Hannah Harris

Hi Reader! You may know that I'm a fan of polkas. There are seven on my last album alone, I include it in my blurb about this newsletter that we'll get along if you're a fan of Sliabh Luachra, and it's also the tune type I picked for my second time choosing the tune for the Irish Tune of the Week account over on Instagram this past Tuesday. (Bodhran fans will get a kick out of my good friend Jim's post -- he's been threatening to do this for months!) I don't know the exact moment where I...

Hi Reader! Yesterday morning I got to host a fiddle panel through my friends at the Irish Music Institute interviewing Kevin Burke, James Kelly, Patrick Ourceau and Liz Kane -- it was definitely one of those "pinch me" moments and a Saturday I will long remember!! I had meant to ask Kevin Burke to pull this stunt at the end of the call, but forgot... so I'm going to share it with you instead! Before the Zoom call, we were in a breakout room to test sound levels, and Kevin and I were the first...

Hello Reader! This is one of those "pinch me" moments, and it's one I would love to share with you. This Saturday I have the very great pleasure of hosting a fiddle panel presented by my friends at Irish Music Institute, and it's available for you to attend on Zoom! Just look at those panelists!! This project is a partnership between the Irish Music Institute and IMAA / Irish Music Association of Asia, with the goal of making the knowledge and experience of Irish traditional musicians...

Hi Reader! My mom and Bear have combined forces and officially gotten me hooked on Meowdoku. If you haven't heard of it, it's an app puzzle game similar to Sudoku but with cats! One cat per color, one per row and one per column. Typically I don't spring for phone app games. So much of my work happens online that I prefer to spend my downtime off of any device. But since this spoke to two of my interests (cats and logic puzzles), I relaxed my rule a little bit for this one. You get ads between...

Hi Reader! Lest you were worried (😉), my sourdough starter Eleanor is still going strong, and I'm continuing to enjoy being a beginner bread baker. And yes, there is definitely a connection to Irish fiddle music with this story so stick with me on this! Earlier this year, Bear's mom asked if I wanted to take her jar of sourdough starter home. It was headed to the trash otherwise, so in the spur of the moment I agreed (if it didn't work, I'd just toss it myself). I knew about this baker...

Hi Reader! I have this habit I'm trying to break, and I'm curious if this is something you experience too. With a couple of northern Michigan gigs coming up in mid-September, Bear and I have been revisiting our setlist, working up some new arrangements and revamping old ones. A lot of the sets are ones we've done before and don't need quite as much polishing or learning as the newer material. And yet, I still find myself wanting to go through the setlist in order. Since I don't usually find...

A warm hello to you Reader, It is very easy to get caught up in routine. To do the same work day after day, to come back to our scales and our exercises that are all meant to build skills and help us get further along whatever path it is we've decided to set ourselves on. I am in Atlanta for a week visiting my parents, and this thought has been running over and over in my head all week. It's a 10 hour drive (without stops) to get down here from Detroit. I'm still rebuilding financially from a...