Lots of recording, writing, singing, playing and planning going on around here at the moment! Random explosions of people yelling "I love this!" "I can't choose my favorite song!" and "YES!!" going on. I can't wait 'till you all can hear these tunes and songs. 1 Comment 
Willow listening carefully to the mix..... New album coming soon! Stay tuned! 
This last weekend we made some great strides on the recording of the new album. We are now 8 out of 12 - three quarters of the way done with the album. The songs are changing pace a little bit as they usually do halfway through. You see, we go about recording and producing an album in quite a different way than most studio musicians. Most musicians have their entire album mapped out and written before they set foot in a studio. We are coming up with the music as we go. This allows us to explore many different moods and feel the album out as we're recording it to see what it needs more or less of. So when we get to the halfway point, as we did a few weeks ago, the album could go in basically any direction, musically. I think we're starting to get a much better glimpse of what the whole picture of the new album is going to be and we LOVE it!! And we think that you will, too. Stay tuned now for faster updates as we reach the end of the recording process and begin post-production. We should know within a few weeks now about the potential release date and much more exciting stuff that we have planned for the release of the new album! Again, THANK YOU to all of you who visit our site, follow us on facebook, read our newsletters and support us by spreading our music around the internet or sharing it with your friends. We have the best fans. You are all wonderful! And we can't wait to share this new music with YOU!! The winner of the February contest is John Olson! Here is his wonderful story about his experience at one of our Christmas shows, which happened on a tragically significant day in December. ___________________ John Olson: Any show by The Gothard Sisters is joyous and memorable and I loved all nine shows I saw in 2012. Their first Christmas show a week earlier in Seattle was beautiful and wonderful in every way and would otherwise be my entry. However, though essentially the same show, the Celtic Christmas Concert in Carnation, WA on December 14th was extra special. This concert was on a day that will live in American history. Earlier that morning the lives of twenty precious children and six brave educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, as well as the mother of the shooter and the shooter himself were tragically lost. The spirits of people arriving for this concert were saddened and we needed to be uplifted. We had come to the right place. The venue, the Tolt Congregational United Church of Christ, resembled a rugged stone Celtic chapel with its arching outside bell tower, stunning stained glass windows, and an ornately carved wooden altarpiece. A month earlier the Gothards filmed their music video Greensleeves / What Child is This? at this church and they were invited back to entertain for the church’s Good Neighbor Fund. The audience - largely a mix of townspeople and church members - were there to support their community and to enjoy Christmas music with Celtic energy. While the performance area was tiny and the lighting was dim compared to some of their venues, the girls lovingly choreographed every detail perfectly and made the small church glow like a warm blazing fireplace. Fittingly, the program began with a time of silence and prayer for the Newtown victims followed by the lighting of a Candle of Peace. Then Willow, Solana, and Greta took the floor. And, quicker than a broken shoelace, their opening fiddle number, Jeannette, and Irish dancing to Greta’s exuberant Celebration Reel moved us from sadness to happiness. The joy kept rolling in with Silver Bells, Ballybrolly, David’s Jig, and the most spirited version of Hark the Herald Angels you will ever hear. Treble Jig showcased their amazing competition-level footwork. Next were their arrangements of Midsummer Jigs and the old Christmas songs, Pat-a-Pan and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Then Solana and Willow thundered away delightfully on Double Drums and danced us off to intermission with Christmas Reel. The chatter at break had a warm community feel to it - friends greeting friends; introductions being made; home baked goodies being sampled; and many remarking about the lovely Gothard sisters and all their talents . . . and about how nice it was to be there after the bad news of the day. At least two people talked reflectively about these three young ladies being the same age as the Newtown children when they began violin training. The concert resumed with the girls adding white satin shirts for their performances of Carol of the Bells; Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Trepak, and The Friendly Beasts. Then it was back to their blue, gold, and red costumes for Here We Come a Caroling ending with Solana doing a yellow ribbon slip dance to Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. Next were the lively Coventry, A Capella, Willow’s Fairy Dance Jig and Music for a Found Harmonium and a lovely version of O Holy Night.Then Solana sang a lovely rendition of Silent Night. When Solana concluded the last phrases of the song; “Sleep in Heavenly peace. Sleep in Heavenly peace.” she stood peacefully and motionless for several moments with a loving empathetic expression on her face. Suddenly, for those of us there, these words about the wish of rest for newborn Jesus seemed to transform into a prayer of Heavenly peace for the victims in Newtown. We could not have a more comforting and sweet message and tears came. Willow introduced the finale song with “Merry Christmas and good night. Good night and Joy be to you all” and the girls sweetly harmonized the chorus from the Celtic song Parting Joy. On this particular night it was more like a benediction of peace and consolation for an evening of togetherness that we all needed. We did, indeed, feel joy. As I drove home in the thick fog that night I thought how much the world would be missing if Greta, Willow, and Solana had missed their chance to grow up and to bloom into talented performers and, more importantly, wonderful role models of good behavior and joy. Here is that announcement we've been hinting at for the last week. It is very exciting news - watch the video to find out! Yes, that's right, we're recording a new album! In the Fall we released a single (one song - fairy dance jig), but now we are back in the studio in earnest and recording an entire album's worth of new material. At the moment we're aiming for a Summer 2013 release, followed by a national tour based on the new material, plus all your favorites from Story Girl. To keep up with all the latest news from the studio, go RIGHT HERE! 
COMING SOON: We have some very exciting news that will be announced this Sunday, March 17th. (St.Patrick's Day!). Stay tuned! http://www.gothardsisters.weebly.com/ Seattle area: We will be on King 5 morning news tomorrow (March 13th) between 6-8 am. Tune in and see if you can spot us with awesome news anchor Christie Johnson and members of the Tara Academy of Irish Dance!
Hello from somewhere between Georgia and Florida!
The Sylvan Valley Celtic Festival was a real treat, and I thought I'd review what's happened so far before we drive even further south towards the Plant City Strawberry Festival. We arrived in Georgia after a long day of travel, and drove up into the mountains through wind, rain, and lightning until we reached the Sylvan Valley Lodge. Cold and wet, we were graciously welcomed by John and Genevra Boyes, who run the lodge as well as the Celtic Festival. 
After a lovely day of sightseeing we were well acquainted with our surroundings and looked forward to when the Celtic Festival would begin!
We performed two 45 minute sets on Saturday evening, and met many wonderful people. Afterwords, things got a little crazy in the dressing room.... 
Do you see a medieval dragon anywhere? Or are Greta and Willow just ready for some sleep? ;) Anyways, I say that's a pretty awesome bodhran shield!
After another lovely Scottish breakfast at the lodge, we said our goodbyes and headed down the road.
What will happen next week? Stay tuned and follow our pink elephant mascot, Fiona, on the members only page (accessible to mailing list subscribers) until the next blog post! See ya next time, Solana 
Greta jamming with our new rhythm guitar player, Fiona. Follow her adventures in the members only section!
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