Glen MacNeil Archives | Folk Roots Radio

Folk Roots Radio Episode 662: We’re All About The Music! (Into The Now Edition)

May 24 2023

Join us on Episode 662 of Folk Roots Radio for another selection of the latest new releases. This time around, all the tracks come from Canadian artists, and, we are pleased to include our first play from “O Sun O Moon”, the critically acclaimed new album from Bruce Cockburn. We also check out music from Alexis Normand, April Verch & Cody Walters, Bryan Butler, James Gray, Meredith Moon, Duke & Goldie, Del Barber, Lennie Gallant, Glencoe Station (featuring Glen MacNeil), Pete Eastmure, Jason Lang, Desiree Dorion, Propter Hawk and Ken Whiteley. Remember, If you like the artists you hear on this show and want to support them, don’t just stream their music – BUY their music, and then you’ll really make a difference to their income at a time when it is becoming more and more difficult to make a living as a musician. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 633: We’re All About The Music! (Find Your Own Way Edition)

Jun 04 2022

We have another hour of great new releases to share with you on Episode 633 of Folk Roots Radio, and this time around they are all by Canadian artists. Join us as we check out new music from Lunar Bloom, Tragedy Ann, Ray Bonneville, Gunner & Smith, Jesse Cook, Ken Yates, Moonfruits, The Henrys, Noah Reid, Robert Thomas, Pharis & Jason Romero, Glen MacNeil, Willie Stratton, iskwē & Tom Wilson (Lee Harvey Osmond) and Joe Nolan. Remember, if you like what you hear on Folk Roots Radio… and want to support the artists… don’t just stream their music, BUY their music and then you’ll really make a difference to their income during this difficult time, when live show opportunities are harder to come by. Check out the full playlist below.

Glen MacNeil - Self-Titled EP - Folk Roots Radio Interview

Mar 07 2021

It’s been a while since Tecumseh ON Glen MacNeil has put out an album, which is why the arrival of his wonderful self-titled EP in 2020 was such a pleasant surprise. Glen is a fabulous songwriter. Indeed, his last album, 2015’s “Where The Heart Remains” was included in our favourite albums of that year. Work on the new EP started during the early days of 2020 when Glen hooked up with Belfast Northern Ireland based producer Peter McVeigh – and then continued into the coronavirus lockdown. Alongside Glen MacNeil on voice and guitar, the EP also features John McCullough on keys and Dale Rivard on pedal steel and dobro. Glen MacNeil joined us on Folk Roots Radio to chat about the new recording. Visit Glen MacNeil online at glenmacneil.bandcamp.com. Music: Glen MacNeil “Car Window”, “The Quiet” and “Just A Memory” from the “Glen MacNeil E.P.” (2020, Self).

Folk Roots Radio Episode 560: Our Favourite Albums of 2020

Dec 27 2020

We’re getting close to the end of 2020, which means it’s time to announce our favourite albums of the year. After the challenging year we’ve all had, it’s tempting to just want to put 2020 behind us and move on to 2021 to what will, hopefully, be a much better year for everyone. And yet, despite everything, 2020 has actually been a great year for recorded music – especially for those us who tend to focus on music that artists release independently, or via small and boutique record labels. Many artists have actually been making excellent use of the lockdown time forced on them by the coronavirus pandemic to record some wonderful ‘Covid Tune’ singles, EPs and in some case, even full albums. We’ve had great fun sharing them with you this year. We’ve also been doing our best to keep up with regularly scheduled releases. It gives us great pleasure each year, once we have put holiday radio episodes to bed, to consider our favourite albums of the year. One of the best things about doing a radio show is getting loads of great music to listen to each week. One of the hardest things to do is to take all that fabulous music and narrow it down to your ten favourite recordings of the year. You can check out The Top 10 on Episode 560 of Folk Roots Radio. We’ll be playing more of our favourite albums on upcoming episodes of Folk Roots Radio. If you don’t see an album you really loved, that’s likely because it didn’t make it up on our radar because we didn’t receive a copy. Please consider sharing your favourite albums in the comments – we might even spin them on a future episode of the show. Listen to The Top 10 on this episode, and check out the full playlist and the rest of our long list below. Enjoy!

Folk Roots Radio Episode 552: feat. Glen MacNeil - Self Title E.P. & More New Releases

Nov 20 2020

Tecumseh ON singer-songwriter Glen MacNeil joins us on Episode 552 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about his new self-titled EP, the follow up to the wonderful “Where The Heart Remains” from 2015 – one of our favourite albums of that year. The new EP, most of which was recorded in Covid lockdown, is also an excellent album. As always, we wrap up the episode with more of the latest new releases and this time around we hear from Leah Barley, Sophia Clark, Terra Spencer, Grace Pettis, Redi Hasa, Steve Conn and VISSIA. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 526: We're All About The Music! (Get Together Safely Edition)

Jul 13 2020

We’re all about the music on Episode 526 of Folk Roots Radio as we hold back the interviews to bring you another hour of great new music. We still can’t get over how much wonderful music is being produced at the moment – much of it while in lockdown. We may be in the midst of some really strange times during the Covid-19 pandemic, but artistic creativity continues to flourish. We’re subtitling this one the Get Together Safely edition, as things are slowly starting to open up again in Canada. Join us for new music from Grace Potter, Ultan Conlon, Glen MacNeil, Gathering Time, ConChie, Steel Rail, Dan Penn, The Strange Valentines, Joe Nolan, Dione Taylor, Sultans Of String, The War and Treaty, Avi Kaplan and The Long War. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 521: feat. Ken Yates - Quiet Talkers & More New Releases

Jul 03 2020

Toronto based singer-songwriter Ken Yates picked up a couple of Canadian Folk Music Awards for his critically acclaimed 2016 album “Huntsville”. He’s just released the follow-up, “Quiet Talkers” – an album Ken describes as his most personal to date, which is equally as wonderful and already picking up some critical buzz. Ken Yates joins us on Episode 521 of Folk Roots Radio for a great in-depth conversation about the new album, and life in lockdown – as we all continue to weather the coronavirus pandemic. We also hear from some other great songwriters as we check out new music from Glen MacNeil, Michael Logen, Barbara Jo Kammer, John Moreland, Graham Lindsey, Jason Wilber, John Prine and Gretchen Peters. Check out the full playlist below.

