Listings:

• Thursday 15th January - Wednesday, 21st January
• Thursday 22nd January - Monday 26th January.
• Thursday 29th January - 1st February

Tuesday 27th January

Iain Anderson in Conversation

Michael Russell, John Lowrie Morrison and Andrew Greig
Tuesday 27 January, 12:30pm
£3.50
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall

Michael Russell, Minister for the Environment, artist John Lowrie Morrison (Jolomo) and author Andrew Greig in Conversation about landscapes, the Scottish environment, and endangered species.

Celtic Music Radio 1530AM Live

Gordon Hotchkiss Hotchpotch Afternoon Session
Tuesday 27 January, 2pm
Free
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall

Gordon Hotchkiss presents his show live from the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, featuring all the latest festival news, as well as concert previews and interviews with festival artists.

Danny Kyle's Open Stage

Tuesday 27 January, 5pm
Free
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall

Hosted by Danny Kyle's good Fridayends Gibb Todd and 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!

Sponsored by the Evening Times

Saint Andrew and the Rare Wee Helps

Tuesday 27 January, 6pm
£10
City Halls, Recital Room

Elusive character, Saint Andrew makes a long awaited return to the festival with new band The Rare Wee Helps to perform all the songs from his hit album The Word on the Pavey.

Kate Rusby and Kris Drever

Tuesday 27 January, 7:30pm
£20, £18
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Main Auditorium

After her 2006 Top 10 duet with Ronan Keating, and covering the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society for BBC1's Jam and Jerusalem, Kate Rusby's achingly emotive singing - "the most beautiful voice in England," according to The Guardian - is known to literally millions. Her heart, however, remains firmly with the traditional songs in which she's been immersed since childhood, nowadays complemented by her own lyrical songwriting. Her latest visit to Celtic Connections features a glittering array of guests, including Ian Carr, Andy Cutting, Andy Seward, Anna Massie, Michael McGoldrick, John Doyle, Damien O'Kane and the ten-piece string ensemble Red Skies, performing new arrangements of old favourites alongside material from her latest album, Awkward Annie.

"Listening to Kate Rusby's lovely new album, it occurred to me that she's England's answer to Dolly Parton. Not in terms of the wigs and the sequins, but in her quaveringly sincere ability to tell a simple, downhome story in a song and make your heart ache for it." (Daily Telegraph)

Opening the show is the talented Orcadian multi-instrumentalist Kris Drever, whose critically acclaimed album Black Water was described as "further confirmation that folk music is kicking and screaming into the 21st Century." (The Sunday)

Rodney Crowell and Justin Townes Earle

Tuesday 27 January, 7:30pm
£15 (over 14s only, under 16s with an adult)
ABC

A one-time member of Emmylou Harris' Hot Band, Rodney Crowell first found fame as a Nashville hitmaker, for artists including Harris, Crystal Gayle and Bob Seger, meanwhile winning a Grammy in 1989 with a track from his own breakthrough release, DiaMondayds & Dirt. Come the millennium, Crowell switched tack to a more soul-searching, acoustic-based vein, with his latest album, Sex & Gasoline, continuing a series of self-styled "manifestos" examining the struggles and conundrums of 21st-century life.

Citing influences as diverse as his namesake Townes Van Zandt, Jimmy Reed, Kurt Cobain, The Replacements, Ray Charles and The Pogues, Justin Townes Earle - son of legendary renegade Steve - crafts acoustic blues and pre-war folk influences into his own personalised brand of contemporary Americana.

Aly Bain, Ale Moeller & Bruce Molsky with Strung

Tuesday 27 January, 8pm
£12.50
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Strathclyde Suite

Collectively embodying the dense web of musical connections, past and present, between Shetland, Nordic and US traditions, fiddler Aly Bain and multi-instrumentalists Ale Moeller and Bruce Molsky, who share a lengthy track-record of previous collaborations, settle in together for a very special session.

