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The Thistle & Shamrock Award-winning radio host Fiona Ritchie explores evolving music from Celtic roots in Europe and North America.
Special Series

The Thistle & Shamrock

Host Fiona Ritchie explores Celtic roots music on her weekly radio program
The Thistle & Shamrock: Dreamtime

Maire Brennan Mella Travers/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Mella Travers/Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: Dreamtime

Settle into an hour of soothing voices and soaring instrumentals that all go to prove this roots music business needn't always be high-energy.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Dreamtime

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The Thistle & Shamrock: New Spring Sounds

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Collin Gillen/Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: New Spring Sounds

Step into spring by tuning into some of the fresh new music recently arrived at The Thistle & Shamrock offices in the U.S. and Scotland.

The Thistle & Shamrock: New Spring Sounds

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Season Of Light

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Richard Haughton/Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: Season Of Light

Celebrate the coming of summer, the fertility of the season and the greening of the earth with one of four ancient, annual Celtic festivals that mark the passage from one season to the next.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Season Of Light

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The Thistle & Shamrock: The Great Tapestry

Sheila Kay Adams. Jim Vance/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jim Vance/Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: The Great Tapestry

Follow the historic migration from Scotland to a final destination in the Southern Appalachians with featured artists Patrick Street, Cara Dillon and Sheila Kay Adams.

The Thistle & Shamrock: The Great Tapestry

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Atlantic Bridge

Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser is featured on this week's episode of The Thistle & Shamrock. James Fraher/Getty Images hide caption

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James Fraher/Getty Images

The Thistle & Shamrock: Atlantic Bridge

Fiona Ritchie presents an hour of music to ferry you across the Atlantic from Old World to new.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Atlantic Bridge

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Song Links

Hear folk guitarist Al Petteway on this week's The Thistle & Shamrock. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: Song Links

Explore music from the Southern Appalachians with Jean Ritchie, Al Petteway and Dolores Keane.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Song Links

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Made In America

American fiddler Eileen Ivers is featured on this week's The Thistle & Shamrock. James Fraher/Getty Images hide caption

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James Fraher/Getty Images

The Thistle & Shamrock: Made In America

Hear early field recordings from Liz Carroll and Eileen Ivers on The Thistle & Shamrock.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Made In America

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The Thistle & Shamrock: World Beat

Hear Afro Celt Sound System on this edition of The Thistle & Shamrock. Mark Bennett/Riotsquad Publicity hide caption

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Mark Bennett/Riotsquad Publicity

The Thistle & Shamrock: World Beat

Hear Celtic root recordings influenced by Latin, Balkan and African music and rhythms on this week's The Thistle & Shamrock.

The Thistle & Shamrock: World Beat

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Migrations With Karine Polwart

Karine Polwart at Fala Flow, Midlothian, Scotland. Suzanne Heffron hide caption

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Suzanne Heffron

The Thistle & Shamrock: Migrations With Karine Polwart

Hear Karine Polwart reflect on Carnegie Hall's Migrations: The Making of America festival on this week's show.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Migrations With Karine Polwart

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Welsh Roots

Ember is one of the featured artists this week on The Thistle & Shamrock. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: Welsh Roots

On this week's The Thistle & Shamrock, acoustic roots sounds from Cerys Matthews, Ffynnon and Ember swell with splendor.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Welsh Roots

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The Thistle & Shamrock: 'Migrations' With Chris Thile

The Thistle & Shamrock's Fiona Ritchie and musician Chris Thile. Finley Hodgson/The Thistle & Shamrock hide caption

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Finley Hodgson/The Thistle & Shamrock

The Thistle & Shamrock: 'Migrations' With Chris Thile

Hear Chris Thile share insight behind Carnegie Hall's Migrations: The Making of America festival, which features his many award-winning recordings.

The Thistle & Shamrock: 'Migrations' With Chris Thile

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Ballads Of The Border

Karine Polwart is featured on this week's episode of The Thistle & Shamrock. Sandy Butler/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sandy Butler/Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: Ballads Of The Border

Possession over the borderlands between Scotland and England echo in ballads that trove a sound of untouched, forbidden beauty.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Ballads Of The Border

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Love Songs

Maura O'Connell is featured on this week's The Thistle & Shamrock. Gwendolen Cates/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Gwendolen Cates/Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: Love Songs

Hear music revolving around the love of whisky and homeland with Maura O'Connell, Shooglenifty and Moya Brennan.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Love Songs

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The Thistle & Shamrock: Singer-Songwriters

Karan Casey is one of the artists featured on this week's episode of The Thistle & Shamrock. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

The Thistle & Shamrock: Singer-Songwriters

This week on The Thistle & Shamrock, Fiona Ritchie explores songwriters' melodies that never fail to strike a chord.

The Thistle & Shamrock: Singer-Songwriters

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