I heard this group at 2007 Northwest Folklife Festival and was totally impressed. I'm hoping that another CD will be out soon. Joy of My Heart, Follow Me Up to Carlow, Bonnie Dundee, Sailor Boy, & The Ploughman have all become favorites and the CD is in danger of being worn out with playing

Singing The Travels is their third CD, and it’s their most impressive to date. There are lots of warm-hearted musical rambles on this solid CD from local group Blackthorn. The eye-catching cover painting suggests they are out for an enjoyable afternoon’s tour, and finds them in energetic form as they canter through the magical early spring landscape. The sextet has honed their skills over the years and are totally at home with close vocal and instrumental harmonies. Accordionist Dianne Foster and fiddler Rosie Carver are melodically inspired and provide lively settings for the songs, and a lot of the musical force on leaping sets of tunes. The Pullet/Hard Road/Billy Wilson’s Reel in particular should be a favourite with dancers, and the Misty Braes set, a session-like fling, as well as the Lea Riggers set (a salty air, a sassy dance and a high stepping march) should keep listeners hopping to the brisk kinetic tunes. Bassist Tim Renaud gets right down to the bottom line as well, accentuating the rhythms in all the right places. Both Graham Carver and Michael Viens sing with stirring commitment, and hit the mark particularly well on Bonnie Dundee and Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore. If there’s a star turn here though, it’s Michelle Carlisle’s beautiful vocals, and each of her four numbers is a delight. Joy Of My Heart is lovely, and on Do You Love An Apple she gives a bravura performance. Sailor Boy is a real highlight, her voice shimmers on the atmospheric air, and she lifts off and soars on The Ploughman. Michelle has a grand tone and great feeling in her voice, and is also tremendous all over the album on flute. This one is a good listen, and helps prove how well the music travels from across the Atlantic, and what good hands it’s in locally with the musicians inspired to keep it going.

After an association with Vancouver’s Blackthorn that goes back many years now, I’m delighted to hear fresh material from their long anticipated sophomore release, ‘Singing The Travels’. They obviously spent the time well, crafting a knockout CD of songs and instrumentals. I’m most impressed with the polish on the product. ‘Sailor Boy’ is one of the most achingly beautiful songs I have heard by any artist. The arrangement is breathtaking and Michelle Carlisle delivers the lyrical melancholy with the voice of an angel.

The Reel World Small-Label Celtic and English MusicThe songs are largely uptempo Scottish and Irish numbers with rousing choruses, like “Bonnie Dundee” and “Follow Me Up to Carlow” and a jolly take on “New York Girls” that breaks into an Irish polka. The disc also includes a generous assortment of instrumental music, with tune sets that variously feature fiddle, flute, and piano accordion with ensemble backup.