The new super-trio Strung unites the individually outstanding talents of Scottish guitar wizard Tony McManus, now based in Canada, fiddler April Verch, whose free-ranging style is rooted in the rich multi-cultural traditions of her native Ottawa Valley, and dobro player Doug Cox, whose influences range from blues to Indian music. They'll be performing material from their newly-recorded debut album, accompanied by bassist Cody Walters.

Brock McGuire Band and The Mulcahy Family

Tuesday 27 January, 8pm £12.50 St Andrew's in the Square

Button accordionist Paul Brock and fiddler Manus McGuire, two of Ireland's most celebrated traditional musicians, team up with banjo player Enda Scahill, and accompanist Denis Carey to form the impressive Brock McGuire Band.

They are joined by the multi-talented Mulcahy Family - father Mick and his two daughters Louise and Michelle, both multiple All-Ireland champions. Tonight they will be accompanied by Cyril O'Donoghue.

Songs of Scotland

Songs From A Man's Point of View
Tuesday 27 January, 8pm
£10
Universal

The Songs of Scotland series has become an important part of the Celtic Connections programme, helping to maintain the festival's link with Scotland's love of song and is enjoyed equally by its audience and performers.

We will feature ten themes, which provide a comMonday thread throughout each night. Songs from the Gaelic and Scots traditions, as well as more contemporary songs which have entered into the tradition over recent years, will take audiences on an entertaining journey into Scotland's song tradition.

Tonight will be hosted by Doris Rougvie and features Aaron Jones, John Morran and Norman MacarThursdayr.

BBC Radio Scotland 92-95 FM & 810 MW Live Radio Broadcasts

Mary Ann Kennedy's Global Gathering
Tuesday 27 January, 8pm
Free but ticketed
BBC Scotland, Pacific Quay

A handpicked selection of festival artists - from both home and abroad - play live in BBC Scotland's stunning new building. Live on BBC Radio Scotland and hosted by Mary Ann Kennedy.

Martha Wainwright with Teddy Thompson

Tuesday 27 January, 9pm
£16
Old Fruitmarket

If the joint shadows of each artist's parents hover somewhat over tonight's dream-team double bill, they'll witness both offspring riding deservedly high, on the back of recent releases that finally outweighed family backstory with unimpeachable solo achievement.

Martha Wainwright's I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too also saw her step up to the stellar league alongside brother Rufus, running the gamut from fearless melodrama to equally naked introspection, in a cunningly crafted blend of folk, rock, country, jazz, cabaret and power-pop stylings. And as anyone lucky enough to catch her lately will attest, she's developed into an unforgettable live performer.

Winning a similarly clean sweep of rave reviews in 2008 for his fourth solo album A Piece of What You Need, Teddy Thompson combines killer country-pop hooks with mordantly insightful lyrics, Orbison-esque emotional grandeur with raw rock muscle, marshalled behind one of the finest voices in the business.

Celtic Connections Festival Club hosted by Gibb Todd

Tuesday 27 January, 10:30pm
£3.50
Quality Hotel

Get ready for some late-night music!

Our late-night club ensures there is even more music to enjoy after all the gigs are over. Join local and international artists as they make special unbilled appearances or join in one of many sessions happening in the bars.

With food and drink in plentiful supply you can happily keep going into the early hours of the morning whilst witnessing some of the best musical collaborations of the festival.

Master of ceremonies, Gibb Todd returns to present each act on stage and Doris Rougvie hosts The House of Song in a peaceful oasis away from the main stage.

Wednesday 28th January

Iain Anderson in Conversation

Tessa Ransford and Mairi Campbell
Wednesday 28 January, 12:30pm
£3.50
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall

Poet Tessa Ransford and musician Mairi Campbell discuss art, poetry and music, fame and misfortune!

Celtic Music Radio 1530AM Live

Gordon Hotchkiss Hotchpotch Afternoon Session
Wednesday 28 January, 2pm
Free
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall

Gordon Hotchkiss presents his show live from the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, featuring all the latest festival news, as well as concert previews and interviews with festival artists.

