NEWS

Hello everyone! Well, it certainly feels like Spring is in the air: the birds are back, the bears are awake and Mr. Porcupine is up and at it…

A few bits of new news to share for the coming year. A concert for Mothers Day at Hugh’s Room on May 12, Abbey Gardens on August 11th looks to be an amazing day of music with Jason Fowler and Melanie, Dizzy and Fay, Drew Jurecka’s string quartet and of course, yours truly. Please visit my concert schedule to catch up on all the shows coming in May and August.

I have also been working with all these same musicians and with Mark Lalama on my newest recording. I have asked Maury to release a couple of the tracks as singles to give you a taste of what’s coming when it’s released in the fall.

I am also working on a new release with the best selection of my Symphony performances, from Nashville to Cincinnati to Vancouver to Boston, all with amazing symphonies. I am looking forward to releasing it mid to late summer.

For the Christmas tour this year I am partnering with the legendary guitarist Pavlo for a series of Christmas Concerts. They are now on my schedule and I am very excited at the opportunity to finally tour with my friend. We have talked about it for years and now it is finally happening. I will have some of my own solo shows as well and they too are now on the schedule. Looking forward to seeing you all over the summer and into the fall.

John

Join me for dinner, dessert and a rousing concert with me and my band at the lovely University Park Country Club this coming Monday February 26th.

For tickets contact mailto:janis@parkerpad.com or call 416 720 6415.

Captured in the grooves of this new LP vinyl record is a summary of my career to date in just 10 tracks. Using my first album Danny Boy as a guide, I’ll take you on a little trip through 30 years of some great (and often rarely heard) live and studio recordings that span all the many and varied eras of this musical calling of mine. This is a limited edition pressing with tracks that will never be released again. Order yours today.

SIDE A
By Yon Bonnie Banks (Loch Lomond) / with Florida Philharmonic / 1997
Danny Boy / with Cincinnati Pops Orchestra / 2002
The Last Rose of Summer / Toronto / 2004
Green Isle of Erin / Fenwick, ON / 2023
The Old House (a Capella) / Toronto / 2012

SIDE B
The Rose of Tralee / Fenwick, ON / 2019
I’ll Take you Home Again Kathleen / Fenwick, ON / 2023
The Minstrel Boy / Toronto / 2004
Auld Lang Syne / Toronto / 2017
Danny Boy / Fenwick, ON / 2022

Pre-ordering: We will take delivery of these LPs during the week of December 20th and we will start our shipments as soon as Canada Post can clear their Christmas backlog.

With 2022 nearly behind us I am looking forward to a great 2023, getting back on the road and touring with the band. It feels like we may be are over the worst but we must be prudent and look after ourselves. My live concert schedule continues to fill in, still  hoping for some festivals to fill in over the summer, and the fall tour is shaping up nicely for November and December 2023.

I want to thank all of you for your continued support. For staying with me and the band online and supporting us through our virtual concerts, on social media, and in person. Without your support it would have been a very tough road indeed – thank you.

I want to thank the members of my IT and social media team: Vera, Marc and Maury for making sure the website, YouTube and Facebook are up-to-date and growing, to ensure that the virtual concerts are edited and posted, and all our followers are kept up to date.

We have so many new things coming in the new year. If you have not joined yet, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. This year will be the 30th anniversary of my Danny Boy CD – the recording that launched my career and changed my life. We are planning a lot of interesting and fun things to commemorate and would love to have you be a part of it all.

If you haven’t seen it yet, we are putting together a series of “mug” shots – photos people take together with one of my new Danny Boy anniversary mugs. If you have one please take a photo of yourself with it and send it to us – we will post each one to our social media sites. 

Wishing each all of you a joyful, happy and healthy New Year. May this year be your best ever.

John, Jason, Mark, Drew, Sheila & Amanda

Join John, his band, and his special guests for a celebration of the holiday season. John will tell stories of Christmas’s past and perform a selection of his favourite yuletide music in this virtual concert special.

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My present to myself, after months of recording, fine tuning and worry, is my new album As the Sky Gives the Ocean.

I worked with producer Mark Lalama to take you on a journey of song, through a life well lived and the lessons that come with age. For me it’s as personal as it gets, musically glorious, and full of inspiration. I hope you’ll take from it all that we’ve given.

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John presents a lively (and hopeful) virtual concert of yuletide favourites along with spirit-filled performances by his special guests, including:

• Stage and screen’s Cynthia Dale
• Harmonious folk duo Dala
• High-energy stepdancers The Pilatzke Brothers
• Award-winning Irish harpist Laoise Kelly
• Singer and multi-instrumentalist Méabh Begley
• Singer/songwriter Shari Ulrich

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John is working on a new Christmas 2021 concert special…be sure to subscribe to get details when they arrive next week!

