Poetry Shapes Us

 

While Burns loved the lassies, his legacy is much deeper and more wide-ranging poetically than his love life. Some of his songs are so familiar, perhaps we can overlook his literary significance – both of his time and of ours.  The musicality of his song writing and poems, is unmatched and many famous poets and songsmiths name Burns as a favourite writer– from Bob Dylan to Wordsworth. 

In his short life he touched hearts, wrote of the worth of man (and woman), respect for the natural world, of freedom fighters, and he was a man o independent mind. 

 

“Poetry hold s mirror to a nations heart and soul. “ Jackie Key

“Its the language of being human” 

 

 *Famous Scots Poems 20^th century 

 

Memo for Spring - Liz Lochead

Drunk man looks at a Thistle – Hugh MacDiarmid

In my Country – Jackie Kay

A Man in Assynt – Norman McCaig

 

Gaelic Song

A rare beauty, or the big sky of Lewis. 

Gaelic poems were songs, tunes and words intertwined. The connections to place.

  

Norman McCaig

“Who owns this landscape – has it anything to do with love? Even the dead are part of it. Land is a character…Landscape is my religion, I feel at home. My substitute for religion and politics.“

 

Drunk man looks at a thistle – Hugh MacDiarmid – Where extremes meet

His poem, revolutionized Scots poetry ’to be yoursell” 

“He showed us that small nations are better than large ones, and the possibility of a new Scotland.” Alan Riach. “A revolutionary vision of what society can be. To rethink the Burns cult for a multi-faceted identity. Language matters.”

 

CELTIC CONNECTIONS REVIEW 2025

Loudon Wainwright III

Julie Fowlis

Celtic Connections 2025 closed on a high note, presenting the world’s best trad, folk, world and roots music to Glasgow each winter. The 32nd edition of Scotland’s premier winter music festival reached attendances of 110,000, 125 sold out shows across 18 days. (Despite rescheduled events, the festival made a triumphant return after Storm Éowyn  to match 2023 festival attendance figures.)  For three weeks, Glasgow – a UNESCO City of Music – reflected the richness of Celtic traditions and demonstrated the power of global cultural exchange and innovation. From a spectacular birthday celebration to mark Glasgow 850 for the festival’s Opening Concert, to 300 community choir singers joining Karine Polwart on stage for an emotion-fuelled show. 

1,500 musicians from 40 nationalities took part in 300 events in 24 venues, celebrating the unifying power of live music and vibrancy of Scotland’s cultural scene. Over 7,000 pupils travelled to Glasgow Concert Hall for the festival’s Schools Concerts and music workshops were delivered to every primary 7 pupil across Glasgow. 900 people of all ages took part in ceilidhs and family events, and 1,500 took part in music and song workshops.

Lake Street Dive

Concerts such as Transatlantic Sessions proves the size of the audience for this kind of traditional, acoustic music. Celtic Connections music festival has taken the closed off live local pub sessions on to the bigger stage. And also taken Celtic music forward, while respecting the traditions. In particular certain folk musicians aim to keep carrying the stream. 

 

*Highlight concerts for me included - Dialogues Su a Lee, with Donald Shaw, Duncan Chisholm and Hamish Napier. Su a Lee celebrated her many collaborations. This wasn’t a concert about Lee’s classical musical roots (vie Julliard school) but about her journey through Scottish trad folk journeys and through it’s innovative new directions. 

 

Blue Rose Code gave an assured performance at the Pavilion with his emotive, soulful songs and backed by his accomplished band.  Lake street Dive from Boston at the Old Fruitmarket venue, got everyone in party mood with their upbeat soul, good times vibes. The 30^th Transatlantic Sessions was led by impressive artists – Niall McCabe from Ireland, accomplished Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams from Tennessee, Loudon Wainwright III who commanded the concert hall stage with his gritty character and story telling songs, plus the wonderful Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis, with her latest album ‘Following the Thread.’ 

Another highlight was the diversity on display with the anticipation of the festival’s Opening Concert – with notably Madison Cunningham, James Grant, Siobhan Miller and Oswali Project. While I might have wished to hear from some of Glasgow’s outstanding poets.  

