Music CELTIC CONNECTIONS
■ The Legends’ Fiddle Competition Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. Fiddler’s fun! Five of the current crop of top fiddling talents assume the characters of the violin greats of yesteryear in order to assess, once and for all, who is the best of the best. Niel Gow is represented by Iain MacFarlane, William Marshall by Duncan Chisholm, James Scott Skinner by Bruce MacGregor, Captain Simon Fraser by Alasdair Fraser and James Hill by Greg Lawson. The costumed event is compèred by Robbie Shepherd (in fact Allan Henderson dressed up as such.) Kind of like Stars in Their Eyes, but with more laughs and less smoke. ■ Sharon Shannon Big Band featuring Imelda May, Shane MacGowan & Mundy and The Paul McKenna Band The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £20. Sharon Shannon is the Irish button accordion star whose collaboration with rockabilly princess Imelda May at last year’s Cambridge Folk Festival is reprised here along with performances from singer-songwriter Mundy and Shane MacGowan. The notorious Pogues frontman may have had his teeth done at last, but he’s lost none of his swagger. The gang are supported by Glasgow’s Paul McKenna Band. ■ Sylvia Barnes & Sandy Stanage and Hutton, Watson & Somerville The Glasgow Art Club, Bath Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. The super Scots singer with guitarist accompaniment shares the stage with Hutton, Watson & Somerville, better known as part of The Treacherous Orchestra. Hosted by Mick West. ■ The Celtic Connections Festival Club The Art School, Renfrew Street, 353 4690. 10pm. £8. See Fri 21. ■ Celtic Connections Late Night Sessions Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. £5. See Thu 20.
Monday 24 Glasgow ■ Iain Anderson in Conversation: Bonnie Prince Charlie – A Life Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 12.30pm. £5. Polish historian Peter Pininski’s new book sheds light on the descendants of Bonnie Prince Charlie, with Professor Murray Pittock of Glasgow University discussing the outcomes of the Prince’s actions with Professor Richard Findlay of the University of Strathclyde. FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 20. ■ Forever Young: A 70th Birthday Tribute to Bob Dylan Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £27 (£24). In this celebration of the life and work of the musical titan, Celtic Connections has brought together a roster of folk and country performers for a gala performance. Acts on the bill include Roseanne Cash, Thea Gilmore, Tim O’Brien, Laura Cantrell, Rab Noakes and Kris Drever. Glaswegian band Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire provides the instrumentals. ■ Andy Irvine & John Doyle and Jeana Leslie & Siobhan Miller Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. Jeana Leslie and Siobhan Miller are becoming established on the Scots folk scene with their recent second album Shadows Tall. Tonight they support a double act originally conceived of at New York’s Irish Arts Centre, consisting of ex-Planxty singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andy Irvine and brilliant guitarist John Doyle. FREE BBC Scotland TV Special The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 10pm. A special from Celtic Connections with top acts from across
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the festival performing live – tickets are free but strictly limited, so be sure to book early. FREE Celtic Connections Late Night Sessions Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. See Thu 20. Tuesday 25
Glasgow ■ Iain Anderson in Conversation: The Scottish Review Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 12.30pm. £5. Investigative journalist Kenneth Roy and Robert Black QC thrash out some current issues. FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 20. ■ Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Norrie MacIver & Ruari Sutherland O2 ABC, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £16. Ubiquitous, stagey bagrockers the Red Hot Chilli Pipers are joined by the unorthodox pairing of Gaelic singer Norrie MacIver and beatboxer Ruari Sutherland. ■ Richard Thompson Band: The Dream Attic Tour Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £20–£25. Fairport Convention co-founder Thompson has mercifully left his days of dressing up as a giant insect behind him and over the last three decades has proved himself to be an inventive musician responsible for writing some of the new folk classics. He performs songs from his new album Dream Attic with support from his band, Pete Zorn, Michael Jerome, Taras Prodaniuk and Joel Zifkin. ■ Chris White & Julie Matthews City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. The pair, who walked off with a Best Duo award at 2009’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, are veterans of the UK folk circuit. ■ The Clutha with Siobhan & Brian Miller The Glasgow Art Club, Bath Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. With MC Mick West. A powerful night of authentic Scots song, stories and tradition. ■ Hamish Henderson Night Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. The godfather of the 20th- century Scottish folk cultural revival is saluted in musical form by Rod Paterson, John Morran, Adam McNaughtan, Gordeanna McCulloch, Alison McMorland, Geordie McIntyre and Steve Byrne, in a programme presented by Dr Fred Freedman. ■ Rosanne Cash and Nathaniel Rateliff City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £18. The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has a great musical pedigree, both through her father Johnny and her Scots ancestry. Her rock-tinged country anthems have made her a solid favourite with Americana fans, and last year she released an album named The List - a good name. ■ Tim O’Brien and Abigail Washburn The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £16. In 2010, US singer/mandolinist O’Brien released his 13th solo album, Chicken & Egg, to much acclaim. Here he plays a variety of styles alongside some of Nashville’s best musicians: Bryan Sutton, Stuart Duncan and Mike Bub. Abigail Washburn is a singer and clawhammer banjo player who has evolved a unique fusion of bluegrass and Chinese musical elements. ■ BBC Radio 3’s World on 3 Live Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. £5. Mary Ann Kennedy presents a live broadcast from the exhibition hall featuring live performances from top- billing artists. FREE Celtic Connections Late Night Sessions Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. See Thu 20.
