Admiral Fallow: playing at the Glasgow ABC tonight
Danny Kyle's Open Stage
- Fri 27 January, 5:00pm
- Free
- Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall
Hosted by Danny Kyle's good friend Liz Clark, the Open Stage is a chance to see new musical talent as they try to win a coveted support slot at next year's festival - and all absolutely free!
Song for Ireland
- Fri 27 January, 7:30pm
- £23, £20, £18
- Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Main Auditorium
Following the sellout success of A Scottish Songbook at Celtic Connections 2010, this year it's Ireland's turn. A glittering array of artists perform a sumptuous set of classic and lesser-known songs, across diverse genres, with origins in Irish tradition. The cast includes two veteran colossi of Irish folk, singer and uilleann piper Finbar Furey, and singer/accordionist Séamus Begley, the latter joined by his daughter Méabh. Cara Dillon and Luka Bloom will each cast their distinctive but equally compelling spell, and Eleanor McEvoy, who penned the title track on the landmark 1992 album A Woman's Heart, brings her eloquent folk-pop sensibility to the mix. Singer Julie Feeney, winner of the Choice Music Prize for ‘Irish Album of the Year', will also be demonstrating her one-of- kind sound tonight. Flying in especially from Nashville will be Celtic Connections favourite, American singer/songwriter Mindy Smith. Dick Gaughan - being half-Irish - represents the long, close kinship between Ireland and Scotland, while Irish-American supergroup Solas, in the role of house band, feature as ambassadors for the wider diaspora and extend their line-up to include Natalie Haas (cello) and Dirk Powell (banjo) also showing their Irish roots. KANwith Guidewires and Bard
- Fri 27 January, 7:30pm
- £14
- The Arches
Named for the mythical Mayan seed of vision and dreams that flowered through melody and harmony, fronted by flute/whistle genius Brian Finnegan (Flook) and demon fiddler Aidan O'Rourke (Lau), KAN further cross-fertilise the mix with guitarist Ian Stephenson and drummer Jim Goodwin's fiendishly inventive rhythms. After two years' live development, tonight's set showcases material from their eagerly-awaited debut album.
Guidewires are another instrumental powerhouse, comprising Irishmen Pádraig Rynne (concertina), Tóla Custy (fiddle), Paul McSherry (guitar) and Karol Lynch (bouzouki), plus Brittany's Sylvain Barou (flute), whose new album Guidewires II - featuring guest vocalist Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill - won comparisons to Lúnasa and At First Light.
Completing the triple bill is London-based folk band Bard who tonight launch their debut album. The band have gone from strength-to-strength since the recent release of their three-track sampler EP and have been picking up airplay across the BBC including Iain Anderson at BBC Radio Scotland and Mairead MacLennan at BBC Radio nan Gaidheal.
The Wrigley Sisters and Tattie Jam
- Fri 27 January, 7:30pm
- £13
- St Andrew's in the Square
While their age might belie their 20-year playing partnership, the fact of fiddler Jennifer and guitarist/pianist Hazel Wrigley's twinship means they did start very young: 13, to be precise, on their debut recording Dancing Fingers. Since then they've toured the world several times over, before founding their successful music school, The Reel, back home in Orkney. Having recently released their sparkling fifth album Idiom, the Wrigleys are raring to be back on the road.
Tattie Jam are cellist and singer Seylan Baxter with Ruaridh Pringle on vocals, guitar, banjo, didgeridoo, mandolin and percussion - though to hear their big, dynamic folk/swing sound you'd swear they were twice that number.
Larkin Poe and Support
- Fri 27 January, 7:30pm
- £14
- Oran Mor
Aged just 20 and 22, Rebecca and Megan Lovell have already notched up gigs at Bonnaroo, Telluride and the Grand Old Opry, as two-thirds of the erstwhile Lovell Sisters, together with eldest Jessica. With a repertoire ranging from traditional bluegrass through original songs to Massive Attack and Jimi Hendrix covers, the renamed Georgian duo not only sing the sweetest of harmonies, but play mandolin, guitar, dobro and lap steel, additionally backed with electric guitar and drums.
Admiral Fallow, FOUND and Chasing Owls
- Fri 27 January, 7:30pm
- £12.50
- O2 ABC Glasgow
Having crafted their sound and fan-base from the grassroots up, Glasgow's Admiral Fallow seem poised for the big time, after winning favourite-new-band status across a broad swathe of folk, pop and indie opinion throughout 2011. Matching vividly literate, keenly observed lyrics with big, uplifting melodies and highly sophisticated musicianship, they'll be showcasing material from their forthcoming second album, following major acclaim for debut release Boots Met My Face.
Chemikal Underground signing FOUND are an arts collective/experimental pop band who create an unusual mix of garage rock, melodic pop and glitchy electronica, while Edinburgh indie-folk newcomers Chasing Owls have already made waves at the NME Weekender Festival and Go North 2011.
Julie Fowlis "Heisgeir" and Fernhill
- Fri 27 January, 7:30pm
- £14
- Mitchell Library
Splicing vividly illustrative, resonantly meditative documentary film with live Gaelic song and music from her band, Julie Fowlis's Heisgeir, exploring the history and heritage of the now-unpopulated Monach Isles, was the undisputed highlight of 2011's Blas festival.