There is always also an accomplished international flavour at the festival. CC hosted q concert of a Palestinian/Scottish collaboration with Palestinian pipers. Unfortunately three pipers had their visas refused by the Home Office. Bethlehem Calling: An evening of stories, music and pipers from Palestine. Bethlehem Calling champions artists and young people from both nations to tell a vital story of our time; sharing the experiences of girls in Bethlehem during the 2nd Intifada (2000-05) alongside to present-day testimony from students 20 years on. Performance integrated with music.

 Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams 

Niall McCabe

Duncan Chisholm

The program remained concert based, with enough to satisfy the broadest of tastes, whether it’s the Hebridean punk of Peat and Diesel at the Emirates Arena, the inspired Gaelic pipe and song collaboration Canntaireachd, at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (GRCH), country hero Lyle Lovett at the same venue, or KT Tunstall reprising her Eye to the Telescope album 20 years on at both the Concert Hall and the Barrowland Ballroom.

Sometimes (if not often) culture leads the way for new visions. And new collaborations of how to view the world today and how our futures might be. Celtic Connections shines a light on this vision, after all music is the universal language.    CELTIC CONNECTIONS - https://www.celticconnections.com

Keeping the Celtic Traditions Alive! 

Sixty years ago the folk revival followed on from the Scottish Cultural Renaissance from Montrose in the 1930s – with figures such a Hugh MacDiarmid, Edwin Muir, William Soutar, Edwin Morgan, Neil Gunn, Eric Linklater, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Willa Muir, Nan Shepherd, Catherine Carswell, George Blake, Iain Chrichton Smith, Sorley MacLean, 

Later 1960s poets, writers, song smiths, song collectors, such as Hamish Henderson, Margaret Bennet, Dick Gaughan. Just as poets – Allan Ramsey, Robert Fergusson, Robert Burns - wrote to keep the Scots language, culture, ballads and heritage alive, in 1700s after the union 1707 (and the suppressions of Scots musical instruments and highland dress after Culloden)

 

Celtic Connections music festival has brought folk music (and indie, world, roots, Americana) onto the bigger stage. Back in the 70s I had little idea when I attended Sandy Bells bar Edinburgh, and folk festivals – that there was a revival happening. I feel so fortunate to have enjoyed this experiences of the wonderful live music. So odd looking back.  

 

Today there are Celtic musicians keeping Scotland’s musical traditions alive such as – Julie Fowlis, Kris Drever, Karine Polwart, Manran, Braebach, Duncan Chisholm, Ross Ainslie, Glasgow Trad Collective and many more. My impression is that many younger musicians are highly aware of the traditions. 

 

Sadly troubadours such as the folk legends Dick Gaughan, Rab Noakes, Michael Marra, Gerry Rafferty, are no longer with us or performing. I remember Noakes saying – ‘A present with no past has no future.’ Scotland has a centuries old tradition of believing in the rights of all people. From the clan system, Declaration of Arbroath, scholars such a George Buchanan, Enlightenment, and Robert Burns humanity. This matters for our views of the world. Music without any hinterland lacks substance, soul and depth. 

 

The voices of the ordinary folks. In 1960s Hamish Henderson wrote, ‘Freedom Come All Ye’

 

Transatlantic Sessions review classy concert review 2025

Always such a classy, sophisticated concert with the quality transatlantic band and top notch singers! Tonight celebrating their 30^th year! (since 1995). Transatlantic Sessions explores the musical connections between Scotland, Ireland and America. Tonight Ireland was represented by Niall McCabe and John Doyle. Scotland by Julie Fowlis, Aly Bain,Donald Shaw, John McCusker. James Mackintosh. America by Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Jerry Douglas, Daniel Kimbro, Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison de Groot. Transatlantic Sessions offers the familiar and the new and how music connects us. 

 

The show opened with Aly Bain’s ‘Federals’. Then Irish singer Niall McCabe impressed with an assured performance with his strong voice and songs, ‘Stonemason’ and ‘November Swell’. He sang a sublime version of his ‘Your Letter’, which invoked our Celtic bonds across the Atlantic, with only Shaw on piano and Douglas on lap steele.

 

Accomplished husband and wife duo, Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams from Tennessee, performed their love songs, such as ‘Did you ever love me at all and ‘That’s the way you make me feel.' Teresa and Larry were also on top form with their bluesy gospel song ‘Midnight Highway.’ Teresa was in a billowing eye-catching yellow shirt. Campbell played with Bob Dylan’s band for seven years, as well as many other notable musicians.