Wednesday 26 Glasgow ■ Iain Anderson in Conversation: James Yorkston Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 12.30pm. £5. Founder member of the Fence collective and laconic singer- songwriter Yorkston chats about his forthcoming tour-diary book. See interview, page 58. FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 20. ■ Bonnie Rideout with Allan MacDonald and Friends St Andrews in the Square, St Andrews Square, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. It’s 600 years since the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, but the story of the conflict between the Celtic Lords of the Isles and the Teutons of Moray (not, as is often asserted, between Highland and Lowland Scots) has resonated down the centuries in traditional music. In this anniversary concert, US Scots fiddle stylist Bonnie Rideout and Glenuig piping master Allan MacDonald join forces to perform pìobaireachd music, some of which dates from the time of the battle itself. They are supported by singer Elizabeth Stewart, harpist Billy Jackson, and John Purser and Simon O’Dwyer, play bronze age horns. ■ Seth Lakeman and The Fisherman’s Friends Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £18–£23. Folk-rocker Lakeman has been performing live music from a very young age but began to garner serious attention as a solo artist with his 2005 Mercury-nominated album Kitty Jay, culminating in last year’s Hearts & Minds EP, inspired by the stories and songs of his native Dartmoor. Cornish shanty singers The Fisherman’s Friends became something of a heart- warming story in their own right, recently scoring a £1m record deal after spending 15 years entertaining tourists on their local harbour for free of a Friday night. ■ Teddy Thompson with David Ford and Ashley Cleveland The Arches, Argyle Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £15. Teddy Thompson previews his forthcoming fifth album Bella alongside live-loop folk-pop performer David Ford and triple Grammy winner Ashley Cleveland, whose rich gospel voice brings a touch of spiritual fire to proceedings. ■ All Along the Wall Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. Inspired by Hadrian’s Wall and the cultural, musical and artistic divides it represents, four English roots musicians – plus Kate Fox, Matt Harvey and Dundonian slam poet Elvis McGonagall – perform a bit of trad, a bit of poetry and a bit of vaudeville. ■ James Yorkston City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. James Yorkston is described as a modern-day troubadour, but then, coming from Fife, it’s not surprising he wanted to wander off. Having spent much of the last decade peddling his thoughtful, trad- influenced music across the UK, America and Europe, he’s also written a book about the experience, It’s Lovely To Be Here, which chronicles his experiences of performing solo and in collaboration with veterans such as Bert Jansch and Martin Carthy. See interview, page 58. ■ The Wilders with Furnace Mountain The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £16. The Kansas City hillbilly livewires who like their country roots mixed with a little rock’n’roll play alongside the authentic, powerful musicianship of Appalachia’s Furnace Mountain. ■ BBC Radio 3’s World on 3 Live Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. £5. See Tue 25.
FREE Celtic Connections Late Night Sessions Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. See Thu 20. Thursday 27
Glasgow ■ Iain Anderson in Conversation: Elizabeth Stewart with Alison McMorland Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 12.30pm. £5. Two of Scotland’s finest exponents of the Scots ballad-singing tradition discuss their joint venture. FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 20. ■ Aerials Up, First Charge of the Light Brigade and Acoustic Butterfly The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. The seven-piece perky indie popsters heralded as ‘seriously infectious’ by Vic Galloway share the stage with conglomerate Glasgow outfit First Charge of the Light Brigade and 2010 Danny Kyle Open Stage award-winners Acoustic Butterfly. ■ Gerry O’Connor Quartet, Sigrid Moldestad and Gillian Boucher O2 ABC2, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £14. Feted as ‘the best four- string banjoist in the history of Irish music,’ Gerry O’Connor picks away alongside Norwegian folk star Sigrid Moldestad and Cape Breton fiddler Gillian Boucher. ■ New Tradition with Ewan McLennan, Lucy Pringle, Chris Wright and Sean Taylor St Andrews in the Square, St Andrews Square, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. A trio of emerging folk musicians perform songs from their recent EP releases. ■ Saoghal Sona with Eilidh Mackenzie and Dalla Òran Mór, Great Western Road, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. Saoghal Sona (‘wonderful world’ to the Anglophones among us) was the main new piece of songwriting commissioned at the 2010 Blas festival, composed of nine tunes inspired by joyful or comic news stories. Eilidh Mackenzie, pianist Brian McAlpine, Ged Grimes, Gordon Gunn and Marc Clement perform it here, along with Highland newsreaders Iain MacDonald and Eilidh MacLeod. Also on the bill is Dalla, a quartet hailing from darkest Cornwall who are at the forefront of the region’s Celtic revival. ■ Transatlantic Sessions Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £28 (£25). A Celtic Connections staple, the Transatlantic Sessions bring together musicians from the Celtic and Americana traditions for a night of fresh collaborations between familiar faces. Musical directors are Shetland fiddle legend Aly Bain and dobro star Jerry Douglas, singers include Julie Fowlis, Paul Brady and Tim O’Brien, and the house band line-up could be the main attraction at most other folk concerts. ■ BBC Alba with Colin Farrell and Na Seudan Og The Glasgow Art Club, Bath Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. An intimate showcase of some fine Scottish and Irish musicians, including fiddler Colin Farrell (not the actor) and Gaelic singers Na Seudan Og. ■ Shifting Sands Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. Director Andy Mellon is the spearhead of this ambitious ongoing project bringing together musicians from England, Scotland and the Arabian Peninsula. Collaborations arise from the common heritage of these historically seafaring peoples and create some truly unique sounds. ■ Tommy Reilly and Craig Jeffrey Tron Theatre, Trongate, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. The stripling singer-songwriter is the Daniel Sloss of indie pop. Since winning Channel 4’s Unsigned Acts competition in 2009 he’s released a