Folk Roots Radio Episode 321: Emily Millard Interview & More New Releases

May 09 2017

We’re back at the Folk Music Ontario conference on Episode 321 of Folk Roots Radio for another in our interview series Folk Roots Radio at FMO. This time around, we talk to art folk songstress Emily Millard about her new album “By Heron & By Season”. Emily also plays two songs live for us. And, as always we check out more of the latest new releases. Listen to the episode and check out the playlist below.

Apr 23 2016

On this episode we’re featuring an interview and live session with South Western Ontario singer-songwriter Glen McNeil and an excerpt from an interview with Toronto based children’s performer Andrew “Too Tall” Queen who also performs live for us, with a cameo from yours truly. Both interviews were recorded at the Folk Music Ontario conference this past October. As always we added some new music we’ve received into the mix.

Apr 23 2016

Singer-songwriter Glen MacNeil produced one of our favourite albums of 2015, “Where The Heart Remains”. A veteran of the South West Ontario music scene, it was hard to believe that this was Glen’s debut solo album. Featuring a fine selection of beautifully-crafted songs focusing on relationships, family and life in general with some fabulous musicianship and beautifully understated production from John Law from The Laws – the album is truly a joy for the ears. Glen came into the Folk Roots Radio mobile studio at the Folk Music Ontario conference this past October for a chat and a few live songs. Music: Glen MacNeil, “If I Could I Would” (Live), “The Island Is Where The Heart Remains” (Live), “Up On High” (Live) “I’m In Love” (Live).

Folk Roots Radio Episode 231: Our Favourite Albums of 2015

Folk Roots Radio Favourite Albums of 2015

Dec 14 2015

Well, It’s that time of year… Time to pick our favourite albums of 2015. And you know what, it doesn’t get any easier. There’s just so much great music out there, and it’s been our great privilege to bring lots of it to you each week on Folk Roots Radio. Like last year, most of the albums on this list aren’t a surprise as I raved about them during the year. This time around though I selected a twenty-five album long list, then narrowed it down to the Top 10 you can read about below.

Oct 02 2015

Episode 211 of Folk Roots Radio features two interviews. South-western Ontario singer-songwriter Glen MacNeil joins us to chat about his debut album “Where The Heart Remains” and we also talk to Linda McRae about her latest release “Shadow Trails”. Linda’s in Guelph for a CD release show on October 9. Among the new music on this week’s show we take a look at a new tribute album to the godfather of the first British folk revival, Ewan McColl out now on Cooking Vinyl.

Oct 02 2015

A veteran of the South-Western Ontario music scene, singer-songwriter Glen MacNeil has just released his debut album “Where The Heart Remains”, a fine selection of beautifully-crafted songs focusing on relationships, family and life in general. The album, produced by John Law (of The Laws) features acoustic guitar and vocals from Glen, with John Law on guitar, resophonic guitar, mandolin, organ, and backing vocals from John & Michele Law. Guest musicians include J.P. Cormier on fiddle, Stuart Cameron (from The Heartbroken) on electric guitar and Philip Scott Poli on backing vocals. . We caught up with Glen at home near Windsor. Music: Glen MacNeil “I Wish I Was A Train”, “Up On High”, The Island Is Where The Heart Remains” from “Where The Heart Remains” (2015, Self).

Album of the Week – Glen MacNeil ‘Where The Heart Remains’

Sep 29 2015

Windsor-based singer-songwriter Glen MacNeil‘s debut album “Where The Heart Remains” is very much a personal testament to love and life. Ten fine songs, written or co-written by Glen, that focus on life, love and personal relationships, and his Cape Breton roots – The Island Where The Heart Remains; it is very much in the tradition of great Canadian singer-songwriters like Gordon Lightfoot and Dave Gunning. Featuring some fabulous musicianship, and beautifully understated production from John Law (of The Laws), the album is a joy for the ears, and one that once you start listening, you need to stay with to the end.

Sep 18 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio features two interviews – Stephen Fearing joins us to chat about his songwriting workshop and concert, taking place on Friday September 25 in Waterloo ON. And later, we catch up with Newfoundland band The Once at this summer’s Hillside Festival. As always, there’s a lot of new music on the show, and we continue our run down of the nominations for the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards.

Sep 11 2015

This week’s Folk Roots Radio features an interview with Australian roots band Perch Creek recorded just before this summer’s Hillside festival. Perch Creek are great fun, and put on a fabulous live show. It’s a great interview, and definitely worthing checking out – they even pulled out their instruments to play a song for us in their hotel room! As always we found time for a lot of new music we’ve received and kicked off a new weekly feature on the 2015 Canadian Folk Music Awards, taking place in Edmonton from November 6-8 2015.

Dec 14 2014

This week’s Folk Roots Radio (Episode 179) featured our favourite albums of 2014. As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy to narrow down all the great albums we’ve played over the past year to just ten, but that’s what we’ve done. If you check out the post about The Best Albums of 2014 we’ve also included the next five as honourable mentions. As usual, there was lots of new music on offer including some original holiday tunes, as well as a new mystery theme and guilty pleasure.