Fronted by the bewitching vocals of Julie Murphy, Fernhill are one of Wales's top contemporary folk acts, creating an intensely lyrical sound that also features fiddle, trumpet, flugelhorn, flute, guitar and shruti box.
Celtic Connections Ceilidh Dance
Cullivoe Ceilidh Band
- Fri 27 January, 7:30pm
- £10
- Pearce Institute
- Fri 27th and Sat 28th
The ever popular Celtic Connections ceilidh expands to six nights during this year's festival. With a different band each week, all you need is bags of enthusiasm and willingness to join in.
Famed Shetland dance band, once the group fronted by Shetland fiddle legend the late Willie Hunter, The Cullivoe Ceilidh Band now features his protégé, and some would say his spiritual successor Bryan Gear.
Nuala Kennedy and Las Migas
- Fri 27 January, 8:00pm
- £13
- Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Strathclyde Suite
Premièred to rave reviews as a New Voices commission at Celtic Connections 2007, Irish flautist and singer Nuala Kennedy's Astar is a musical evocation of her extensive travels over the years, the sounds she's absorbed and the diverse kindred spirits she's encountered. With a nine-piece line-up including Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, fiddler/trumpeter Daniel Lapp, bassist Euan Burton and pianist Brian McAlpine, the show also features visual projections by Edinburgh filmmaker Ruth Barrie.
guitarist, a German violinist and a Catalan singer, supplemented here with bass and percussion, create a ravishing blend of flamenco, jazz, fado and pop.
The Deadly Duos
- Calum Stewart & Heikki Bourgault with Jordi Molina & Perepau Jiménez
- Fri 27 January, 8:00pm
- £11
- The National Piping Centre
The self-titled debut album by Mànran's flautist Calum Stewart and Breton guitarist Heikki Bourgault, released last May, was praised by Irish Music Magazine as "a rare and precious combination...captivating music from two young masters". From Catalonia, Jordi Molina on the oboe-like tenora and diatonic accordionist Perepau Jiménez also put an arresting original spin on their native traditions.
The Quebe Sisters Band and Simon Bradley Trio
- Fri 27 January, 8:00pm
- £13
- Tron Theatre
Fronted by the three sisters' divinely dovetailed vocals and silkily intertwined fiddles, hot young Texan combo The Quebe Sisters Band - thwarted by illness from debuting at Celtic Connections 2011 - have been captivating audiences far and wide with their vintage-sounding yet freshly-minted mix of Western Swing, bluegrass, jazz and cowboy songs.
Manchester-Irish fiddler Simon Bradley's 15-year musical journey, via Edinburgh and Asturias to Benbecula, resonates through his all-original new trio set with Anna-Wendy Stevenson and Matheu Watson, recalling the celebrated trad/swing sound of The Easy Club.
Ceòl's Craic
- Kaela Rowan and Alix Quoniam & Yves Pucher
- Fri 27 January, 8:00pm
- £13
- CCA
Compelling singer-songwriter Kaela Rowan is the former lead singer of groundbreaking outfits such as Mouth Music and Sola and is also one of the vocalists in The Bevvy Sisters, specialists in the field of spine-tingling female harmonies. She is accompanied tonight by Ewan MacPherson (Fribo, RoughCoastAudio) and Shooglenifty's James Mackintosh.
A French singer who mixes her passion for Scots Gaelic songs with traditional songs from Brittany and other French speaking regions, Alix Quoniam will be accompanied by Yves Pucher on accordion.
Is e an seinneadair-sgrìobhaiche òrain Kaela Rowan am prìomh sheinneadair a bha aig còmhlain ainmeil leithid Mouth Music agus Sola agus The Bevvy Sisters. An seo, tha i a’ faighinn taic bho Eoghainn Mac a’ Phearsain (Fribo, RoughCoastAudio) agus Seumas Mac an Tòisich a b’ àbhaist a bhith aig Shooglenifty.
Alix Quoniam, seinneadair Frangach a tha a’ measgachadh a meas air òrain Ghàidhlig na h-Alba le òrain traidiseanta às a’ Bhreatainn Bhig agus à sgìrean Frangach eile, le Yves Pucher a’ toirt taic dhi air a’ bhogsa-ciùil.
Another Country With Ricky Ross
- Fri 27 January, 8:00pm
- Free but ticketed
- BBC Scotland Pacific Quay
Ricky Ross presents a special show featuring Americana and alternative country artists playing live from BBC Radio Scotland's foyer in Pacific Quay. Live on BBC Radio Scotland.
Celtic Connections Late Night Sessions
- Fri 27 January, 10:00pm
- £6
- Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall
For a more intimate evening during the festival, enjoy our Late Night Sessions taking place in the Exhibition Hall at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall hosted by Findlay Napier. Featuring just as many great musicians as the main Festival Club, the bar will be open late and you can be assured of many a memorable moment.
You'll also be assured of a warm welcome at the House of Song hosted by Doris Rougvie in a peaceful oasis away from the main stage.
Celtic Connections Festival Club
- Fri 27 January, 10:00pm
- £8
- Apollo 23
Our late night club ensures that there is even more music to enjoy after all the gigs are over. With inspired line-ups that are never divulged before the night - the Festival Club is a late-night jam session to end all jam sessions.
Sparkling host Kevin Macleod will guide you through proceedings and you never know who you'll bump into as you join the throngs in the bar.