In honour of Remembrance Day 2021, join John and friends for a virtual concert of songs and stories in tribute to our Veterans and First Responders. 

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Here’s our celebration of Dads for Father’s Day 2021. 

Featuring some of the biggest names in Canadian Music: George Canyon, Johnny Reid, Gowan, Shari Ulrich all performing songs dedicated to the spirit of Fatherhood.

The program also features the pride of the Ottawa Valley, lively Step Dancers The Pilatzke Brothers, Button Accordionist Maebh Begley direct from the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, and of course, several favourites from John McDermott and his band. 

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A virtual Mother’s Day concert for 2021, featuring songs and stories from my ever-growing family of talented performers:

• Stepdancers The Pilatzke Brothers
• Folk duo, Dala (featuring Sheila Carabine)
• Irish Accordion Master, Breannddán Ó Beaglaoich
• Folk duo, Kennedy Road
• Harpist, Laoise Kelly
• Singer/Songwriter Shari Ulrich
• Songwriting legend, Mickey Macconnell
• Méabh Begley, button-accordion
• And introducing Dizzy and Fay

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Brighten your Easter this year with two albums of great inspirational music for one low price. These are songs special to my family with many chosen by my mother Hope.

Tickets available now.

Order now to join me for a virtual celebration of Irish music and verse with my friends from Canada and Ireland.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll be seeing (video).

My guests include: 
• Pipe master Davy Spillane
• Singer Méabh Begley 
• Stepdancers The Pilatzke Brothers
• Folk duo, Dala
• D’Arcy Broderick of the Irish Descendants 
• Country star, George Canyon 
• Songwriting legend, Mickey Macconnell 
• Cape Breton Fiddler, Rosie Mackenzie 
• Irish Accordion Master, Breannddán Ó Beaglaoich
• Uilleann Piper Jerry O’Sullivan
• Harpist and Irish Musician of the Year 2020, Laoise Kelly

My holiday concert tradition, but virtual for this strange year 2020. Also includes a digital download of Christmas Memories.

Click to see a sneak peek, or proceed to the order page:

Join me today for a virtual concert in honour of our Veterans, on this Remembrance Day 2020.

As a bonus to the concert, you will also receive a digital download of my album If Ye Break Faith

LEST WE FORGET / Remembrance Day 2020 Virtual Concert

He was a truly proud Canadian and loyal friend. I will miss our monthly get together.

Rest In Peace John

Watch the livestream video September 6th (online) of John and other great entertainers perform for this fundraiser and raffle with cash prizes. Click for more info and to register

The first time I heard the song “The Dutchman” it was a rendition by Tommy Makem. The song immediately drew me in and I wanted to know who the writer was. I soon discovered Michael Peter Smith, born in New Jersey and residing in Chicago, his songs and stories were as personal as you could get. He spoke and sang about life and he could make you feel he was talking about you. When he sang his warm and enveloping, soft and deep voice and his strong and gentle spirit came through. Somehow he managed to sing to an audience of hundreds and you felt like he was singing and speaking directly to you. He had this wonderful ability to lock eyes with all of us at once and touch our hearts with every word.

I soon became a Michael Peter Smith fan for life and asked him to tour with us. After touring with us five times in Canada and the U.S., I asked Michael if he would like to get together and make a recording. We would highlight him and his masterful songs and storytelling. He agreed. On February 11th, 2005 we performed a live show at the Glen Gould Studio in Toronto with some of the finest musicians in Canada. The evening was titled “Just Plain Folk with John McDermott and Michael Peter Smith” and the result was enough songs and stories for 2 CDs, the first of which was released in 2005 as Just Plain Folk.

I recall being in Chicago for a show and I called Michael to see if we could connect. I told him my musical director Jason Fowler was a big fan of his – placed him in the same ranks as Steve Goodman and John Prine – and would he be able to meet us for a few minutes. He most graciously did and when he arrived of course he had his guitar with him. We had a wonderful visit and Jason in passing asked him about a song the “Wonderful World Of Sex”. Michael explained how he would get together with Steve Goodman every time Steve came through town and they would write together. He then played the song and followed it up with a mesmerizing piece on life’s changes called “ZIPPY”. He had such a sharp and witty mind and we were blessed to have had that time with him.

On August 3rd at 4:00 p.m. Michael passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends. His impact on my life and career is immeasurable and I will be forever in his debt for the lessons he taught me. I will miss him very much and will keep him with me in my music and life.

In tribute I am putting two of the tracks from Just Plain Folk up for a free download on my website today, so you too can sample his genius.

Download

RIP my good friend. Your light will never be extinguished, for you shine on in so many of us.

– John