Venues, Glasgow Music

Glasgow Hydro audience

Glasgow named as City of Music

 

Glasgow is a vibrant and exciting city of music, with the diversity and range of music venues. It has a slightly wild, irreverent and challenging side. Many musicians also say Glasgow audiences are the best!

 

From the concert hall to the modern 14K seater Hydro; iconic mid-size venues and the large number of small venues. World renowned venues include – the Barrowlands, King Tuts, Oran Mor and the Old Fruitmarket. These venues offer a close up and intimate live music experience.

 

There is also the unusual and historic venues – the Tall Ship, on the Clyde, the Macintosh church, Nice n Sleazys, St Lukes, Brel. All this matters in terms of building a healthy and active grassroots music scene for the future. Plus a number of busy folk clubs, jazz bars and more.

 

The Arts and music is a huge industry for the UK and for Scotland. 

 

Glasgow boasts lively Trad sessions, decades of history, iconic venues, intimate gigs,

 

 Outstanding festivals, passionate audiences, record shops, 

 

 

Mary Chapman Carpenter and Friends

Del Imitri Hydro

MY MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY

Over the past years I’ve been to many memorable concerts and taken photos of my musical heroes. I saw my music and lyrics hero Bob Dylan on the Braehead arena - I have to assume he found the large SECC arena impersonal and remote for his previous gig here. I went with my teenage son and his audience is certainly a broad church – from the dedicated disciples who go every concert to the curious. At 70 Dylan is a proliferate as ever with a new album release in 2020, with his stunning, immersive songs.

 

Another icon was Paul Simon, Clyde Auditorium, which was uplifting and joyous. Plus Fleetwood Mac, Elton john, Neil Young. Paul McCartney.

 

On the smaller stages – Arcade Fire, Barrowlands, Admiral Fallow, King Tuts, Hiam, swg6, 

Oran Mor, Emeli Sande. Karine Polwart, Tall ship.

 

I’ve seen other folk heroes at both Celtic Connections and Milngavie folk club - notably the legends Dick Gaughan. Dougie Maclean, Rab Noakes, Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis. And Blue Rose Code (Ross Wilson) was another favourite.

 

Plus the excitement of taking photos at the Royal Albert hall London for Emeli Sande!  2012. I’ve taken photos at many top class gigs – its often been a thrill and an honour with the buzz of the pit and the adrenalin rush to try to capture the right image, that not only tells the story but the artist expressing their innermost reflections..

Music photography expresses my passion of both art and music.

King Tuts famous steps!

Scotland’s Lost Mandates

 

Quebec often comes up, even the newly formed UK Supreme court compared our ancient Scottish nation to the Canadian state. 

 

If you look up ‘secession’ – it takes many forms – from quietly agreed separations or federal governance to fierce tribal warfare, for example in Africa. So following on from the keenness to compare Scotland to the state of Quebec, (rather than other small northern nations such as Iceland or Finland). Its interesting to note that after Quebec’s independence referendum, Canada’s agreed to more self determination for Quebec. 

 

Unlike the British state or UK, which immediately turned to English votes for English laws and Brexit, - and to restricting Scotland’s self determination even more. So the British state attempted to pull even tighter! – leading to all the “stresses and strains across the UK, (and calls of reform, which are akin to a parent refusing to allow their fifteen year old to grow up!)

 

Looking back to the calls for both Scotland’s and Ireland’s home rule before the great war 1914-1918 – the British state across the 1900s became ever more centralised. This has held the UK back, no longer able to exploit its lost empire – most of the wealth has been held in the south east while the rest of the UK declines. This is not a successful formula.

Of course ‘Scottish secession’, as a threat to the British state, will be keenly on MI5s radar.

 

For centuries the British state has run itself as the centre of a world empire, which collapsed 1950s after the second world war. But the UK continues to run the economy based on this out-dated financial model, when It switched to laundering dirty money instead (Butler to the World, Oliver Bullough)

 

Another word ‘nationalism’ also had many different meanings – from right sing populist nationalism across Europe to Scotland’s uniquely inclusive, outward civic nationalism. In fact Scotland’s nationalism is uniquely so. As leading political theorist Tom Nairn writes – nationalism is both good and bad. Nairn writes of how Scotland alone moved to a modern state 1700s after the union. Scotland therefore missed out on the rise of nationalism across Europe in the 1800s.

 

On Newsnight  31^st March, an American talked of how many of these European right wing parties have the same traits – anti-vaccines, anti-scientists, anti-climate crisis, and pro Putin. He asked, are they really nationalist?

