Celtfather Annual: What’s New in 2026 (Patreon)

Published:

2026-01-06 17:07:01

Imported:

2026-11

Content

Every year since I started playing music, I’ve created goals for the new year. For a long time, they were measurable. I rarely hit those goals. So over the last two years, I instead laid out general plans. But I have to plan with an unhappy backdrop.

2025 had some ups and some downs. Politically our country is a wreck. The president broke his oath of office and the law…again. He’s too old, unethical and unfit to run the country. And yet, no one is not yet holding him accountable… yet. It’s frustrating.

Economically, I am very concerned. Sales at recent events were down substantially. Meanwhile, prices at the grocery store are up. And my pay at venues hasn’t changed since I started playing 27 years ago. So financially, I expect a difficult year.

If I’m to run a successful musician business, I have to spend time wisely. What is the most important thing to continue making a living with music?

Let’s start with…

NEW KICKSTARTER

I am launching a kickstarter in the next few weeks. The primary goal is to fund some limited-edition merch designed to promote the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. It includes a compilation of some of the best Celtic music of 2025 that will be coming out as part of the release.

If the Kickstarter goes well, I’ll also be able to fund the podcast and thus my musical career as well.

It will also fund a Celtic festival that I am planning here in Atlanta.

Follow the Kickstarter Pre-Launch page.

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

I had a revelation after the latest Nerdy Wonderland. I can get more people to my show and better promote my show by creating an event.

My sales were not great at Nerdy Wonderland. But they were still better than at my regular gigs at The Lost Druid.

That is one of the reasons why I decided to create the Irish & Celtic Music PodFest.

This first-ever, one-day festival allows me to accomplish a lot of goals. For me, I hope to be a decently paid musician and can sell some merch. I’ll also better promote my name to the Celtic community here in Atlanta.

However, it does more than that. It allows me to promote my Celtic podcast and some great Celtic bands. I can also lift up Celtic organizations here in Atlanta.

I can find sustainable local vendors as well. That’s another goal that I’ll talk about in a bit.

The whole event-focused performances feels like a much better way to build my music career locally and make more money in the process.

IF I can get enough vendors to make this happen, then I will consider making more such events in the future.

LIVE SHOWS

I have a lot of live shows planned for this year. Some are local. Some are themed.

For those who don’t live in Atlanta, I plan to bring back Internet shows in the coming months, starting in January. I just need to settle on a date.

I am booked once again for Sherwood Forest Faire. I hope to be back at George Renaissance Festival Fall Fling and if I’m lucky, I may even get a few weeks in the regular season.

At science fiction conventions, I am booked at Jordan Con and Stellar Fest. I hope to be back at Dragon Con, Gen Con, Multiverse, and Conjuration. But no set dates yet.

I don’t have IrishFest Atlanta booked yet, but I’m hopeful.

There will be shows both solo as well as with my band with my daughter May Will Bloom.

I am starting to plan a new themed show. It is called Doctor Who Drinking Songs. The first show is currently planned for Gen Con, which gives me time to write a few more songs. But I am gonna see about testing out a show locally at some point.

And speaking of themed shows, I plan to intersperse them shows into all of my local concerts.

In fact on January 10, I am back at The Lost Druid Brewery. The first two hours will be more Celtic focus. The final hour is a Firefly Drinking Songs show, just like you might see at Dragoncon.

UPCOMING SHOWS

Jan 9-10 GaFilk, Atlanta, Ga
Jan 10: The Lost Druid Brewery, Avondale Estates, Ga
Feb 28: Maggie McGuinness Pub, Huntsville, AL
Mar 8: Irish & Celtic Music PodFest @ The Lost Druid Brewery, Avondale Estates, GA
Apr 4-11: Sherwood Forest Faire, Paige, TX
Apr 17-19: JordanCon, Atlanta, Ga

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

SONGWRITING

I started playing music because I wanted to be a songwriter. So last year I started writing more music. Most of it hasn’t seen the light of day. That’s okay. The goal is to write. So I will write more songs in 2026.

I may also share the process, sort of a continuation of the songwriting interview I did with Mikey Mason.

In the meantime, here are the songs I wrote in 2025.

I See You
Bunny in the Bracken
Follow the Will o the Wisp
The Worst Wolverine. Ghosts of my past
Your breath the Only sound
Pax for Christmas
War Stories
What Have You Seen
Stretched on Your Rack
O Doctor

Ten songs seems kind of low when I compare to the mighty Mikey Mason who wrote 70+ last year. (Big cheer for Mikey!) But I am actually pretty proud of that.

Back when I was trying to measurably write songs, I don’t think I was hitting even ten songs. So it’s a great starting point!.

I plan to write a new song every week. I will release a new recording on Patreon every month.

I released two albums of music over on Patreon in 2025. There are some original songs on those albums. But mostly they are just solo acoustic, Celtic based albums.

I’m gonna try to finish another album in 2026. I have three album titles that I am planning. Just have to get the recordings completed. So there may be another Kickstarter at the end of the year.

PUB SONGS & STORIES

Pub Songs & Stories is back… Again. Lol.

Once again, I changed the title.

Once again, I changed it back.

Once again, there are other changes to come.

For starters, Pub Songs & Stories is the podcast name going forward.

The main episode will come out once a month. I’m gonna to release it on the first Monday of every month. Obviously I didn’t do one yet. I’m not yet sure if I’m gonna try to push one out or just wait until February.

The podcast is going to highlight Celtic and folk songs. The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast highlights a lot more instrumental music these days. So I want this podcast to focus more on songs. In the Celtic tradition a song has vocals.

I also want it to be more original music. You still may hear some traditional songs. But the focus is songwriting.

