Image: Clachnessie Beach (by Gordon Ritchie Bon Accord Camera Club)
THE THISTLE & SHAMROCK - HIGHLIGHTS 1981-2024
Around 30,000 music tracks shared, 400 guest musicians, 200 live performances, and 70 towns and cities visited across the U.S. ~ all from one radio show! Here are highlights from the journey.
Oct 1981 - First broadcast of Celtic music hosted by Fiona on WFAE-FM Charlotte, NC.
Dec 1981 - Scottish folk artist Alan Reid is Fiona’s first radio interviewee. Recorded in Kirkintilloch, Scotland on borrowed vintage equipment, it is barely of broadcast quality!
Jan 1982 - A new show, named The Thistle & Shamrock, launches weekly on WFAE.
March 1982 - Scottish folk group Battlefield Band performs live in Charlotte, the first of many acoustic music concerts Fiona will present and record for broadcast.
Reunited in 2017: Fiona with Nick Nash who launched Thistle on the airwaves in 1983.
June 4th 1983 - The Thistle & Shamrock debuts nationally on public radio stations via the new network, American Public Radio.
1987 and 1988 - Public radio listeners travel with Fiona on tours to Scotland.
1989 and 1990 - 22 cities across the U.S. welcome The Thistle & Shamrock Concert Tour, featuring live performances and broadcasts with Dougie MacLean and other artists.
1990 - NPR becomes distributor of The Thistle & Shamrock, Margaret Kennedy joins the team in Charlotte, and Fiona moves the show’s production home to Scotland from NC.
1990s - Fiona co-anchors NPR's American Routes 4th of July live performance broadcasts, and also presents the Washington, DC Irish Music Festivals at Wolftrap.
1993 - Fiona launches world music series Celtic Connections on BBC Radio Scotland.
1993 - Irish music legends The Chieftains travel to Washington DC to celebrate 10 years of The Thistle & Shamrock at the Public Radio Conference.
1993 - The Thistle & Shamrock marks 10 years on radio by giving away a trip to Scotland.
1994 - The Thistle & Shamrock partners Irish label Tara Records to air U.S premiere of an orchestral work, The Brendan Voyage by Shaun Davey, from the NY Festival of the Arts.
1994 - Fiona broadcasts live on BBC Scotland from the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall at the very first Celtic Connections, now Europe’s largest roots music festival.
1995-96 - Fiona explores transatlantic music links in Bluegrass Comes Home and other shows for BBC Radio 2, the most popular radio station in the U.K.
1997 - Launch of Fiona Ritchie Radio Archive at Scottish Heritage Center, Laurinburg NC.
1997 - Fiona presents the inaugural Celtic Fest Chicago in Grant Park.
1999 - Fiona is awarded the honorary degree of DHumLitt by St. Andrews (NC) University.
2000 - The Swannanoa Gathering presents its “Master Music Maker” lifetime achievement award to Fiona.
2003 - Marking the 20th anniversary of The Thistle & Shamrock, NPR offers its first mp3 music download, produced by Fiona and Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean.
2003 - While Fiona presents live radio shows on stage at its Folklife Festival, The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage honors her for "creating an on-air community, serving as a musical ambassador, and connecting listeners with the best of traditional and contemporary artistry.”
2005 - Fiona authors a Celtic music volume of the NPR Curious Listener’s Guide series.
2006 - ThistlePod launches as an early NPR Music podcast, running until the weekly radio programs become available to stream at NPR Music.
2008 - ‘Mother of Folk’ Jean Ritchie joins Fiona at the Swannanoa Gathering’s inaugural Traditional Song Week for an interview and performance. The broadcast launches over a decade of live recordings for Thistle with many artists at the Swannanoa Gathering.
2011 - The Thistle & Shamrock gives away another trip to Scotland to a pair of lucky public radio listeners.
2011 - American folk music legend Pete Seeger joins Fiona to reflect on his long career. The show wins more awards for The Thistle & Shamrock at the New York Festivals.
2012 - Music channel ThistleRadio begins on NPR Music, now on SomaFM internet radio.
2014 - Publication of Wayfaring Strangers by Fiona and Doug Orr, with a Foreword by Dolly Parton. The book appears on two New York Times Best Seller lists.
2015 - At Buckingham Palace Fiona is appointed MBE having been named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for Services to Broadcasting and Traditional Scottish Music.
2016 - Named for the influential folklorist, poet, songwriter, and scholar, the Hamish Henderson Award for Services to Traditional Music is presented to Fiona.
2016 - In two special shows, The Thistle & Shamrock collaborates with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to mark the Center’s 40th Anniversary.
2017 - The Online Radio Awards names SomaFM’s ThistleRadio channel Best Music Show: Country/Folk/Blues.
2018 - Folk Alliance International inducts Fiona into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame.
2018 - Peggy Seeger, folk singer and writer, performs at the first Birnam Book Festival, co-founded by Fiona. The concert is recorded for broadcast on The Thistle & Shamrock.
2019 - The Thistle & Shamrock is partner to Carnegie Hall’s citywide festival “Migrations: The Making of America”, and features Chris Thile and Karine Polwart from the festival.
2021 - Fiona completes four decades on radio and the 2000th edition of Thistle.
June 2024 - The Thistle & Shamrock marks 41 years of weekly national broadcasts.