Gearing up and Counting down!

Hello out there in internet land, and welcome to another exciting installment of Shouting from the Hilltop. We've added some new internet presence, in an effort to bring Iron Hill Vagabonds to the huddled masses around the world. We've also added some shows, changed some dates, and updated our travel schedule, in case anyone was planning on buying us lunch, or maybe seeing us perform, over the next few weeks... read on!

Internet Updates:

Well... I've been busy! As many of you have already seen, we have another new website at http://www.ironhillvagabonds.com. This latest one is probably going to stick for a while, but I am certainly always open to suggestions! We've got music to listen to, pictures to look at, video, and a complete tour calendar. I'll be adding new things all the time, so keep checking in!

Also, check us out at http://soundclick.com/ironhillvagabonds. Soundclick.com is "the leading free music community featuring signed and unsigned bands..." Since I posted our music there, our version of "Kilgarry Mountain (Whiskey in the Jar)" made it up to #21 in the Traditional Irish category out of 1101 songs, and that's without me even announcing it! I'll keep you updated here as more music becomes available. Also, as a special gift to people who actually read this feed, (I know you're out there...) I've made "(Fiddlin' on a) Cool Spring Eve" available free to download at this site. You know the Vagabonds love you!

Oh yeah... and did you know you can sign up to get these updates in your email? Just go to our blog at http://ironhillvagabonds.blogspot.com, type your email in the box on the left, and follow the simple instructions. It's convenient and secure, and you can unsubscribe any time!

Show updates:

To view our complete calendar, click here.

For those of you packing up your caravans/station wagons/mule carts/bindles/etc. to follow us on our travels, we have made some changes...

For anyone lucky enough to be a Friend of the New York Renaissance Faire, we will be performing at the Friends of the New York Renaissance Faire Annual Meeting, at NYRF, Labor Day weekend. I'm sorry to say that this is a private function, so most of our fans will have to wait to see us down the road, but we are thrilled to be performing at the event which began our love of Renaissance Faires!

Also, we've changed the date of our appearance at the New Through the Looking Glass Tea Shop in Shelbyville, KY. We'll be playing there from 6-8PM (or thereabouts) on Wednesday, September 15.

After that, we'll be making our way to Texas, stopping in to see our friends at the Four Winds Faire in Troup, TX for their Celtic Festival on Saturday 9/18. We're really excited to be performing with our friends Jed Marum, Tim Glennon, Dublin Double and Willow! With Highland Games, delicious food, and great celtic music, this promises to be a great day for the whole family!

Then, join us for the next two weekends (we just added the weekend of 9/25-26) at the Middlefaire Renaissance and Medieval Festival in Hillsboro, TX.

After that... well, it's back to the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, TX... and boy, are we excited about that one!

So, it is, as ever, bittersweet as we prepare once again to leave the Iron Hill, but we are very excited to be returning to Texas, which has become like our second home.

Keep watching here for more news!

See you down the road!

-Mark Gauvin
Writing from Kent Cliffs, New York

So... it's been a while...

[Warning: I use ellipses an awful lot... probably way more than I should...]

Okay, so... I haven't really kept up with the blog...

If you'd like to know what's been going on, check out our Facebook page. That gets updated a whole lot more...

We have had a great time since you last heard from me here a scant eighteen months ago.

Latest news:
Our CD, Whiskey & Promises is available online here.
We have a new website here. Check it out. Email me if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!
We're headed back to Texas in the fall. On the way there, we'll be returning to the Through the Looking Glass Tea Shop in Shelbyville, KY. That'll be September 29.

When we get there, we'll be playing at the Middlefaire Renaissance and Medieval Festival in Hillsboro for their final weekend, that's October 2 and 3. We had a great time at their Texas Pirate Festival back in May, and we look forward to returning!

Then, we'll be playing at the Texas Renaissance Festival from October 9 to November 28 (weekends and Thanksgiving Friday). We'll be returning to the same venues as last year, including TRF's premier gourmet coffee shop, The Pavilion. There may be some surprises in store, too... keep watching for more news on that!

So... I might write more about what has happened to us since we started this crazy trip, but I'm really going to concentrate on posting new stuff as it comes up... I hope you understand...

See you on the road!

-Mark