Genre | Celtic music, folk |
---|---|
Running time | c. 50 min |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
Syndicates | National Public Radio |
Hosted by | Fiona Ritchie |
Created by | Fiona Ritchie |
Produced by | Fiona Ritchie |
Recording studio | Perthshire, Scotland and Charlotte, North Carolina [1] |
Original release | 1981 – present |
Audio format | Stereophonic |
Website | thistleradio.com |
Podcast | Podcast / RSS Feed |
The Thistle & Shamrock is a weekly American syndicated radio program, named after the national emblems of Scotland and Ireland, specializing in Celtic music. It is heard on 380 National Public Radio (NPR) stations, [2] and is available internationally on WorldSpace via NPR Worldwide; according to NPR, Thistle is the most listened-to Celtic music program in the world. [3] It has been produced and hosted by Scottish native Fiona Ritchie since its inception in 1981.
On June 28, 2024, NPR announced that the show's final broadcast will be on September 30, 2024. [4]
Thistle began at WFAE, a newly established NPR affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the time it went on the air in 1981, WFAE was licensed to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) and Ritchie was working as a volunteer, having returned there after spending a semester in 1980 there as a teaching assistant. [1] Being a new enterprise in need of programming, WFAE invited Ritchie to create a program of Celtic music. It originally aired only locally, but became popular enough that it was picked up nationally on June 4, 1983. [5]
Thistle features traditional music, the singer-songwriter genre, and the Celtic music contribution to world music. In-studio guests comment on the music and contribute exclusive content, including NPR's first mp3 music download and live festival recordings.
In the summer of 1990, Ritchie returned to Scotland where she continued to produce the program for NPR. [1] [5]
Although WFAE is no longer licensed to UNCC and has switched to a mostly news-talk format, the Charlotte station continued to carry Thistle as one of its few music programs for several years.
On September 30, 2024, Ritchie will discontinue the weekly series to devote time to other projects; she has not ruled out continuing to produce special programs after that. [6]
Ritchie has also produced several CD compilations of Celtic music, and authored a volume on Celtic music for the "NPR Curious Listener's Guide" book series, published in 2005. In 2006, Ritchie launched Thistlepod, a free podcast from NPR featuring new-releases from Celtic roots. In 2013, Ritchie launched Thistle Radio, featuring the classics of Celtic music. In May 2015, Thistle Radio moved from NPR to internet based radio station SomaFM.[ citation needed ] [7]
Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest.
WUNC is a listener-supported public radio station, serving the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. It is licensed to Chapel Hill and is operated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On weekdays, WUNC carries National Public Radio, American Public Media, Public Radio Exchange, and BBC programming in an "all-news-and-information" format, including shows such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Fresh Air. On weekends, in addition to NPR weekend shows, WUNC broadcasts locally produced folk music programming. The longest-running continuously produced program offered by the station is Back Porch Music, a weekly folk and traditional music program. WUNC holds periodic on-air fundraisers seeking listener contributions.
KNOW-FM is the flagship radio station of Minnesota Public Radio's news and information network. It is licensed to St. Paul and serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. The station is non-commercial and listener-supported. The studios are in the MPR Broadcast Center on Cedar Street in downtown St. Paul.
Fiona Karen Ritchie MBE is a Scottish radio broadcaster best known as the producer and host of The Thistle & Shamrock, an hour-long Celtic music program that airs weekly throughout the United States on National Public Radio (NPR). She also curates ThistleRadio, a 24/7 web-based music channel devoted to new and classic music from Celtic roots, and is co-author of The New York Times Best Seller Wayfaring Strangers.
WGTE-FM is a non-commercial, listener-supported, public radio station in Toledo, Ohio, and is the sister station of Channel 30 WGTE-TV, Toledo's PBS network affiliate. WGTE-FM features classical music and jazz along with news and talk. It is a member of National Public Radio and also carries programs from other public radio networks. The studios and offices are on South Detroit Avenue.
