Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all the people who so kindly visit my site every day. I hope all my readers and their families and friends have a very happy and safe holidays, wherever you may be in the world. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are visiting my blog and I hope you all will continue to visit next year.
I have had a fabulous year following Alan Doyle and The Beautiful Gypsies, Allan Hawco, Russell Crowe and the members of Great Big Sea on social media and through the traditional press as they continue to build on much loved projects whether they be concerts, music for plays, charity events, documentaries, movies and television shows.
I have really enjoyed researching and reading all the musician’s, artist’s and fan’s words, thoughts and ideas and looking at their photographs and videos as they were shared on social media. I have also really enjoyed the professionals and their role in writing about and recording the big Canadian music festivals throughout the summer. 2017 is certainly shaping up to be an exciting year and I look forward to researching, writing about and attending some events myself.
Recently on the Great Big Sea Online Kitchen Party on Facebook one fan shared a professionally made Great Big Sea video of ‘Come And I Will Sing You’ (a traditional Christmas carol). The song is sung by Bob Hallett, backed up by the other boys of Great Big Sea and filmed in a snowy Newfoundland. The video was a Christmas treat indeed. The posted video recorded a record number of likes for a shared video on the site and up to 5 times as much as bootlegged videos. This proved that professionally made videos are some fan's favourite ways to watch Great Big Sea music. The high number of likes may also be due to Bob Hallett’s occasional visits to the site to share news with fans about what was happing with his band mates. I have also shared the video on my Google + page for those interested.
Throughout the year there was a lot of discussion where the fans expressed how much they miss Great Big Sea and in particular on the Great Big Sea Online Kitchen Party site. Recently shared was a post asking fans what was their favourite Great Big Sea songs were. Many of the members of the group were happy to participate. Of course some fans found it difficult to pick just one song. What type of song they liked often depended upon the mood they were in. For other fans the songs they picked were related to significant events in their lives. After a quick tally the most favourite songs of those who participated in the survey, were Ordinary Day, Consequence Free and Lukey’s Boat. These songs are still included frequently in Alan Doyle and The Beautiful Gypsies setlists and loved by the fans. I have also shared official Great Big Sea videos on my Google + page of Ordinary Day and Consequence Free.
As the fans posted their favourite songs I went in search of mine. It has been a while since I have listened to Great Big Sea XX so I started there. I also went through the official Great Big Sea YouTube site. My favourite Great Big Sea pop song is ‘Love Me Tonight’ and although not officially a Great Big Sea song ‘Lover’s In A Dangerous Time’. From their traditional songs I love ‘Ferryland Sealer’ and ‘England’. Another favourite is ‘Follow Me Back’ by Bob Hallett. I have circulated a copy on my Goggle + page of ‘Follow Me Back’ as well. Despite the fact they are on a hiatus of sorts I still really love listening to their music and stories from Newfoundland.
Many thanks to Alan Doyle for all his work on social media, especially Twitter and Instagram. He has done a brilliant job really and made a lot of fans very happy. I have really enjoyed his posts in particular, those about Newfoundland and of course the selfies. His Facebook live posts are also really popular with the fans. So today I have shared a gorgeous Alan Doyle selfie from last night from what was suppose to be his last trip to Toronto off Twitter. I have posted some information about concerts in March 2017. The photographs are from the official Twitter account of Alan Doyle @alanthomasdoyle. No copyright infringement is intended.
So once again to all my readers many thanks for visiting my site and a very merry Christmas and all the best for you and your families and friends in the new year.
Liz Smith
