celtic
connections
listings
Information
Celtic Connections runs from Wed 13-Sun 31 Jan.
Unless otherwise stated, all concerts are at venues within the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. 2 Sauchiehall Street. Other events take place at The Piping Centre. McPhater Street. Cowcaddens; Alaska. Bath Street; Riverside Club. Clyde Street; and Old Fruitniarket. Albion Street.
There are record and merchandise stalls and live radio broadcasts from the GRCH. See the Celtic Connections official programme for a full list of talks, workshops and masterclasses, community events. and the Comedy
Club.
The Festival Club. with guest appearances by most of the Festival performers. runs from I 1pm-3am at the Quality Central Hotel. Gordon Street. This year the capacity has been increased. with two stages plus the usual bars. On Mon. Tue. Wed. tickets are free: Thu, Sun, £1.50; Fri, Sat, £2.50; Sun 31. £5.
Tickets and Information
I Information line 141 353 4137.
I Tickets from the GRCH Box Office. I Credit card booking and tickets also available from the Ticket Centre. Candleriggs. 141 287 5511.
I Special access information on the Accessibility Hot-line 141 353 4137.
I Danny Kyle: A Celebration Of Life Exhibition Hall. 5pm. l’rcc. Gibb Todd celebrates Paislcy's famous and ftmny son — who. sadly. died last year —A and carries on the wee man's tradition of hosting an ‘()pen Stage' for new folk talent.
I L'Epopee Celtique Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £8.50. £10.50. £12.50. Composer (and flute player in the Whistlebinkies) liddie McGuire was commissioned to produce this major work by Brittany's Loricnt Festival. Conducted by Guy Berrier. it features the Royal Scottish National Orchestra with Scotland's Whistlebinkies folk group. harper and singer Iimma Christian from the Isle of Man. an Irish piper. a Welsh male voice choir. pipers and percussionists from (ialicia. and two pipe bands -~ Brittany"s Bagad Kemper and the Scottish Power. See preview.
I Songhunter: Jim Hunter and Friends Sunday Times Suite. 8pm. £9.50. A do/cn new songs from around 350 submitted in last year‘s Highland Festival initiative. here played by the singer/instigator and a top contemporary acoustic/electric band.
THURSDAY 14
I Danny Kyle‘s Open Stage tixhihition Hall. 5pm. Free. With Gibb Todd.
I Blazmg Fiddles 8: Triple Harp Bypass Sunday Times Suite. 8pm. £10. High energy and skill from the young lions of the Scottish fiddle scene. solo and in varioUs entertaining combinations. New Zealand mouth organ maestro Brendan Power leads the harmonica showcase (‘harp' is blues-talk for a mootliie).
I The Tradition Bearers Piping Centre. 8pm. £6 (£4). Ann Neilson. (iordcanna McCulloch and lillen Mitchell. Scots song. from the ballads to bawdy verse. sung unaccompanied in the traditional manner by three of its finest exponents. I Shooglenifty 8r Kila ()Id Fruitmarket. 9pm. £1 1. Trance dance to acid croft grooves on the trad instruments (plus the mysterious banjax) of Scotland's Shooglcs. Dublin-based Kila's volcanic
28THELIST 7~21 Jan 1999
seven-strong line up is heavy on vocals. drums. percussion and a welter of Irish
pipes and whistles. Wild. dancey music. I Festival Club Quality Central Hotel. Opening night (£2.50).
FRIDAY 15
I Danny Kyle's Open Stage Exhibition Hall. 5pm. Free. With Gibb Todd.
I Celtic Connections Ceilidh Riverside. 8pm. £6. The Black Rose Ceilidh Band.
I Iron Horse 8: Hirio Sunday Times Suite. 8pm. £10. Iron Horse entertain with their energetically non-traditional approach to Scots songs. tunes and tcmpi. while Hirio bring classy. quality Breton music. a mix of ex-Stivell band members and conservatory training on harp. pipes. bombarde. accordion and percussion.
I Dick Gaughan Piping Centre. 8pm. . £7 (£5). Tradition Bearer: Jock Duncan. Gaughan‘s distinctive Irish-inflected singing style. political passion and formidable guitar playing have long set him apart from lesser talents. Here he's supported by one of the greatest bothy ballad singers. now over 70. and as bright as a button.
I Ceolas 8: Donald Black and Malcolm Jones ()Id liruiiiiiarket. 9.30pm. £10. Award-winning piper Fred Morrison leads his Gaelic concert party. presenting dance tunes. airs. songs. fiddle. mouth mUsic and more. Black blows a breezy Highland-based repertoire from his range of moothies. accompanied by Runrig's Jones on button accordion and occasional ’uitar. See preview.
I Festival Club Quality Central Hotel.
I lpiii. £2.50.
