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Irish Music Stories Podcast

Shannon Heaton
Irish Music Stories Podcast
Latest episode

98 episodes

  • Irish Music Stories Podcast

    Episode 93-Woolen Pants and Grave Situations

    01/06/2026 | 21 mins.
    What's up with "I Buried My Wife and Danced on Her Grave?" It's an old tune with an interesting title, with connections to blind pipers, Clare fiddlers, pookahs, and… wool pants. To close out Season 10 of Irish Music Stories, host Shannon Heaton unravels strands of melody and history, with help from the guitar player two rooms away.
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For playlists, transcripts, links to videos, companion essays, and to contribute to this project, please head to https://shannonheatonmusic.com/ims
  • Irish Music Stories Podcast

    Episode 92-Eagles and Eggplants

    04/05/2026 | 33 mins.
    Episode 92-Eagles and Eggplants--Going for the gold year round...
    Things change over the years. But a lot of the same stories (and tunes) just seem to keep coming up. Like a bad penny. Or a Golden Eagle. Host Shannon Heaton and flute player Kozo Toyota sail the golden, storied seas about a gold coin, a clipper ship, an eggplant, and a fiery little hornpipe.
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For playlists, transcripts, links to videos, companion essays, and to contribute to this project, please head to ShannonHeatonMusic.com
  • Irish Music Stories Podcast

    Episode 91-Doherty, Norah, and Ma

    01/04/2026 | 21 mins.
    As tunes and songs get passed around they transform. Airs and hornpipes turn into jigs or reels, entire parts get added or condensed, melodies change, words alter or are forgotten altogether (until the song becomes just a tune). In this episode, singer Niamh Parsons and host Shannon Heaton trace a tune and its words back to its source. It's a celebration of listening, and finding the story in a song together.
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For playlists, transcripts, links to videos, companion essays, and to contribute to this project, please head to https://shannonheatonmusic.com/ims/
  • Irish Music Stories Podcast

    Episode 90-Sweeping Through the Classics

    02/03/2026 | 21 mins.
    For this episode of Irish Music Stories, host Shannon Heaton talks to Clare fiddler Sorcha Costello to dig down to the roots of a botanically named tune, And to explore the beauty of enduring classics.
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For playlists, transcripts, links to videos, companion essays, and to contribute to this project, please head to ShannonHeatonMusic.com
  • Irish Music Stories Podcast

    Episode 89-Singing Out and Lifting Up

    06/02/2026 | 13 mins.
    For this installment of Irish Music Stories, host Shannon Heaton tucks into an old jig that has become known as The Morning Lark. It's an exploration of cartoonists and journalists, and the power of names and name calling. Above all, it's a celebration of a little jig in D that continues to resonate and transform.
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For playlists, transcripts, links to videos, companion essays, and to contribute to this project, please head to ShannonHeatonMusic.com
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About Irish Music Stories Podcast
The show about traditional music, and the bigger stories behind it. Host Shannon Heaton talks to musicians, dancers, and scholars about where Irish music has been, where it's going, and what it means to so many people around the globe. Whether you already play fiddle or know dance steps, or you don't know anything about traditional music, the emphasis of this show is creativity, community, and heritage.
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