 

Nicola Sturgeon, was she too managerial? The SNP had large mandates, with 56 of the 59 Scottish MPs in 2015..why was this not enough – what more of a mandate is required? We really must wonder, did she get bogged down in detail rather than seeing the bigger picture? 

 

Why was Sturgeon’s name dragged through the mud for over three years with the investigation of SNP funds of £600,000, when there appears to be no investigations of Westminster MPs over the billions wasted on fake PPE during Covid? Herald journalist Ian MacWhirter wonders why the two biggest political figures of Scotland’s 25 years of devolution have ended their political careers mired in police investigations – and that Scottish politics is far too intertwined with the justice system. 

 

But surely the Big Debate across the UK is between a centralized state and a more federal one? If we compare to say Spain or other European nations, in Spain each state collects their own taxes. And Quebec collects its own taxes and VAT, immigration policies, laws, trade etc. etc. 

The happiest and most successful countries are those based on fairness of opportunities: where private schools have been abolished and there’s not a two tier system – that is the small nation of Finland. 

 

“Economic Growth”, the favourite slogan of Starmer’s Labour, is not the successful formula for a happy nation. Would federalism work here UK, with so much power centralised in Westminster? Probably not. The debate is therefore between – where does sovereignty lie – with Westminster or the people?

 

Keeping the Celtic Traditions Alive

 

A decade ago I spent a few days in Montrose. My partner said there’s not a lot to do here. I went a walk to the library and to my surprise discovered that Montrose had been the centre of a Scottish Renaissance in the 1930s, led by the poet Hugh MacDiarmid. 

Nearly a century ago there was the Scottish Cultural Renaissance from Montrose – with figures such as poets Hugh MacDiarmid, Willaim Soutar, Edwin and Willa Muir, Plus novelists Neil Gunn, Lewis Grassic Gibbons, Catherine Carswell, Nan shepherd, Sorely Maclean, Iain Crichton Smith, RB Cunningham Graham, George Douglas Brown.

RB Cunningham Graham

Later in the 1960s there was the Scottish Folk Revival -  with poets, musicians and song collectors such as Hamish Henderson, Margaret Bennet, and Dick Gaughan - who worked to keep the Scots traditions alive.... Just as poets back in the 1700s – Allan Ramsey, Robert Fergusson, Robert Burns - wrote to keep the Scots language, culture, ballads and heritage alive after the union 1707 (and the suppressions of Scots musical instruments and highland dress after Culloden)

Twisted Pine

Julie Fowlis

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, Capercaillie, 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 and 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. 

 

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

 

Rab Noakes & Barbara Dickson

The Importance of Culture on our Lives and Keeping the Traditions Alive - Some might wonder, does all this matter, in a globalized world of mono culture, online social network algorithms, fast food outlets global chain stores, and even one track politics of click bait conspiracy theories and right wing closed off thinking. As empty rhetoric sweeps through online media – and its more important than ever before to retain our diversity, freedom of thought, to study our sense of place, culture and history. For diverse, informed thinking. Have we lost the craft of informed debates? 

 

I agree with George Kerevan in the National newspaper about the significance of culture over live, in his article, ‘Do not lose sight of the Scotland that we are all fighting for’. 

I believe people vote with their hearts not their heads. Then again there’s Bill Clintons quote, it’s the economy stupid. At least we’re persuaded by the press that we vote with our back pockets. The trouble is there’s not much to choose between the political parties right now – except the British ones are aim to protect the status quo that has been failing Scotland for decades. 

(I was sorry to read it was Kerevan’s last weekly column and hope he continues to contribute. I’ve enjoyed reading his articles in the national. The National has been one of the biggest positives to come our of the 2014 referendum.)

 

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. 

 

In 1922 Lenin expelled the free thinkers, artists, poets on the Philosophy steamer from Russia. He was afraid of their creativity. The one thing free thinkers believe in is ‘uncertainty. ‘In the world of science or philosophy, nothing can be  proved totally, the only thing that is certain is that things change. (The Philosophy Steamer, Lesley Chamberlain)

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. 

People remember best the songs, books, art and film that moved them or touched our hearts and not political leaders. Only a few politicians are even remembered. And often not in a good way!

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’

 

Su-a Lee: Dialogues at Mackintosh church Celtic Connections 2025

 

What a glorious setting for her rich, glowing tones and the depth of character on Su a Lee’s cello! The concert explored Lee’s astute journey of her compelling musicianship and celebrating her collaboration work with Duncan Chisholm, one of Scotland's most revered fiddlers, celebrated multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer Donald Shaw, and husband and composer Hamish Napier. The cream of Celtic musicians Lee’s work ranges from classical, experimental and folk traditions.