SATURDAY 16
I Scottish Piping Concert Main Auditorium. Noon. £7.50. Vale of Atlioll. Vale of Atlioll Youth and Scottish Power Pipe Bands. Soloists Morrison. McCallum. Walker and Duncan.
3 I Barachois 8r Tabache Sunday Times
3 Suite. 1pm. £6. Toe-tapping Acadicn (Old . French) music and song from the band.
n‘, ‘4' I“_
here last year from Canada‘s Prince Edward Island. Tabache. a relatively young trio based in Edinburgh. joins Aidan O Rourke‘s searing Scots fiddle with Claire Mann‘s Irish flute and vocals. Ross Martin accompanies on guitar.
I Danny Kyle's Open Stage Exhibition Hall. 5pm. Free. With Gibb Todd.
I Carlos Nunez 8r Bagad Kemper Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £8.50. £10.50 (£7 standing). The virtuoso young Galician recorder player. who‘s also a very good piper. leads his crowd-pleasing band. Entertaining stuff. From Brittany. pipe band Bagad Kemper are a musical institution. a wonderful combination of Highland bagpipes. bombardes and Breton musical idioms.
I Celtic Connections Ceilidh Dance Riverside Club. 8pm. £6. Black Rose Ceilidh Band.
I Begginish 8| Maire Ni Chathasaigh and Chris Newman Sunday Times Suite. 8pm. £10. Famous Kerry accordionist and singer (and occasional Boys Of The Lough member) Brendan Beglcy‘s wave-making quartet with support from the exceptionally skilled and expressive traditional Iriin harp playing of Ni Chathasaigh. often accompanied by Newman's astonishing guitar fingcrwork. Songs too.
I Maggie Mclnnes Band 8. Flora McNeil Piping Centre. 8pm. £6 (£4). Tradition Bearer: Ishbel MacAskill. Two of Gacldom‘s great singers — McNeil in the traditional styles of Barra and the Southern Isles. and MacAskill‘s intense interpretations of Lewis songs — share the concert with Flora's harp-playing daughter Maggie and her Band. performing songs from her just—released (on Dougie MacLean‘s [)unkeld label) lz'ilr’un Mara album.
I Tartan Amoebas 8r Baka Beyond ()ld Fruitmarket. 9pm. £1 1. Leap about to the latin-tinged Scottish ceilidh rockers and the exotic Afro/tingliin (and even occasional Gaelic) dance grooves of Martin Craddick's world music band.
I Festival Club Quality Central Hotel. llpm. £2.50.
THE ALASKA COMEDY CLUB: In the unlikely event of your poor little tootsies growing wea cut them some slack and give your ribs a hard time instead. Split your sides with the i
of shug ling, then kes 0 Kevin Gi dea (pictured), Martin Bigpig and Susan Morrison among others. But please, let's not be having any jokes about blowing a gael. LThe Alaska: 142 Bath Street, Thu and Sun at 9pm. See Comedy Listings and these listings for full details.
SUNDAY 17
I New Voices Sunday Times Suite. 1pm. £6. Andy Thorburn. The ubiquitous Highland-based keyboard player and composer presents a choral piece specially written for the voices of some well-known singers. drawn mainly. but not exclusively front the Scottiin folk- song world.
I Waulking Songs Piping Centre. 2pm. £6 (£4). Hosted by lshbel MacAskill. Rhythmic. pounding Gaelic chorus songs associated with the shared (women's) work of fulling. or shrinking. the woven Cloth.
I Danny Kyle's Open Stage Exhibition Hall. 5pm. Free. With Gibb Todd.
I Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Discovery Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £7.50. £10. £12.50. James MacMillan is Scotland's most famous contemporary composer. See preview.
I Celtic Connections Ceilidh Dance Riverside Club. 8pm. £6. Balnain House Ceilidh Band.
I Deaf Shepherd 8: Lia Luachra Sunday Times Suite. 8pm. £10. The brightest of Scotland's younger bands. playing traditional songs on acoustic instruments. deliver a bamstorming performance. Ireland‘s lauded Lia Luachra. energetically respectful of their tradition, have their weak moments (a few contemporary songs). btit are tremendous on fiddle and concertina. bouzouki. bodhran and guitar.
I Alasdair Fraser and Tony MacManus Piping Centre. 8pm. £7 (£5). The famous Scots fiddler. and musician- in-residence at CC. in a simple setting accompanied only by fluent fingerpicked guitar.
I Fest Noz ()ld Fruitniarket. 9pm. £6. Unique Breton ceilidh/dance. Members of Brittaiiy‘s Bagad Kemper pipe band. with friends on bombardes. Breton bagpipes and vocals. playing for those long-chain dances.
I Festival Club Quality Central Hotel. 11pm. £1.50.
J