Niall McCabe

From the States, Loudon Wainwright III, certainly commanded the stage with his story-telling songs and gritty character. He was at his best with his ‘Swimming Song’, when Loudon impressed with the full band behind him, (fiddles, dubro, mandolin, guitar, piano, bass). He had everyone singing on his show stopper, the bard of Dundee Michael Marra’s ‘Hermless’. He later observed with his song “Things are weird right now - “No its not the end of the world as we know it, its just the middle of the night.”

A highlight was Scots Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis, who charms with her faster tempo music on ‘Domhnall Binn’, and also with her poignant lament of loss and longing ‘Ge fada ma Thriall (Catullus)’. With the song ‘Gradh Geal Mo Chrid’ from her new album ‘Looking for the Thread’ she held the audiences in a hushed silence, backed solely by Shaw’s piano and strings. She also played the pipes and whistle. Fowlis, from north Uist is one of the leading lights keeping the Celtic and Gaelic traditions alive. She literally sparkles on stage and brings class to any stage. After Culloden, highland instruments were banned but the Gaelic singing traditions were kept alive.

 

Loudon Wainwright III

From the band we were treated to fine tunes, from bluegrass to Shetland – ‘Stormy Point/ 'Far from Home'/ 'Bonnie isle of Whalsay'/ 'High Road to Linton.’ When each band member does a solo part. This accomplished band perform bluegrass, Americana, Scots and Irish folk tunes. The climatic finale featured Julie Fowlis with her song ‘Hug Air a Bhonaid Mhoir.’ After she joined the band on pipes, finishing with their usual set of rousing and uplifting tunes which always sets the audience on their feet. A toast to the excellent musical directors!

 

Transatlantic Sessions offers us both established and emerging singers – the perfect platform for the artist and the perfect house band. Concerts such as TS proves the size of the audience for this kind of traditional, acoustic music. Celtic Connections music festival has taken the closed off live local pub sessions on to the bigger stage. And also taken Celtic music forward, while respecting the traditions. In particular certain folk musicians aim to keep carrying the stream. 

Julie Fowlis

 

Review and Photos Pauline Keightley - https://pkimage.co.uk/

 

**ALBUMS – 

Julie Fowlis, Mary chapman Carpenter, karine polwart – Looking for the Thread.  

Niall McCabe – Rituals

Lake Street Dive Old Fruitmarket Celtic Connections 2025

 

This packed indie crowd were ready to party, and they were not disappointed. Lake Street Dive blend an original mix of Fleetwood mac harmonies and Stevie Wonder rhythms. An interesting mix. With good times tempo drawing on Americana and jazz-infused soul – from Tennessee blues to New York sophistications. 

The band brought their sunny danceable vibes to the atmospheric Old Fruitmarket as part of the Celtic Connections music festival Glasgow. They began with their set with the memorable 'Good Together', from their new album.

Favourite tracks include – ‘Making Do’, ‘Nobody’s Stopping you Now’, ‘Same old News’, ‘Hypotheticals.’ Along with a top cover of Shania Twain’s ‘You’re Still the One.’ Lead singer Rachel Price shone on stage with her expressive, captivating voice and her star presence.

They played their party songs such as ‘Party on the Roof’ and the joyous ‘Dance with a Stranger’ which had everyone dancing and singing along to their intoxicating, fun rhythms. The band used the stage and at one point grouped together for acoustic songs with a heartfelt ‘Twenty Five’ followed by a charged "Walking Uphill" showing the band’s ability for romantic story-telling. The band finished their upbeat set with the energetic rhythms of ‘Good Kisser’.

This top quality band mix character, powerful vocals, a strong soul rhythm section and melodic catchy songs. They offer both connection and celebration. Double bass player, Bridget Kearney, showed her talent for dynamic drama and backing harmonies. The band includes accomplished musicians with guitarist James Cornelison, keyboardist Akie Bermiss and drummer Mike Calabrese,

They claim influences from the Beatles to Motown. They are touring their 2024 album Good Together to celebrate their twenty years as a band. Lake Street Dive were formed in 2004 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. 

**They were well supported by the strong voice of Alisa Amador.