THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING OF NON-FOLK FANS' WARINESS

Mercedes Peon revs up tor Celtic Connections

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CELTIC CONNECTIONS 2005 returns and it is bigger than ever. But as it grows, Emma Newlands asks how the festival can stay true to its Celtic roots.

\er_\thing Iookx rox_\ for (elite (‘onneetionx

'l‘he l'exli\a| xtarled otit l3 _\earx ago at the

Rinal (’oneert Hall with a hriel‘ of putting on the hext in ('eltie muxie from around the \xorld. l’or too long Seotlarrd‘x l'olk inuxie traditionx had gone uneelehrated. 'l'hix 'xear. the texti\a| hax groan higger than e\ er. taking o\er I l \enuex aeroxx (ilaxgou. a eit} that ktto\\ x a thing or [no ahout ahortix e textiuilx. trememher Ma} text. an_\one‘.’l and ('eltie ('onneetionx ix no\\ a erueial date in the glohal traditional inuxie ealendar. In 1004. the inaugural lextiVal attraeted fillltlll people. l.axt )ear. it hoaxted o\et‘ “H.000 attendeex. \Vith higger audieneex ha\ e eome higger artixtx roxtax. 'I‘hix )t‘;it‘ there are xeheduled appearaneex h} protninent namex in rootx. “mid and roek inuxie ineluding the \eteran .\'e\\ ()rleanx hluexman Dr John. the (ialieian xongxtrexx .\lereede.x l’eon and indie roekerx .-\ereiigramme.

So hax the l'exti\al heeome a \ietim ol' itx imn xueeexx and loxt itx l'oeux‘.’ Marketing manager .lane Donald ix keen to xtrexx that (‘eltie mtIxie remainx the e\ent‘x l‘oeux. ‘l‘or the paxt ten _\earx therex al\\‘a_\x been a hroad range of artixth xhe xa_\ x. ‘and xome are more traditional than otherx. ranging from Dougie .\lael.ean to Runrig.‘ She addx that eneompaxxing other muxieal xt_\|ex ix h_\ no meanx lien for ('eltie (‘onneetionx ‘l \xould xa_\ that a erueial artixt in that rexpeet ix \\ hat Bruee .\lae(iregor hax done \tith Illa/in l-‘iddlex. lle‘x encouraged mainxtream artixtx to “ink \xith him. xo _\ou‘|l get people \xho‘ll xee that (‘olin .\laelnt_\re ol‘ .\lull Hixtorieal Soeiet} i.x pla_\ing \\ ith him and it'll get them interexted.~

66 THE LIST

What ix prompting more and more people to eome eaeh year'.’ l.oeall_\. thix ix down to the l'extiVaI’x ele\ er tnulerxtanding ol' non—folk litnx‘ \\’1tt'ilte.x.x ol' the art form. ‘()l‘ten we’ll get Pedltle eoming lo the eluh and we xa}. l'i\'e handx for a few poundx. Thele reall} enjoy it and then eome haek and pay lull price to xee thexe handx indi\'iduall_\'.'Internationall); however the lextiVal hax a reputation for xhouing work that cannot he .xeen elxeuhere \t'hieh ix in no .xmall part due to eommixxioning ol~ ambitious .xpeeial eventx. partieularl} the [\H) that xandu‘ieh the l‘extiral. The opening night eoneert of l’araeax (xee page ()7) ix a huger illtpl‘L‘\.\l\‘L‘ proxpeet.

l5in|a_\ Mael)onald. who will be playing with l‘ilterx llex‘ia. l'rom :\.xturiax. and Breton Jean Louix Henall. heliexex that the international profile Works well on a local |e\'el. 'I think xome of the hext timex I‘ve had at ('eltie (‘onneetionx have been at the li‘xtiHil eluh. l alxo really like the international axpeet \t'here _\ou‘\'e got perl‘ormers from places like (ialieia and (‘anada ax \t‘ell ax (ilaxgow‘x excellent local muxieianx.‘

'l‘he journe} ix h} no meanx one way. ax Jane Donald eoneludex: ‘We get people eoming from the Statex and (‘anada for the whole l‘extix'al and going to e\entx exer} da). and otherx take their holidayx around the l‘exti\'a|.~ The way that (‘eltie (‘onneetionx hringx the “wild to Seotland whilst alxo taking Scotland to the \xorld xhould he thorougth applauded.

Various venues, Glasgow, Wed 12—Sun 30 Jan.

Razorlight Not one to hide his own tra/orllight under a bushel. Johnny Borrell (pictured with fellow 'zors) reckons that he's some kind of Dylan/Dickens hybrid. Judge for yourself with this rescheduled date. Oh, and some up and coming guys called the Mental Sweet Poachers or something are on the hill, too. See caption. STE-CC, Glasgow. Wed 72 Jan.

Dr John The legendary New Orleans singer and pianist makes a rare solo appearance at the behest of Celtic Connections. Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow Thu 73 Jan.

Don Paterson Quintet Dundonian guitarist and acclaimed poet leads an intriguing new guintet featuring frequent collaborator Steve Hamilton and saxophonist Phil Bancroft. Henry 's szz Cellar, Edinburgh, Thu 73 8 Fri 74 Jan.

Shane MacGowan & the Popes With the festive season over, we are left to contemplate, having heard it a further 231 times during the period. whether MacGowan and MacColl's ‘Fairytale of New York‘ is the best Christmas song ever. Of course, it's a tragedy that Kirsty is no longer alive and a miracle that Shane barely is. See caption. Barrow/and, Glasgow, Fri 14 Jan.

Athlete Get on your marks for this sprightly bunch who will hopefully be sprinting ahead of the pack with their new album Tourists rather than jogging on the spot. Enough of the runny puns already. See Five Reasons. Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Fri 74 Jan.

The Killers, the Futureheads, Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs The future heads of the indie and punky scenes gather together for the annual lovefest that is the NME tour. Which lot will be on the road to claim Stereophonics-like fame and fortune and who will be 2005's version of, oh dear, 3 Colours Red? See feature. Carling Academy, Glasgow, Thu 20 Jan.