Sad news...

Greetings!  First, apologies for not posting sooner, but there have been things going on that we have been waiting to see how they were going to shake out before saying anything...

Most of you know the band does annual Christmas shows around Central NY. We actually had the dates on the website calendar and were going to begin announcing them, when John received some disturbing news following a routine gastric endoscopy.  During the procedure they noticed abnormal cells and (I believe at that time) did a biopsy which confirmed esophageal cancer.

As a result, we have cancelled this year's Christmas shows, as John will be seeking treatment in Boston. The good news is, they caught it early, and we are operating under the expectation that he will make a full recovery. That said, we would ask you all to send prayers, healing thoughts, and all kinds of good energy his way to speed the process along.  We will be sure and post updates as they become available, but John won't be going to Boston until the end of this month, so don't worry when you don't hear anything for a little bit.

Delaney Brothers fans, you are some of the most wonderful people we have ever met, and we appreciate each of you so much. While we won't be about and seeing you all this holiday season, we wish you and those you love a wonderful Thanksgiving and the merriest of Christmases.

Blessings on you all!

Good news for Delaney Brothers fans!

As most of you know, the band has been operating as a trio for the last several months after Luke Parsnow resigned as their guitar player.  Scott Corbett has filled in on some occasions, but tonight at the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church he announced to his hometown crowd that he is rejoining the band on a full-time basis! We couldn't be more pleased to have him back in the ranks.

Welcome home, Scott!

Christmas Time is Here....

Well, okay, not quite here, but we're getting close! Thanksgiving officially marks the beginning of the season, but I guess I'm in the mood early this year. Why is that, you ask? Because I just finished posting event notices on Facebook for the band's 2015 Christmas shows! These shows are always such a fun time, and we spread them out around the Central NY area to reach as many of you as possible! From Skanateles to Sauquoit, Mt. Pleasant to Marathon, and points in between, we have you covered! There is even a Sunday afternoon show scheduled at the Homer Center for the Arts. Great for young families, or anyone that doesn't like being out at night.

So check out the events page on our website (www.delaneybrothers.com) or the events schedule on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DelaneyBrothersBluegrass/) for all the dates and locations! We hope to see a lot of friends out there this season, and hope we can make some new friends as well!

And from Delaney Brothers, we would like to wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season!

Fran P

Band Changes

This journey of life is all about growing and evolving, never becoming too comfortable or complacent, lest we stagnate. So... here we grow again!

For the last year, Luke Parsnow has shared his amazing talent on guitar (and mandolin!) with Delaney fans, helping us transition through the difficult months following the loss of Brother Ray.

Sadly, Luke's time with the band has come to an end. Shortly after his college graduation this May, Luke did what so many graduates are struggling to accomplish these days - he became gainfully employed! We are all so happy for him that he was able to transition into his chosen field so quickly, even though we are sad to see him have to leave the band due to scheduling conflicts. (His new job requires him to work all weekends.) We wish him the best as his personal journey takes him in a different direction.

Delaney Brothers will keep on picking and entertaining their fans, have no doubt. While no permanent replacement has been selected, Scott Corbett has always been such a blessing to help out on guitar (he played with the band during Ray's illness), and he's stepping up again this weekend for a wedding we had scheduled. 

So even though the path ahead may not be totally clear yet, one thing is for sure - that Delaney sound you all know and love will live on!

Stay tuned for further developments!

And a New Year is about to begin...

It's hard to believe that 2014 is drawing to a close. It has been quite the year, not only for the band, but in our personal lives as well. Losing Brother Ray was a blow, but we know he's still watching over the band as we continue to feel his presence and his influence.

For the most part, we had a very light concert schedule this past year as the band dealt with their loss, and regrouped to position themselves to take on new challenges in 2015. They actually got a jump start on things with their expanded holiday season shows, which were a hit everywhere they played. Not only did they imprint their signature sound on several holiday favorites, both new and old, but they even drew in other members of the Delaney Clan to join the festivities. Sister Mary Ann teamed up with her brother John for a beautiful duet of "Mary Did You Know" at the Homer Center for the Arts on November 30th. We had hoped she would make it out for the other shows, but New Jersey is quite the commute.

