Showing posts with label traditional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traditional. Show all posts

Wednesday 11 October 2023

Celtic Connections 2024 ANNOUNCED!


Tim O'Brien
Eddi Reader

CELTIC CONNECTIONS festival 2024  set for expansive programme of unmissable music!   Images copyright Pauline Keightley

World-renowned Glasgow festival Celtic Connections returns January 2024 with a full program and many international visitors – to brighten our winter nights!

Thursday 18 January to Sunday 4 February 2024

 

With one of its biggest-ever capacity festivals Celtic Connections is known as Europe’s premier folk, roots and world music festival, and the home of  spectacular musical collaborations. Celtic Connections has continued to expand into a multitude of genres over its 30-year history. 

 

In 2024 the festival will stage an ambitious  genre-defying programme of acoustic, traditional, indie, Americana, Jazz, blues, orchestral, experimental and more. Glasgow, UNESCO City of Music will host over 300 events across 25 venues  over 18 days.  Venues include Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Barrowland, Pavilion Theatre, Barony Hall, Old fruitmarket.  

 

From high-energy rhythms fusing contemporary sounds with traditional music, to intimate and soulful acoustic performances. Along with the anticipated 110,000 attendees, musicians will descend on Glasgow from Scotland, North America, West Africa, India, Australia, Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, France and Ireland, more!

General tickets on sale at 10am, Wednesday 11th October at www.celticconnections.comCeltic Connections 2024

Celtic Connections 2024 will take place from Thursday 18th January to Sunday 4th February. General tickets go on sale 10am, Wednesday 11th October 2023, with advance tickets on sale now for Celtic Rovers festival supporters. The programme can be viewed in full and tickets purchased at www.celticconnections.com.

Images copyright Pauline Keightley
Highlights include:- 

     Celtic Connections Opening Concert, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall stages the European premiere ATTENTION! New symphonic work from American Grammy winner Chris Thile - “the best mandolin player in the world” - with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

     100 years on since the death of Scottish iconic revolutionary socialist John MacLean, a centenary concert  to recognise the significance of the Red Clydeside era – with music, poetry on his legacy, will be led by Karine PolwartEddi ReaderBilly Bragg and Siobhan Miller

       Scotland burgeoning traditional music scene is celebrated with Dallahan, RANT, Breabach, Mec Lir, Heisk, Session A9 and The Canny Band alongside emerging artists like Beth Malcolm, TRIP, Lauren Collier, Tarran and Amy Laurenson

     Another special international collaboration Citadels of the Sun, in tandem with Jodhpur Rajasthan International Folk Festival, Irish and Rajasthani musicians come together Barony Hall to share common themes that connect the two cultures. The show will feature Martin Coyle, Paul Cutliffe, Sarah E Cullen, Asin Khan Langa and Sawai Khan Manganiyar

     A wealth of transatlantic talent at the 2024 festival includes country royalty with Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter Cash), 15-time Grammy Award winner and banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck, beloved singer-songwriter Bruce Hornsby, and festival favourites Sarah Jarosz, Teddy Thompson, The Milk Carton Kids, Tommy Emmanuel, Darlingside and bluegrass star Tim O’Brien,who with his seminal album The Crossing.

     50th anniversary of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra , with unique arrangements and guest performances from Scotland’s Paul Buchanan (The Blue Nile), American singer Aoife O’Donovan, visionary folk band Lau and harpist Maeve Gilchrist

      Beloved Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean will mark five decades of extraordinary music making with a special show entitled Songmaker 2024 - Celebrating 50 Years of Music

     Roddy Hart’s Roaming Roots Revue 12th year, Songs of Modern Scotland. modern classics along with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Symphony Orchestra, and Scottish talent Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble and Rod Jones, Del Amitri’s Justin Currie, Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne CampbellKing Creosote, and more

     Contemporary Scottish Celtic outfits with RURA and Talisk iconic Barrowlands; Skerryvore expansive sound, UK top 40 album TempusSkipinnish celebrate 25 years, renowned folk groups Blazin’ Fiddles celebrate 25th years, Kinnaris Quintet headline show Old Fruitmarket with Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart, and Skye’s Valtos celebrate Gaelic song SWG3

      Showcase Scotland - a part of the festival which facilitates international collaboration - will this year partner with the country of Norway to showcase Scandinavian talent, while other festival favourites including Transatlantic Sessions will return

Festival-goers can also look forward to the usual mix of screenings, workshops, dementia-friendly concerts, late night sessions and pop-up performances at the Festival Club, as well as a thriving education programme that will benefit thousands of children across Glasgow.

