Special Guests

  • Sharon Corr — Grammy Nominated Recording Artist
    Grammy Nominee/Brit Award Winner, singer/songwriter and violinist – Sharon Corr has been hugely successful as both a member of legendary Irish group The Corrs and also as a solo artist. Much has been written about the incredible talent for melodies The Corrs exhibited throughout their 15 year long career. Their unique blend of Celtic/Pop/Rock sold over 45 million albums. They toured arenas and stadiums across the globe. With a string of massively successful albums and singles played to this day like Runaway, So Young, Radio, Breathless – The Corrs have been a household name on every continent. When The Corrs took time off to focus on their growing families, Sharon – while having her own 2 children, began her solo journey enjoying the freedom of total artistic expression. In 2010 she released her self penned first solo album “Dream Of You”. From 2011-2013 Sharon was busy touring Europe, US and Australia, and in 2013 she released her second album entitled, “The Same Sun”. In addition to singing- Sharon has for 2 seasons, been a coach on the hugely successful talent show “The Voice”. * Sharon will be performing at Hugh's Room, Tuesday March 18th @ 8:30 PM. (Make a dinner reservation and grab yourself some amazing seats!)

  • Dr. Gareth Higgins — Northern Irish Author of Cinematic States: Stories We Tell, The American Dream Life, And How To Understand Everything
    In Cinematic States, Northern Irish writer Gareth Higgins explores American myths in one of their most powerful forms. This irreverent yet moving journey through each of the 50 states of his adopted homeland asks whether a Kansas yellow brick road really does lead to the end of the rainbow, and does it first have to pass through Colorado’s Overlook Hotel? Amidst the multipurpose wood-chippers, friendly exorcists and faulty motel showers, resurrected baseball players and miracle-working gardeners, what do the stories we tell reveal about ourselves, and how can we re-imagine who we are? Gareth Higgins is a Belfast-born writer, film critic, and co-author of several works on peace building, religion, violence and conflict. He is a contributing editor at Sojourners Magazine, has written for publications including The Independent, The Irish Times, and Third Way, and presented on BBC Radio. He also holds a PhD from Queen’s University Belfast and co-hosts the award-winning podcast The Film Talk. Gareth is founding director of the Wild Goose Festival and his previous books include How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films, and co-authorship of Religion, Civil Society, and Peace in Northern Ireland. Gareth Higgins was born in Belfast and grew up during the Northern Ireland troubles. He now lives in North Carolina, writing and speaking about connection to the earth, cinema and the power of dreams, peace and making justice, and how to take life seriously without believing your own propaganda. He is a work in progress.

LIVE! on TDMS - Devoted Souly to the Art of Music

  • Rant Maggie Rant
    A brilliant melting pot of sound, Rant Maggie Rant is loved by traditionalists, who enjoy their time-honoured approach and style, while listeners of other musical genres are drawn to the band's fusion of punchy roots/blues/rock guitar and the syncopated World influences of hand drumming spiced with Latin, Middle Eastern and African rhythms. In studio today is the core band; Stratford-based trio Lindsay Schindler (fiddle, background vocals), Glen Dias (lead vocals, recorders, percussion) and Barry James Payne (guitars, harmonica, background vocals). And joining them today to make the studio even hotter will be London-based Rob Larose (drums, percussion) and Steve Clark (bass), as well as Daev Clysdale (Irish whistle, Irish flute and accordion) from Toronto.
    *Rant Maggie Rant returns to Toronto's prestigious, folk-roots venue Hugh's Room – for the fourth consecutive year – to perform a spirited St. Patrick’s Day Celebration concert on March 15th @ 8:30. (Make a dinner reservation and grab yourself some amazing seats!) This is the perfect opportunity for revellers of Irish heritage and the Irish at heart to enjoy a not-to-be-missed evening by a band that likes to mischievously colour outside the prescribed lines of Celtic music.
    We apologize for the poor audio quality in this interview - we could blame it on technical difficulties - but it's waaaaay more fun to blame "Tim the Tool"!

God Blogger

  • Philip Carr-Gomm
    Philip Carr-Gomm is a writer and psychologist. He trained with Ross Nichols, the founder of the Order of Bards Ovates & Druids, and has been leading the Order for over twenty years. “The main focus of the blog is spirituality in its widest sense, and I believe one of the most important tasks for us today is to infuse our spiritual questing with humour and joy. Without humour we lose our humility, without joy a spiritual path becomes dry with the dead hand of piousness. For me, a spirituality needs the glorious world of Nature and the joy of laughter in plentiful supply. If these qualities appeal to you, I hope some of this blog will be interesting and entertaining for you!” www.philipcarrgomm.wordpress.com “Exploring Spirituality, Celebrating Life”

Pub Crawl

  • Drew & His Mates Crack Open A Few!
    Current affairs, pop culture, even touchy-feely-relational stuff! Listen in OR call and join us, as we crawl from topic to topic!(Got a topic you want the gang from the pub to crack open? Click here)

    TOPICS:

    1/ Have you seen Mark Burnett & Roma Downey's movie Son Of God? What did you think? Worth the watch or just another cheesy Jesus flick, but with better effects and a bigger budget?

    2/ A video was released this week of Justin Bieber being interviewed by lawyers representing a paparazzo. The photographer is suing, alleging that the Biebs ordered his bodyguard to attack him. Seems like many who have been sticking up for Justin, after watching this deposition video, have now called him out on his arrogant & smug behaviour. (Hmmm – sounds similar to what happened when supporters of a certain Mayor finally watched some videos!) So is this the proverbial nail in the coffin for Justin? Does he deserve a societal slap or even more grace?

    3/ According to a recent report, U.S. troops shot Osama Bin Laden's dead body over a hundred times. How does that sit with you? Do you think this is an accurate gauge of how people are feeling about terrorism these days?

Talkback, etc.

  • W.here's T.he F.aith?
    Join Drew and various religion reporters from an assortment of news outlets, as they catch up on happenings in the world of Religion & Faith & Cults (Oh My!) Today's W.T.F. Guest:
    Patsy McGarry – Religious Affairs Corespondent with The Irish Times