The Concert

Lee explored her years playing the rhythmic drive of Scottish traditional music within the landscapes of classical music. She performed tracks from her album Dialogues 2023, including mostly original compositions. She was accompanied by pianists Hamish Napier and Donald Shaw and violinist Duncan Chisholm. (Shaw is also Celtic Connections festival director since 2006). 

Tonight rather than the fiddle or voice centre stage, it was the deep tones and dynamic range of the cello. Lee began with a poignant cello solo of Burns ‘Ae fond Kiss’, followed by the emotive drama of Donald Shaw’s Baroque suite, with three dance forms and a slow air – ‘Baroque March Mull’, ‘Cathedral of Trees’, ‘Malpica’ ‘Ocean Poem’. As well as performing Shaw’s renowned music ‘Islands on the Edge’.

“Shaw’s tunes are all bangers” she exclaimed! Her welcome and informed chat between sets added a personal note. With violin and cello, we were treated to Chisholm’s poignant slow airs ‘Prince Charlie’s Last View’ and ‘Precious Place’. Also Phil Cunningham’s ‘The Wedding Celebration’. Hamish Napier’s joyful strathspeys and reels on piano, flute and cello, with ‘John Stephens of Chance In’ and ‘Windsong’. 
All four musicians performed a moving Gaelic song ‘Mo Rùn Geal Òg’, (sung by Julie Fowlis on the album). They finished this lovely concert with the energy of upbeat tunes such as ‘The Wound and the Gift’.

Su a Lee celebrates her many collaborations. This wasn’t a concert about Lee’s classical music roots (via the New York’s Julliard school) but about her journey through Scottish musical traditions and it’s innovative new directions. The cello is the original Scottish folk rhythm section, long before guitar or piano and is now enjoying a revival through artists like Su-a Lee. The leading fiddle players of their day, Neil Gow and Peter Milne, had cellists that toured with them. Lee is a lead cellist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 

The Album:  Her album Dialogues (2023) is about her musical connections from this expressive musician, with her accomplished fellow musicians. While Lee has played on many albums over her thirty year career, this is her first solo album of 15 compositions. Dialogues is both grounded in traditions and new compositions: exploring Scottish traditional music from reels and strathspeys, slow ballads and Gaelic song ending with the solo setting of her Burns Ae Fond Kiss. 

"As much as this album is about finding my own voice and a voice for Scottish folk cello, it is also about the interaction of two voices…..Welcome to our dialogue." Su-a Lee

(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. Her work ranges from classical, experimental, folk traditional. 

Su-a Lee is a cellist born is Seoul, South Korea and resident in Scotland. She is known for her wide-ranging collaborations across classical, contemporary, jazz and Scottish traditional music. Through her prolific career as lead cellist in groups like the Scottish Chamber Orchestra & Mr McFall’s Chamber Su-a has constantly explored the role of the cello in folk & world traditions.

Hamish Napier is a folk musician, composer and tutor who taught Stagecraft on the Trad Music degree course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for many years; Merryn Glover is a writer, workshop leader and storyteller, with a teaching degree in English, drama & dance.

Duncan Chisholm is a Scottish fiddle player and composer. He has released seven solo albums as a solo artist. His studio album, Affric 2012, was longlisted for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award. In 2022, he released a seventh studio album, titled Black Cuillin. He tours with the Scottish Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis band. He is also a founder member of the folk rock group Wolfstone, He played fiddle for Runrig. .

 

Donald Shaw,  is a Scottish award winning musician, composer, producer, and one of the founding members of Capercaillie Shaw has composed for film and TV. In 2004, he composed Harvest, a commission for the opening night of Celtic Connections festival. He won the Scots Trad Music Composer of the Year award in December 2006.

CC Mackintosh Church Setlist

1.  Ae Fond Kiss 


2.  Baroque Suite
(i) Baroque March Mull (ii) Cathedral of Trees (iii) Malpica
 (iv) Ocean Poem 


3.  EbytheC 


4.  F Strathspey Set
(i) John Stephen of Chance In (ii) Windsong 


5.  Duncan Slow Airs
i) Prince Charlie’s Last View (ii) Precious Place 


6.  Water Set
(i) The Dance 
(ii) Waltz of the Grey River (iii) Corryvreckan 


7.  Bach Bourrées 


8.  Mo Rùn Geal Òg Instr 


9.   Donald’s Set 
(i) Madame Lulu
(ii) Islands on the Edge 


10. Hamish Tune Set 

(i) Bagh Seannabhad (ii) Speyside Line 

11. Paths Finale Set 

(i) Phillippa’s Tune (ii) Josianne
(iii) Speyside Way (iv) The Deer Path 

Encore The Wound and the Gift   62 mins   6 mins applause 

Su-a, Duncan, Donald, Hamish