Music Celtic Connections
■ The Treacherous Orchestra and Rupa & The April Fishes The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 9pm. £16. This 13-strong folk instrumental line-up returns to its CC birthplace to perform their contemporary arrangements. Multi-lingual singer/songwriter Rupa Marya interweaves Latin and Americana strands with French chanson, gypsy jazz and Indian ragas. ■ Celtic Connections Late Night Session Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. £5. See Thu 21. ■ The Celtic Connections Festival Club The Art School, Renfrew Street, 353 8000. 10.30pm. £8. International and local artists make unbilled appearances at the late night bars and party hosted by Kevin Macleod.
Sunday 24 Glasgow ■ Traditional Strings Weekend Masterclass hosted by Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas Royal Concert Hall: Dressing Room 7, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10.15am. £55. See Sat 23. ■ Celtic Connections Public Workshops: Clarsach Workshop for Beginners Royal Concert Hall: Lomond Foyer, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 11am. £7. Heather Downie leads a workshop for students of the Scottish small harp. ■ Celtic Connections Public Workshops: Learn the Irish Pipes in a Day Royal Concert Hall: Buchanan Suite, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 11am. £35. North Durham piper and pipe-maker Dave Shaw leads a workshop for complete beginners. Over 14s only. ■ Celtic Connections Public Workshops: Play Songs for Bigger Bairns Royal Concert Hall: Clyde Foyer, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 11am. £4. Chrissie Stewart Skinner teaches traditional children’s songs for 5 – 8-year-olds. Children must be accompanied. ■ Celtic Connections Public Workshops: come&try Burns’ Songs Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 11am. £7. Ali Burns (and she is a relation) takes an excursion back to the 18th century Scotland for a sing-through of some Burns classics. ■ New Voices: Mike Vass Royal Concert Hall: Strathclyde Suite, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 1pm. £10.50. Highland fiddler Vass performs with a seven-piece line-up including his pianist sister Ali, piper Calum MacCrimmon and multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie. ■ Celtic Connections Public Workshops: Bodhran for Improvers Royal Concert Hall: Clyde Foyer, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 1.30pm. £7. A workshop, led by mark Dunlop of Malinky, for players who have already grasped the basics of the drum. Please bring your own drum. ■ Celtic Connections Public Workshops: Clarsach Workshop for Improvers Royal Concert Hall: Lomond Foyer, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 1.30pm. £7. Tutor Heather Downie leads a small harp workshop for people who already have a harp and want to extend their repertoire. ■ Celtic Connections Public Workshops: Harmony Burns Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 1.30pm. £7. Ali Burns presents inspiring harmony arrangements of Burns’ songs. FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 21. ■ Salsa Celtica’s 15th Anniversary and Maya Andrade Royal Concert Hall: Main Auditorium, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £20 (£16). Liam O Maonlai enters another
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Hothouse when he joins Scotland’s electrifying fusion of reeds and rhythm, bagpipes and bongos, and the stage is crowded with musical guests to ignite the big hall. Afro-Latin fusion comes naturally to Andrade, the Radio 3 World Music award winning young woman with a background in both the Cape Verde and Cuban islands. ■ Bearfoot and Damien O’Kane Oran Mor, Great Western Road, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. Three women and two guys from Alaska make up the celebrated young band (Telluride Bluegrass festival winners like the Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek) and play old- timey, roots, Americana, folk and bluegrass, plus their own original songs in five-strong sparkling vocal harmony. Star Irish banjo player and singer O’Kane leads his own trio. See preview, page 64. ■ Horse and Adriana Spina City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £16. Horse McDonald has a unique, highly mutable vocal style, and releases her latest album Coming up for Air. She will be joined in this performance by Glasgow’s acclaimed Gospel Truth Choir. Italian-Scots singer-songwriter Adriana Spina boasts a stunning vocal range and has a stylistic take on country, roots and rock. ■ Raul Malo Classic Grand, Jamaica Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. Vocally gifted, Grammy-winning and genre-defying ex-Mavericks singer Malo draws on his love of country, rock, pop, jazz and Americana Latin sounds. ■ Skipinnish 10th Anniversary O2 ABC, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £15. Voted Dance Band of the Year at the 2008 Scots Traditional Music Awards, Skipinnish perform alongside West Highland artists who’ve recorded on the band’s Skipinnish record label, and with other special guests, including Skerryvore, James Graham, Rachel Walker, Gary Innes and Archie McAllister. ■ Dervish 21st Birthday Celebration with special guests The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £16. The superb Sligo group is joined by singers Kate Rusby, Moya Brennan, Damien O’Kane, fiddle legend Kevin Burke, piper and flute maestro Michael McGoldrick and Swedish trio Vasen. ■ Maeve Gilchrist with Aidan O’Donnell City Halls: Recital Rooms, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Edinburgh harpist and singer Maeve Gilchrist adopts a dazzling chromatic and jazzy approach to her small harp playing - but then she studied at Boston’s Berklee College, and she’s got expert underpinning by bassist O Donnell. ■ Nordic Tone Royal Concert Hall: Strathclyde Suite, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. Nordic Tone brings together 25 top young musicians from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Shetland. ■ Seudan and Liam O’Connor & Sean McKeon Tron Theatre, Trongate, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. A beautiful taste of tradition from Scotland and Ireland. In Seudan, brilliant Scottish pipers Allan MacDonald, Angus MacKenzie, Fin Moore, Calum MacCrimmon and Angus Nicolson play five sets of duplicate Highland bagpipes, each modelled by Hamish Moore on a set (lower than contemporary pitch) from 1785. Ireland’s O’Connor and McKeon play old-style on fiddle and uillean pipes. ■ The Songs of Scotland: Songs of Travel and Journeying hosted by Ishbel MacAskill The Universal, Sauchiehall Lane, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Tonight’s concert features Sheila Stewart, Mairi MacInnes, Wilma Kennedy and Brian McNeill. ■ Celtic Connections Late Night Session Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. £5. See Thu 21. ■ The Celtic Connections Festival Club The Art School, Renfrew Street, 353 8000. 10.30pm. £8. See Fri 22.