The show may end up longer than it has been in the past. At least should I’m working on my next experiment.

Instead of recording the show from start to finish, I want the podcast to document my musical journey throughout the month.

I love collecting audio. So my thought is to collect the audio, then include into an episode.

Back at ALEP, I was chatting with my sound engineer Mitchell and his wife. I was telling them that I have trouble remembering instrumental rhythms and melodies. They told me how they remember two of the tunes from Dancing With Hobbits. I recorded them singing that.

I also did some interviews. that don’t end up on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. Those too will end up on the show.

So the idea is to take all these little audio vignettes and mix them in with music and some chatter for myself to create a fun podcast that educates and tells a story.

Oh! And in between main episodes, I may include some bonus content with less production… Just me and the microphone. You’ve been warned. LOL

Listen to Pub Songs & Stories.

IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST

The podcast is now in its 20th year. The only big change to the current format is I hope to continue to share interviews with Celtic musicians. I still love the show. And I’m proud to say it allows me to keep making music. IF I write some new Celtic-style songs, I will be sharing them on the show.

The latest episode features the Best Celtic music of 2025.

Follow the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast on Patreon.

CELTIC CHRISTMAS MUSIC

I’m still unsure what to do with this podcast. It was not too time-consuming this year. However, it was still a mental drain.

I’m not sure how worthwhile it is to keep creating new episodes. I could just start posting holiday episodes from other podcasts on there. But I’m not ready to let it go yet…

Follow Celtic Christmas Music on Patreon.

CDS AND ALBUM PINS

I still have 1242 CDs on my shelf. That’s down from 1564 at the start of the year. I’m making a dent and selling those albums.

Oh! That doesn’t include the 744 CDs of the Brobdingnagian Bards.

Sigh…

Meanwhile, the album pin idea is slowly getting attention.

I don’t know how many bands are doing them. But one is Cyanwoode. This the band of my sound engineer and his wife. They released an album of music inspired by Legend of Zelda.

I will continue promoting the album pins in 2026 including at the Irish & Celtic Music PodFest.

Shop now to get your CDs and Album Pins.

BROBDINGNAGIAN BARDS

Our latest album Another Faire to Remember is now on Bandcamp. But it will get international streaming distribution on January 21st. I’m about to order the songbooks from the Kickstarter last year. That’ll go out to some of the folks who supported that project.

MAY WILL BLOOM

Inara and I are tracking songs to record. We hope to release an EP this year.

Follow May Will Bloom.

CELTIC INVASION OF GALICIA

The Celtic Invasion of Galicia is in the works. It’s gonna be a tight year financially due to the rising costs and the really poor exchange rate. I am excited to explore this Celtic region of Spain. It’s the last Celtic nation that we’ve done on my Celtic Invasion Vacations.

Join the Invasion.

SUSTAINABILITY AND PLASTIC

I am still on a mission to make my music business and life a little more sustainable. I’m not aiming for perfection. Just better.

I finally understand why composting is better for the environment than sending it to the landfill. Turns out that compacting trash at landfills anaerobicly breakdown food, creating methane (bad for the atmosphere).

With composting, oxygen is included in the breakdown of food. So there’s no methane.

I’m trying to reduce my use of plastic, especially single-use plastic, but really all.

Single use is like the plastic grocery bags that California smartly banned starting on Jan 1. But it’s also the plastic film that encases CDs.

The sustainability world talks about the following: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot.

I’m getting better at refusing plastic bags. I bring totes or hand carry groceries.

I’m trying to reduce the amount of stuff I buy. And I’m trying to reuse items more than I ever have.

Only then do I look at recycling, which is a flawed system.

"The best motto to think about is not to waste things. Don’t waste electricity; don’t waste paper; don’t waste food. Live the way you want to live but just don’t waste. Look after the natural world and the animals in it and the plants in it too. This is their planet as well as ours. Don’t waste them.”

Sir David Attenborough

There are a lot of changes I need to make in my life to be a better steward of the planet. I am not great at it. But I’m learning. I can see actual change happening.

Alright. Let’s get this published…

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

And here is what was new in 2025.

STATS

Mailing list subscribers = 1011

Celtic Music Magazine = 3252

YouTube Subscribers = 6383

Facebook Likes = 4288

Instagram = 2239

Spotify followers: 2901

# Number of streams on Spotify: 5234

LATEST SPOTIFY ALBUM STATS

Most-popular songs on Spotify, Last 28 Days:

The Widow and the Devil (4882)
Christmas in the Shire (3568)
Slainte Mhaith Christmas (2914)
Hero of Canton (2774)
Doctor of Gallifrey (1680)
Yuletide (1106)
Nancy Whiskey (981)
Frosty (954)
Let’s have a clerk Christmas (861)
Hobbit Hornpipe (790)
A-Working in the Garden (718)
Celtic Christmas Elf (715)
Nollaig Shona Daoibh (545)
As Long As I’m Flyin’ (480
Christmas in Killarney (383)
Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster (311)

Top albums on Amazon, Last 28 Days:

Sci Fi Drinking Songs (1221)
Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits (334)
Browncoat Christmas (189)
Firefly Drinking Songs (133)
Kilted For Her Pleasure (100)

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

Christmas in Scotland (616)
Doctor of Gallifrey (954)
Hero of Christmas (105)
12 Days of Firefly Christmas (101)

Spotify playlists:

Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2024: 151
Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2023: 165
Irish & Celtic Music: Best of 2022: 228
Top Irish & Celtic Music: 799
Firefly Drinking Songs: 164
Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers: 115
Joyful Celtic Christmas Music: 165
Fun Christmas Songs with Family: 1964

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: 153 paid, 497 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