The other "special guest" that took the stage with the band was John's granddaughter - Jonathan's daughter - Katrina. In a rousing rendition of "Deck the Halls," she added a beautiful flute solo that brings a smile to my face just remembering it. She's really quite the musician, carrying on the Delaney tradition. I'm sure we'll be hearing more from her in the future. :)

Looking ahead to the coming year, we are continuing to search out new venues in which to share our love of music. We have several shows booked already, and a handful more that we're waiting to hear back on. The band is desiring to get out more and mingle with their fans, and hopefully make some new friends as well.

We're also working to keep in touch with folks more through our Facebook page (you can click the image at the top of our blog to be redirected there) and our website, as well as this blog. Please feel free to comment here or on Facebook and let us know if there's somewhere you'd like to see us play, or just to say hi. We're also trying to expand our reach, so please feel free to share our Facebook page/posts with your friends and family.

I'd like to close with an Irish blessing for all our dear friends, wherever you may be:

May your joys be as deep as the oceans,
Your troubles as light as its foam,
And may you find sweet peace of mind
Wherever you may roam.

Have a blessed 2015!

Welcome to Holiday Season 2014!

We're really excited for this year's holiday season with the festive concerts we have planned! Our first show was Sunday (Nov. 30) at the Center for the Arts in Homer, NY. A good crowd came out to share the afternoon with us, and we had a great time. Sister Maryanne Delaney even came all the way from New Jersey to surprise the crowd by singing a beautiful duet with her brother John on the moving song, "Mary Did You Know." We're hoping the weather will hold and she'll be able to come back for the shows on December 13 and 14.

Be sure to check our website (www.delaneybrothers.com) for information on our other upcoming shows. We hope to see a lot of our friends out to join in the fun!

Giving Thanks

It seems to me every year the stores start getting ready for the Christmas rush earlier and earlier. First the sales got earlier... 6 am, then 5 am, then 4... and suddenly Black Friday got a kickoff on Thanksgiving Day. We've heard the "Christmas in July" slogan for a lot of years, but I think retailers are secretly hoping it will catch on. I mean, is it just me, or are the stores having really big sales before Black Friday this year, trying to jump start everyone into beginning the spending frenzy? Our armed forces couldn't even get their annual day of recognition without a flurry of Veteran's Day sales turning it into a goldmine for retailers.

All this to say I'm as guilty as anyone of getting caught up in the focus of the Christmas holidays and not giving Thanksgiving its proper due. (Although with all the snow and frigid temperatures we've had lately, it's not surprising!) Certainly I'll be celebrating with my family this Thursday, but I've been so focused on promoting the upcoming Christmas shows the band has scheduled that I sorta swung right into the Christmas hubbub and never took the time to celebrate this season with you all. So I'm hoping to rectify that in some small way by sharing the following perspective I've recently acquired. Very recently. Like... 15 minutes ago recently.

Giving Thanks. That's supposed to be the focus of Thanksgiving, right? I mean, the whole stuff-yourself-on-turkey-til-you-can't-move phenomenon is our way of celebrating the bounty we have to be thankful for. Or maybe donating time or money to organizations that feed the poor and homeless expresses our thanks for the abundance we have.

But do we take the time to really be thankful for everything in our lives? No, that wasn't a typo. I did say everything.

Sometimes (ok, a lot of times!) I get tied up in knots over the unpleasant things in life and forget how many blessings I truly have. This last year was especially challenging with the passing of Brother Ray - a man I loved and respected very much. So as I sat here in the early morning contemplating my schedule of this week's Thanksgiving Day preparations, I got that familiar ache in my heart when I looked back over the past year and realized what we've all lost. But wait, my story here has a happy ending!

In that moment of sadness, I suddenly realized that I can "give thanks in all things"! What needed to change was not my circumstances, but my perspective. Instead of trying to give thanks for what I lost when Ray left us, I can give thanks for what I gained. It suddenly occurred to me that I wouldn't trade a moment of the joy of knowing Ray (and John, Vicky, and the rest of the Delaney clan) in order to avoid the sadness the empty spot his leaving has caused. So instead, I will give thanks with a grateful heart that I was blessed to be one of the people whose life was forever altered by knowing this truly remarkable man. My desire is that I will be able to apply this lesson I've learned to other events in my life, and learn to live my life in an attitude of gratitude.

I hope that I haven't bored you with my rambling, and that you too will find many things to be grateful for this holiday season. Blessings on you all!

Fran Piccininni
aka "Nick's Mom"