talking about how "The Unicorn Song" became a part of our repertoire.

That should be out by the time this newsletter goes live. 

Our Kickstarter for Another Faire to Remember is scheduled for November 7, 2025

Sign up to the Brobdingnagian Bards Pre-Launch Page.

INTERVIEWING

I'm getting better at interviewing. Well, at least as long as I stick to a pretty rigid format.

IrishFest Atlanta is coming up. I'm helping to promote the event by interviewing musicians. I came up with a fairly simple interview formula to snag those interviews.

That's great because I scheduled an interview in Scotland with the Cornish band Brother Sea. They're gonna meet us one evening where I'll do a live interview and play a few songs. I can't wait to try this formula out live!

Keep following the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast to hear the interview.

IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST

The year is coming to a close. I'm starting to plan the last few episodes of the year. Not much time. Decided to take one week off in October. I'm starting to feel the crunch!

CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS

It took me a while to finish the Celtic Invasion of Scotland's Whisky but we're gonna drink far too much and still get a bunch of hikes in. I hope to get some videos and audio to share with Patrons when the trip is done.

Meantime, I am now planning my Celtic invasion of Galicia in Spain. The trip is scheduled for June 21-28, 2025.

Find out about my Celtic Invasion Vacations.

COME ADVENTURE WITH ME

I'm still feeling great about Come Adventure With Me. I was struck with the thought recently that my songwriting is changing and getting better. This is an album I am super proud of. Yes. It covers my fandoms. But it's also some really good Celtic and folk songwriting. I'm excited to see how it continues to develop in the days to come.

Check it out.

JOIN ME FOR COFFEE

Coffee with The Celtfather is back. The show is at 11:30 AM Eastern.

That said, I am taking off the next two weeks as I travel to Europe. However, I uploaded some bootleg concerts from August. They will go live at 11:30 AM eastern exclusively for Patrons. Thank you for supporting my music.

UPCOMING SHOWS

• OCT 18-20: MultiVerse, Atlanta, GA

• NOV 2: Georgia Renaissance Festival Fall Fling, Fairborn, GA from 2-9 PM

• NOV 9: IrishFest Atlanta, Roswell, GA with Inara

• NOV 15-17: CONjuration, Duluth, GA

• NOV 23: Georgia Renaissance Festival Fall Fling, Fairborn, GA from 2-9 PM

• NOV 30: Georgia Renaissance Festival Fall Fling, Fairborn, GA from 2-9 PM

• DEC 8: Nerdy Wonderland at The Lost Druid Brewery, Avondale Estates, GA

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 = 1164 is up 3

Celtic Music Magazine = 4031 2

YouTube Subscribers = 6226 is up 15

Facebook Likes = 4259 is down 7

Instagram = 2136 is up 17

Spotify followers: 2604 is up 24

# Number of streams on Spotify: 6969

LATEST SPOTIFY ALBUM STATS

Most-popular songs on Spotify, Last 28 Days:

• Hero of Canton (7773)

• The Widow and the Devil (5805)

• A-Working in the Garden (2104)

• Hobbit Hornpipe (1681)

• Doctor of Gallifrey (1613)

• Slainte Mhaith (1019)

• Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (745)

• Reavers, Malcolm, Reavers (488)

• As Long As I'm Flyin' (188)

• Proudfoot Shuffle (180)

• Brandywine River Reel (170)

• Hobbit Polka (165)

• Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (148)

• Bring Me Home, Boys (126)

Top albums on Amazon, Last 28 Days:

• Sci Fi Drinking Songs (2281)

• Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (648)

• As Long As I'm Flyin (158)

• Kilted For Her Pleasure (154)

• Firefly Drinking Songs (135)

• Best Irish Drinking Songs (122)

• Scottish Songs of Drinking & Rebellion (121)

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

• Doctor of Gallifrey (1439)

• Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (440)

• Prancing Pony (141)

• Don't Go Drinking With Hobbis (123)

• Hero of Canton (106)

• The Widow and the Devil (101)

Spotify playlists:

• Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2024:  109

• Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2023: 167

• Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2022: 230

• Top Irish & Celtic Music: 776

• Firefly Drinking Songs: 164

• Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers: 112

• Joyful Celtic Christmas Music: 158

• Fun Christmas Songs for Kids & Families: 1998

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: 151 paid, 302 total members

Here's some posts in the past month (not including Coffee Shows):

• Poll: What are your favorite songs on Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits?

• Stories: Breaking the Doom Scrolling

• Naked (Official Video)

• Stories from the Road: Dragon Con 2024

• Pictures from Balladoole on Isle of Man

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