Danny Kyle's Open Stage

Wednesday 28 January, 5pm
Free
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall

Hosted by Danny Kyle's good Fridayends Gibb Todd and 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!

Sponsored by the Evening Times

Justin Townes Earle

Wednesday 28 January, 6pm
£10
City Halls, Recital Room

Citing influences as diverse as his namesake Townes Van Zandt, Kurt Cobain, The Replacements, Ray Charles and The Pogues, singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle - son of legendary renegade Steve - puts his own personal stamp on classic Americana styles.

Rambling Boys Reunion featuring Arlo Guthrie

Wednesday 28 January, 7:30pm
£20, £18
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Main Auditorium

Featuring an iconic array of veteran troubabours from either side of the Atlantic, tonight's concert promises a masterclass in both traditional and contemporary songcraft. The legendary Arlo Guthrie makes a welcome return to Celtic Connections, having recently revisited both his original performing roots on his acclaimed Solo Reunion tour, and his father's seminal legacy with 2008's long-planned release of 32c Postage Due, a collaboration with The Dillards on some classic Woody tracks.

Also flying in is longtime Scottish expat Enoch Kent, making a rare home visit from his adopted Canada where he recently won Best Traditional Singer at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, with a repertoire that stretches from his pioneering early bands, The Reivers and The Exiles, to his 2008 album One More Round. The mighty Scottish triumvirate of Dick Gaughan, Brian McNeill and Archie Fisher completes the bill, each drawing distinctively on the legacy of the 1960s folk boom, while still extending the canon with their literate, lyrical and conscience-driven compositions.

Nanci Griffith and Pete Molinari

Wednesday 28 January, 7:30pm
£16
City Halls, Grand Hall

Nanci Griffith was a leading light aMondayg the wave of new-country singers and songwriters - also including Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam, and Steve Earle - who came to prominence in the 1980s. A multiple Grammy Awards nominee, and a Grammy winner for her songwriter's tribute Other Voices, Other Rooms, Griffith is now regarded equally as one of America's most eloquent songwriters, and an exquisitely sensitive interpreter of other artists' material. Griffith brings both of these gifts to bear on her most recent recording, Ruby's Torch, a richly emotive collection of covers and originals that imprints the torch-song genre with her own singularly empathetic touch.

Having honed his sound during two years' busking Stateside, Kent-born singer-songwriter Pete Molinari was nominated as Best Breakthrough Act in the 2008 MOJO Honours List. With his arrestingly androgynous voice, allied to songs that marry shades of 60s pop with vintage Americana influences, he's been described by NME as "part Billie Holliday, part Roy Orbison - totally amazing".

Guitar Summit featuring Russ Barenberg, Ian Carr, John Doyle, Tim Edey, John

Goldie, Anna Massie and Tony McManus
Wednesday 28 January, 7:30pm
£15 (over 14s only, under 16s with an adult)
ABC

The technical and creative heights individually scaled by this awesome international line-up of guitarists would add up to a summit of truly dizzying altitude. From Stateside comes the towering figure of Russ Barenberg, well-kent in these parts as a mainstay of BBC Scotland's TranSaturdaylantic Sessions, while Ireland is represented by the exceptional melodic and rhythmic finesse of Solas founder John Doyle. No such gathering would be complete without English six-string genius Ian Carr, while the whirlwind talents of Tim Edey will be blowing in from his self-styled "County Kent". They'll be met by a no less formidable home team, including Celtic fingerstyle king Tony McManus, acclaimed jazz guitarist/composer John Goldie and award-winning multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie.

Follow That!: 4 New Commissions Inspired by Martyn Bennett

Wednesday 28 January, 8pm
£12.50
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Strathclyde Suite

A welcome second outing for the inventively diverse programme of new music commissioned and premiered in 2007, to continue building on the unique creative legacy of the late Martyn Bennett, through the work of some of the artists he inspired. The chosen composers were invited to sift through Bennett's copious assortment of manuscript jottings and sketched recordings, as a springboard or catalyst for their own ideas. The results range from an exquisite pair of impressionistic quintets, by Mr McFall's Chamber and Fraser Fifield, to Phil Bancroft and DJ Dolphin Boy's brilliantly tumultuous fusion of digital sounds and live instrumentation, with further exciting contributions from Bill Wells and Laura MacDonald.