WFAE is a non-commercial public radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the main NPR news and information member in the Charlotte region. The station's main studios and offices are at One University Place in the University City neighborhood of northeast Charlotte. The WFAE Center for Community Engagement is located at 301 E. 7th Street in Uptown Charlotte, where live shows and other community gatherings are held.
WVPE is the National Public Radio member station for the Michiana region of northern Indiana and southwest Michigan. Licensed to Elkhart, Indiana, and owned by Elkhart Community Schools, it features programming from NPR, American Public Media and Public Radio Exchange.
WRJA-FM is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station licensed to Sumter, South Carolina, that covers both Columbia and Florence, South Carolina. It is the flagship station of the statewide "News and Talk Network" from South Carolina Public Radio (SCPR) and is a member of National Public Radio (NPR). WRJA-FM's offices and studios are on George Rogers Boulevard in Columbia.
Colorado Public Radio (CPR) is a public radio state network based in Denver, Colorado that broadcasts three services: news, classical music and Indie 102.3, which plays adult album alternative music. CPR airs its programming on 15 full-power stations, augmented by 17 translators. Their combined signal reaches 80 percent of Colorado. CPR also manages KRCC, the NPR member station in Colorado Springs, in partnership with the station's owner, Colorado College.
WFDD is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is the National Public Radio (NPR) network affiliate for the Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point media market, also called the Piedmont Triad. Owned by Wake Forest University, WFDD serves 32 counties in Central North Carolina and South-Central Virginia. It holds periodic fundraisers on the air and accepts donations on its website.
WNCW is a non-commercial public radio FM station licensed to serve Spindale, North Carolina. Owned by Isothermal Community College, the station broadcasts a varied format including Americana, folk, blues, jazz, reggae, Celtic, world, rock, bluegrass, indie, and National Public Radio News.
WHRV is a non-commercial, listener-supported, public radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia. It is the flagship NPR member station for the Hampton Roads section of Virginia, and is a sister station to the area's PBS member, WHRO-TV 15. They are owned by the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association, a consortium of 19 school districts in Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore. Studios are in the Public Telecommunications Center on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
WETS-FM is the National Public Radio member station for the Tri-Cities region of northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. It is a public radio station owned by East Tennessee State University. WETS receives a little over half of its funding from listener contributions. It also receives public funding from federal and government-funded university sources. It is licensed to Johnson City, Tennessee, with studios on the ETSU campus.
KSMU is a listener supported radio station broadcasting a Public Radio format. KSMU is licensed to Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, United States.
WNSC-FM is a National Public Radio station in Rock Hill, South Carolina. A member of South Carolina Public Radio, it carries programming from South Carolina Public Radio's all-news network.
WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of National Public Radio (NPR) and affiliate of Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and American Public Media (APM). The license-holder is WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns company flagship WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV, along with WGBY-TV in Springfield.
KSUT originally signed on as a non-commercial community radio station licensed to serve the community of Ignacio, Colorado. The station has since expanded to two distinct formats, Four Corners Public Radio, with a public radio format of NPR and music programming, and Southern Ute Tribal Radio, which airs Native American music and news. While the stations have different legal call letters, both stations still refer to themselves on-air, online, and in marketing as KSUT. The stations are owned by KSUT Public Radio, a non-profit corporation, and licensed to KUTE, Inc.
NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music discovery. NPR Music offers current and archival podcasts, live concert webcasts, reviews, music lists, news, studio sessions, and interviews to listen to from NPR and partner public radio stations across the country, as well as an index of public radio music stations streaming live on the Internet. There have been two blogs: "Monitor Mix" by Sleater-Kinney musician Carrie Brownstein and the All Songs Considered Blog by Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton.
National Public Radio is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national syndicator to a network of more than 1,000 public radio stations in the United States. It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations, such as the Associated Press, in that it was established by an act of Congress.
South Carolina Public Radio (SCPR) is the National Public Radio member network serving the state of South Carolina. It is licensed to the South Carolina Educational Television Commission, an agency of South Carolina state government. It is a sister network to South Carolina Educational Television.
{{cite web}}
: Check |url=
value (help)