Donald Shaw, Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker, Tim O'Brien, John Doyle- Late Sessions
Donald Shaw, Creative Producer for Celtic Connections, said: “It’s that time of year where we lift the lid on the incredible shows and events we have in the works for Celtic Connections. Celebration and collaboration are at the heart of the festival and once again we will bring the world’s music to Glasgow audiences this winter. I’m very excited that our 2024 edition will welcome a huge portion of international talent back to our stages, particularly our transatlantic cousins in America, and that we will be back to staging one of our biggest ever capacity festivals. We would encourage audiences old and new with a love of music to discover all that this diverse programme has to offer and spend the dark winter nights with us.”

Creative Scotland Head of MusicAlan Morrison said: “The 2024 Celtic Connections programme puts Scotland at the heart of a musical map of the world. This is arguably the festival’s strongest-ever international line-up, opening our ears to the inspirational sounds of artists from so many different countries and cultures. Running through it all, of course, is Scotland’s own musical lifeblood, the traditional tunes and contemporary twists that continue to thrill audiences and brighten up our winter days and nights.”

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “I’m greatly looking forward to this year’s Celtic Connections and the warmth it always brings to the colder months with leading Scottish and international musicians across a variety of genres set to descend on Glasgow for what looks to be another fantastic showcase of talent. 

 

Friday 11 January 2019

CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2019!



Looking forward to Celtic Connections 2019!

Famous Names 2019 
Loudon Wainwirght III, Rhiannon Giddons, Graham Nash, Seth Lakeman, Judy Collins, Karen Matheson, composer Patrick Doyle,  Kathy Mattea, Eddi Reader, Blazin Fiddles, Cherish the Ladies, John Grant, Elephant Sessions, Aiden Moffat and RM Hubbert. 

Some of the great Scots writing – celebrating Hamish Henderson, John Martyn,
In this year of young people, the Opening Concert celebrates new talent and the passing of traditions between the generations and 15 years since Harvest 2004.
Other Concerts - 
Little books of Scottish folk songs and TMSA Young Trad tour, Strathclyde suite 26th Jan,
Blue Rose Code, Caledonian Soul, City halls.
Karine Polwart's Scottish Songbook – 2nd February 
McGonagall’s Chronicles at the Tron theatre. 
The Bards Tale – Concert hall
Kathleen MacInnis and amiina (from Iceland)
Julie Fowlis and Duncan Chisholm. 

'Grace and Danger' concert celebrating John Martyn.
A celebration of folk-blues singer-guitarist John Martyn’s Grace and Danger album with a special line up – Paul Weller, Lucy Rose, Eddi Reader, Ross Wilson, Rory, Butler, Eric Bibb, John Smith, Katie Spencer.


Scotland continues to have a diverse, vibrant and thriving live acoustic music scene, which I discovered in my twenties and is much more real than the music we are fed by mainstream radio. I want to discover my own music through a variety of means – reviews, folk clubs, festivals, more. Today online streaming doesn’t always have the albums I want to listen to.


Celtic Connections 2019 is premier 18 days major winter music festival, 
17thJan - 3rdFeb 2019, Glasgow
Over 20 venues, 300 events and 2,100 artists 
The festival will feature special event concerts, film screenings workshops, talks, theatre, ceilidhs, exhibitions, free events and late night sessions. Celtic Connections includes innovative collaborations while respecting past traditions and encourages new talent with late sessions, open mic and more. There is always such a fantastic buzz!


Tuesday 14 February 2017

Roots and Shoots Celtic Connections 2017


Scotland’s north east boasts a fine musical tradition.

At this Roots and Shoots concert at Celtic Connections 2017, musicians from the north east performed a highly entertaining evening of both traditional and new songs –  Old Blind Dogs, Rick Redbeard, Iona Fyfe, Jenny Sturgeon,

Indie folk starlet Best Girl Athlete, Jonny Hardie, Simon Gall, and hip-hop artists from the granite city of Aberdeen.
Best Girl Athlete    

Jenny Sturgeon
Iona Fyfe

Thursday 27 October 2016

Celtic Connections announces its 2017 program today!


CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2017, from 19th January - 5th February 2017
The programme for Celtic Connections 2017 was announced Thursday 27th October by its Artistic Director, Donald Shaw.

This year Celtic Connection will celebrate women musicians with many one off concerts.  The Opening Concert will star award winning folk singer songwriter Laura Marling performing the world premiere of orchestrations of her songs by Kate St. John with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Other women performing are - Roberta Sá, Olivia Newton John, Beth Neilson Chapman, Karine Polwart, and legendary singer Shirley Collins are among other highlights.

The festival also focuses this year on artists who have lived through personal hardships and found success and strength in music - such as world music star Aziza Brahim who grew up in an Algerian refugee camp. Stars of Americana & Bluegrass will also be at the festival - Margo Price, St Paul & the Broken Bones, Darlingside, Hurray for the Riff Raff, the Mark O’ Connor Band and Calexico.  And travelling further down the path to explore connections between Scotland and the deep south of America, Jon Cleary and Dirk Powell will celebrate the Louisiana sound, inspired by Booker Prize winning author James Kelman’s Dirt Road.

Billy Bragg and Joe Henry will perform classic railroad songs featured on their album Shine A Light which was recorded on a four day journey by train across America. 

The core of Celtic Connections is always Traditional and Folk music and this year is delighted to include the popular fiddle super bands – such as La Banda Europa led by Jim Sutherland, Unusual Suspects, Session A9, Dallahan, top piping project Tryst, Ireland’s Sharon Shannon and Four Men & A Dog, Gaelic rockers  Manran and Phil Cunningham’s Highlands & Islands suite. Also Shooglenifty and guests come together for A Night for Angus, paying tribute to their inspirational fiddle player Angus R.Grant who so sadly passed away this month.

(This will be my 10th year shooting at Celtic Connections Glasgow, I am pleased to say! Over the years I have attended some of the best concerts and taken some of my top portfolio images at Celtic Connections. I enjoy the buzz, the unique collaborations, the friendly banter, the top quality instruments and musicianship, the late sessions and the exciting young artists, the moving Gaelic songs and perfect singers, the fun and foot-tapping ceilidh bands at the Fruitmarket, the musians that come from many other countries. I meet so many interesting music fans, photographers and folk musicians there. so Big Thanks to the Celtic Connections team for all their hard work each January!) 
My extensive CELTIC CONNECTIONS PHOTO GALLERIES - http://pkimage.co.uk/celticconnections


The festival will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada with leading Canadian artists Martha Wainwright, Le Vent Du Nord, De Temps Antan and Russell deCarle. The 70th anniversary of the Partition of India will be marked with a premiere of leading world percussionists Trilok Gurtu & Evelyn Glennie and classical violin star Jayanthi Kumaresh.

Other artists appearing this year include - C Duncan, Pictish Trail, Fairport Convention, Liz Lochhead, Aidan Moffat, Seth Lakeman, Tom Paxton, King Creosote, Siobhan Miller, Orchestra Baobab, Robyn Stapleton, and Anna Meredith.

The festival will also host the important Showcase Scotland when musical directors and music promoters from around the world will attend performances by Scottish musicians. The concerts along with a trade fair provide invaluable opportunities for Scottish musicians to gain new worldwide opportunities thanks to this leading industry delegate event.  Plus Celtic Connections Education Programme when more than 11, 000 children across Scotland will take part in five concerts and workshops led by leading Celtic musicians. 

The Education Programme has reached more than 200,000 children across the country since it began in 1999.  Its work is supported by membership fees from the festival’s Celtic Rovers scheme – which gives discounts and exclusive experiences during Celtic Connections 2017.  The always popular programme of public workshops will give people of all ages and opportunities the chance during the festival to learn new musical skills and have fun too.
This year the festival includes The National Whisky Festival which will offer a wide range of whisky tastings and music hosted at the SWG3 venue, on Saturday 28 January 2017.

And to banish the winter chills the sunshine of Brazilian sounds the festival is pleased to celebrate Brazil as the partner country for 2017, with performances by some of the country’s leading artists including Hamilton De Holanda, Yamandu Costa and Renata Rosa – and Roberta Sá.