Christine Tobin and Sophie Bancroft

Wednesday 28 January, 8pm
£12.50
The Tron Theatre

Described by The Guardian as the "Bjoerk of Euro jazz", Dublin-born singer and songwriter Christine Tobin was named Best Vocalist at the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards. As a founding member of the band Lammas, with whom she originally made her name, she is also an accomplished Irish Gaelic singer. Appearing with her six-piece band, she'll be performing material from her latest album The Secret Life of a Girl.

Born into a family of celebrated jazz musicians, Scottish singer-songwriter Sophie Bancroft seamlessly blends these influences with a broad but discerning swathe of contemporary folk styles, vibrantly showcased on her 2008 release Handwritten.

Kist O'Riches with Sheena Wellington, Steve Byrne, Margaret Stewart and Chris Wright

Wednesday 28 January, 8pm
£12.50
St Andrew's in the Square

Kist O'Riches, or Tobar an Dualchais, is a landmark national project to digitise the School of Scottish Studies' archive of field recordings. Sheena Wellington, Margaret Stewart, Steve Byrne, Chris Wright and Fridayends will perform a selection of the treasures rediscovered so far.

Songs of Scotland

Bothy Ballads, Muckle Sangs and Orain Mora
Wednesday 28 January, 8pm
£10
Universal

The Songs of Scotland series has become an important part of the Celtic Connections programme, helping to maintain the festival's link with Scotland's love of song and is enjoyed equally by its audience and performers.

We will feature ten themes, which provide a comMonday thread throughout each night. Songs from the Gaelic and Scots traditions, as well as more contemporary songs which have entered into the tradition over recent years, will take audiences on an entertaining journey into Scotland's song tradition.

Tonight will be hosted by Doris Rougvie and features Joe Aitken, Anne Neilson and Wilma Kennedy.

Tim O'Brien with Crooked Still

Wednesday 28 January, 8pm
£16
Old Fruitmarket

A key figure in US roots music since the late 1970s, when he co-founded the bluegrass band Hot Rize, Grammy-winner Tim O'Brien masterfully bridges the realms of Appalachian tradition, progressive bluegrass and contemporary folk with his band featuring Arty McGlynn, Dermot Byrne, and John McCusker. A gifted singer-songwriter, he's also long been rated as one of the best pickers in the business, showcasing all these talents on his 2008 release Chameleon, a collection of all-new songs individually accompanied on guitar, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki, and mandola, as well as his trusty fiddle.

With their recently rejigged and expanded line-up, progressive bluegrass quintet Crooked Still won a slate of a career-best reviews in 2008 for their third album Still Crooked. Fronted by the heart-melting vocals of Aoife O'Donovan, with instrumentation including fiddle, cello, banjo, double bass and guitar, their artfully distinctive arrangements of traditional and modern songs with finger-licking tunes have established them aMondayg the hottest young acts on today's Americana scene.

Celtic Connections Festival Club hosted by Gibb Todd

Wednesday 28 January, 10:30pm
£3.50
Quality Hotel

Get ready for some late-night music!

Our late-night club ensures there is even more music to enjoy after all the gigs are over. Join local and international artists as they make special unbilled appearances or join in one of many sessions happening in the bars.

With food and drink in plentiful supply you can happily keep going into the early hours of the morning whilst witnessing some of the best musical collaborations of the festival.

Master of ceremonies, Gibb Todd returns to present each act on stage and Doris Rougvie hosts The House of Song in a peaceful oasis away from the main stage.

Celtic Connections 2009 tickets can be booked:

Online : www.celticconnections.com By phone:0141 353 8000
In person: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3NY
City Halls and Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, Merchant City, Glasgow.