25 September 2008:
Ah, the lack of posting here does not mean a lack of news... We added another little girl to the family in April. Welcome Nora!

On the music front, Ditt Ditt Darium appeared at the Uddevalla Folkmusic festival in August and will head out for another Swedish tour in November. Check the Calendar or Ditt Ditt Darium homepage for dates and details. Our CD release from last year, Ifrån främmande land, has been getting a lot of radio play in England and also a few really flattering reviews, quoted here and here.

The 2nd Sunday's Swedish Dance in Mt Airy started up again in September and for October we're looking forward to having Lena Jonsson, fiddler from Hälsingland in Sweden, play for us as well as teach tunes and dances. Please join us and sign up for e-mail announcements via our Google group, Philadelphia Swedish Dance.

15 December 2007:
I hope December is treating you well, with lots of music. Latest news around here is that Ditt Ditt Darium just released a new CD, Ifrån främmande land, at a concert in Stockholm. We are very excited about this long awaited debut on the Swedish label Svensk Musikproduktion, partly because it was a logistic challenge scheduling recording, mixing and release concert with three new moms and four touring musicians. But here it is! You can buy it from me directly (save you and me some money) or from CDbaby (save me some trips to the post office), where you can also listen to tracks from the CD. We got a lovely review already in Swedish Newspaper Dala-Demokraten, for those of you who would like to try your Swedish. Please check it out and get some for your holiday gifts!

We also just wrapped up the first season of 2nd Sunday's Swedish Dancing in Mt Airy and along with that, the Philadelphia Spelmanslag. It has been wonderful watching this new community grow and we will continue our gatherings in the New Year, starting with the dance on Jan 13th 2008 and a Spelmanslag gathering earlier that week. Hope to see you there!

3 October 2007:
Second Sunday's Swedish Dance in Philadelphia: I am thrilled to announce the start of a regular Swedish Dance event in Philadelphia! We are hoping this can grow into a healthy and fun community with people dancing and fiddling together every second Sunday in Mt Airy. Our first dance October 14th will present guest fiddler Joel Bremer from Sweden. Please spread the word and make the trip to get us off to a good start! More information can be found here.

12 September 2007:
Björnsdotter • Reid is heading for a 5th US tour next week. Check the calendar! Also, keep your eyes peeled because it looks like we will start up a regular Swedish dance event in Philadelphia in October 07. Finally!

16 July 2007:
Ah! Summer! Just back from Sweden and some nice fiddling and lake-dipping and it's time to head up to Ashokan and the wonderful fiddle and dance camp Northern Week! Miranda will come along this year also and will hopefully enjoy all the music, dance and attention. Emma and I are gearing up for another US-tour this fall and Ditt Ditt Darium are putting the finishing touches on the new CD, to be released November 2nd in Sweden. Jeremiah McLane and I are looking into some fall dates as well and I'm thrilled to get to play with him again. So, check out the calendar and.. keep checking!

18 February 2007:
Björnsdotter • Reid appeared on WFMU in a long interview with lots of time to play on Jan 27. You'll find it in the Transpacific Sound Paradise archives and our interview starts about an hour into the program. Our recent release 'Grovt och grant • Rough and Shiny' is now available at CDbaby, where you can also listen to tracks. Go check it out!

25 August 2006:
Björnsdotter • Reid will release their first CD collaboration 'Grovt och grant • Rough and Shiny' September 10th while on tour in the US north east. Order your copy here and check out our concert dates!

12 June 2006:
Björnsdotter • Reid is embarking on a CD recording project in June 2006. Our first duo album is due to be released on a US tour in September 2006. We'll keep you posted!

15 January 2006:
Latest news in the Abrams household: We had a baby!

Tova Miranda Abrams was born on December 5th 2005
She's healthy, happy and loves singing. Here are some shots of Miranda and our labrador Freya.

5 September 2005:
Ditt Ditt Darium - CD released September 2005!
Check out our latest CD release: From coast to coast. Order from Alicia or check out the Ditt Ditt Darium homepage for sound bites.

13 February 2005:
Swedish dancing in Philadelphia
Looks like we have to wait until the summer or fall to get this going - the CEC is too crowded this spring.
Background: We had our first, very well attended Swedish dance workshop back in January 2005. The crowd was eager for more! I am now working on finding a regular venue to host a monthly Swedish dance event. The idea is to start with a workshop - introducing a new dance or focusing on some aspect of Swedish dancing - and then conclude with some open dancing and social time. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn, improve and enjoy Swedish couple dancing and for musicians, to try the real thing: Play on the dance floor! All we need now is access to a good dance floor. If you are interested in hearing news about this, or know of a good place to host, e-mail me to sign up for the e-mailing list.