Citing the Arab Spring and the centenary of the birth of Woody Guthrie, Donald Shaw, the director of Celtic Connections promised a return to the poltical roots of much folk music for the 2012 festival.
Introducing the programme for the 19th year of the great winter music festival in Glasgow, now one of the most important gatherings of folk and traditional musicians in the world, Shaw said that "folk music has always been political" but argued that it had in some respects taken a wrong turning recently when it had, almost unconsciously, tried to become more popular and mainstream.
"It's good that it is going back to the ghetto and that people are using music to talk about right and wrong", he said, unveiling details of the programme at the festival's homebase, the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
Among the 300 events in 20 venues across Glasgow, one of the key concerts will be "The World Turned Upside Down", featuring Justin Currie, formerly of Del Amitri, and the Palestinian musician Kamilya Jubran. There will also be an extended version of the 40th anniversary concert for the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders.
Woody Guthrie's grand-daughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie will be in Glasgow in person, joined by a roster of top American musicians for a special tribute night. There will be also a stage show, Woody Sez, first seen in Europe at the Edinburgh Fringe a couple of years ago. And there will be a new songwriting competition, the Songs for Social Justice Awardm in honour of Alistari Hulet.
Among other artists being honoured will be Gerry Rafferty, almost exactly one year on from his death, and the singer Ray Fisher.
As usual the words Celtic and Connection are stretched to their limits to include a concert from soul supremos Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Bruce Hornsby. But the world of music that it embraces includes artists form Mali, Senegal, the Balkans, Portugal and, in a special showcase Catalonia, playing with muisicians form Scotland. From Pakistan, Faiz Ali Faiz, the designated successor to the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan will join France's Thierry Robin in Jaadu - meaning Magic in Hindi.
On the more classical side, there will be the premiere of a new work by leading Scottish composer Sally Beamish, written specially for the clarsach and fiddle duo of Catriona McKay and Christ Stout. Beamish's own daughter also plays the clarsach. The new work, entitled Seavaigers, is effectivley a concerto, backed by the Scottish Ensemble.
Celtic Connections 2012, which continues to enjoy the support of Scottish Power as principal sponsor, runs from Janaury 18 to February 5.
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- Gerry Rafferty tribute
- Exclusive Justin Currie performance
- All the reviews from Celtic Connections 2011
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