Donald Shaw, Artistic Director of Celtic Connections, said: “A breath-taking range of styles and traditions radiates throughout Celtic Connections 2017. Artists who have shaped the present day and artists who are re-defining music for the future will take to the stage. Artists whose lives and cultures could not be more different will come together to share their stories, passion and skill. “At the heart of it all is the simple life-affirming experience of being at a live music performance during a world leading festival. We can’t wait for Celtic Connections 2017 to begin.”

One hundred musicians from across the world will  take part in 300 events at venues in Glasgow, for one of the leading annual folk, world and roots festivals.  18 days of concerts, ceilidhs, talks, art exhibitions, workshops, free events, late night sessions and a host of special one-off musical collaborations will brighten up the winter evenings.   

TICKETS ON SALE NOW - http://www.celticconnections.com/


Supported by Glasgow City Council and Creative Scotland, and  promoted by Glasgow Life. 


Friday 10 July 2015

Peggy Seeger Oran Mor

The timeless story of songs and words

I enjoyed a gig last week at the Oran Mor Glasgow with the delicate clear voice of folk legend Peggy Seeger (wife of renowned folk  songwriter Ewan MacColl) She sparkled and shone at the age of 80 and took us into her world of music. She said that it is only music that uses all of our minds.

What a lovely classy, dedicated and informed lady!  She offered us some of her collection of stories she held in a large notebook – some were funny, some profound and some moving. Seeger is an accomplished musician and the daughter of folklorist Charles Seeger and her brother is the American folk singer songwriter Pete Seeger.

The Gig
Peggy played a full set with her two sons from 7.30 to 10, (there was no support) with a twenty minute interval. I was glad I wasn’t late!  I feel sure it must take careful thought to choose from a lifetime catalogue of traditional folk songs and stories to chose from. Peggy beamed and showered little pearls of wisdom. 

They began the set with the traditional folk song Hard Times. They sang of longings and of good times and the words, “The dark rolling sea between you and me, How I long for the days gone by.“ Neill and Callum sang Freight Train and also a couple of unaccompanied songs. 

She clearly enjoyed sharing the stage with her two sons with Neill and Callum, who provided lovely blended backing harmonies and guitar. They played some traditional folk instruments - autoharp, banjo, guitar, concertina and piano. Ewan and Callum sang Freight Train. and also a couple of unaccompanied songs. 

The family trio finished the set with the life-affirming Ewan song The Joy of Living. For their encore Peggy treated us to the real version of MacColl’s most famous song, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Folk artists sing with a realism and true heart and never over sing or over do the emotions. 

There are no pretensions or airs or graces around Peggy. She stood for several songs and for others she clutched her instruments. Occasionally she waved her hands and arms wide. Peggy beamed and showered little pearls of wisdom.  It was heartening to see Peggy still full of joie de vivre and ready to command the stage! At 80, not only is she wise and like the highest quality red wine, she is still challenging herself to be fresh and relevant. 

After Ewan died Peggy returned to America. She returned to the UK in 2010 and has recorded her first ever solo album which marks a musical rebirth after she suffered from serious ill health.

In 2015 Peggy released Everything Changes. She has said that she enjoyed greatly working with a full session band for the album, which was produced by her son Calum MacColl and features musicians Simon Edwards (Talk Talk, Kirsty MacColl), James Hallawell (The Waterboys, David Gray), Martyn Barker (Shriekback, Goldfrapp) and Kate St John (Dream Academy, Nick Drake). 

I was pleased with my photos and hope they tell the story of the gig - it is always a challenge and at a classy gig like this full of dedicated folk fans I don’t like to disturb the set and I always aim to be discreet.  I take photos either seated or at the side. This was a family affair with her sister-in-law managing the tour.

Women need to say STOP! 
One story from Peggy stood out – about an Amazon tribe where they considered the men tended to be destructive – they cut down trees for canoes, they killed animals for food and they fought wars. Wheras the women were the nurturers of the crops and the children. So they felt the women needed to tell the men when to stop. They would say STOP, we have enough canoes stop cutting down trees. They would say we have enough to eat, STOP killing animals. We don’t need any more wars STOP! When one of the tribe visited the western world she wondered why there were only male voices to be heard and why the women were not saying STOP.

Music is the healer and motivator.