Monday 25 Glasgow FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 21. ■ Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill and Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. A double duo fiddle bill: Irish/American fiddle and guitar duo Hayes and Cahill take their musical collaboration on long extemporisations of the tunes. Fraser and Haas’ partnership of Scottish fiddle style with cello began when she attended his music summer school as a pupil. ■ Beth Nielson Chapman and Charlie Dore Royal Concert Hall: Main Auditorium, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. £20 (£18). A feast of beautifully sung Americana from the two women who have already recorded together. Chapman’s sensitive expression has long been admired in the US and abroad, but UK TV actress and successful songwriter Dore has had a slower climb to prominence. ■ The McCalmans, with Lucy Pringle and Chris Wright Royal Concert Hall: Strathclyde Suite, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. The McCalmans have spent 40 years singing on the road and are still come back for more fun and music- making. Support by past Danny Kyle open stage winners Lucy Pringle and Chris Wright. ■ Pur – The Lassies’ Reply City Halls: Recital Rooms, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. The Lassies’ Reply is the debut album from Shona Donaldson and Katie Mackenzie, performing as Pur. It comprises new renditions of Burns songs in Scottish and Gaelic, performed live tonight on Burns night. ■ Songs of Scotland: Eskimos and Peace Songs The Universal, Sauchiehall Lane, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Part of a series of themed concerts looking at different aspects of Scottish and international song. Tonight’s show is hosted by Ishbel MacAskill and features Alistair Hulett and Ewan McVicar, among others. FREE Celtic Connections Late Night Session Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. See Thu 21.
Tuesday 26 Glasgow FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 21. ■ The Chieftains with Ry Cooder and Los Cenzontles Royal Concert Hall: Main Auditorium, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £30 (£28). Veteran Irish folk royalty The Chieftains have now been recording for almost 50 years and were massively influential in the field of traditional music. Here, with added harp and step dancers, they join forces with another veteran performer from the US, and together they’ll be exploring the links between the musical traditions of Ireland and the southern states of the USA. Mexican five-piece Los Cenzontles provide the support, and there will be a few extra surprise guests. ■ Naturally 7 O2 ABC, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30. £15. Standing. The seven-strong black vocal powerhouse delivers an astonishing instrumental punch in powerfully harmonised songs - using nothing but their vocal chords. Yup, the horns, reeds, flutes and guitars come out of their mouths! ■ The Carolina Chocolate Drops Royal Concert Hall: Strathclyde Suite, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. Dynamic young African- American band performing traditional Piedmont music led by banjo and fiddle, and harking back to the pre-war glory
days of the string band. Tonight doubles up as the launch for their new album, Genuine Negro Jig. FREE Mary Ann Kennedy’s Global Gathering BBC Scotland, Pacific Quay, 353 8000. 8pm. Free but ticketed. A handpicked selection of festival artists presented by Mary Ann Kennedy and broadcast live on BBC Scotland. ■ Penguin Cafe and Spiro The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £16. Arthur Jeffes’ group Penguin Cafe was formed with the intention of carrying on in the tradition of his father Simon’s eccentric, appealing and slyly influential original band. Spiro combine traditional folk instruments with a taste for avant-garde and minimalist dance beats. ■ Songs of Scotland: Humorous Songs The Universal, Sauchiehall Lane, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Part of the series, which runs throughout the festival, exploring different aspects of Scottish song. Tonight’s host is Ishbel MacAskill, and singers include Joe Aitken, Duncan McNab and Sineag MacIntyre. ■ Tam Lin City Halls: Recital Rooms, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Virtuoso trombonist John Kenny, improvising reedsman Dick Lee and imaginative pianist James Ross collaborate to tell the story of Tam Lin through various musical means. FREE Celtic Connections Late Night Session Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. See Thu 21.
Wednesday 27 Glasgow ■ Iain Anderson in Conversation: Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, Jack McConnel and Duncan Bannatyne Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 12.30pm. £3.50. Lunchtime chat with BBC Scotland presenter Anderson: today he and his guests are discussing the Mary’s Meals project, which has brought school dinners to children in some of the poorest parts of the world, making it easier for them and their parents to afford an education. FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 21. ■ Tim and Mollie O’Brien with Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh and Manus Lunny St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. Instrumental talent and great songs from the famed American siblings, champions of acoustic old-time music making; plus classy Irish music as Altan and Capercaillie members get together in Mairead’s fiddle and song accompanied by Manus’ guitar and bouzouki. ■ Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams O2 ABC, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £15. The only band working in their ‘punk-classical-hillbilly-Floyd’ genre, these eccentric retro-hangovers from the Woodstock era are huge in New York State and are guaranteed to deliver a mesmerising theatrical performance of songs from Flapjacks from the Sky and their other quirkily-named releases. ■ The Wiyos with Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three Royal Concert Hall: Strathclyde Suite, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. A treat for all those increasing numbers of old timey and Americana music fans as two entertaining groups hop the pond (they really should have come by boat) bringing retro swing, blues good-time vaudeville, hobo songs and country folk to us po’ Scots. ■ Joe Pernice Oran Mor, Great Western Road, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. The famously perceptive US alt.country popster, who recently branched out into writing a novel It Feels So Good When I Stop previews material set to appear on his upcoming solo album.