Celtic Connections 2007
A first successful week at Celtic Connections
The 14th Celtic Connections Festival kicks off on 17th January with three wonderful weeks of music, ceilidhs, workshops, concerts and banquets. There will be over 1000 artists performing at more than 300 events at venues throughout the city including: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, St Andrew's in the Square, City Halls & Old Fruitmarket, The National Piping Centre, Tron Theatre. ABC - Sauchiehall Street, The Garage, Festival Club, Classic Grand, Universal and CCA.
The Festival will be launched on Wednesday, 17th January, with great aplomb when a torchlit procession will make its way through Glasgow City Centre from George Square to the Concert Hall; accompanied by the music of The Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Pipe Band and The Scottish Power Pipe Band. The Festival will be announced officially opened at the Lord Provost's Drinks Reception.
Traditional Music lies at the heart of Celtic Connections and the best of musicians are coming to Glasgow from every continent bringing folk, roots, and every genre of music to the City.
Programme of Events
The full calendar of events can be viewed on the Celtic Connections Website
Find out about Open Stage Sessions
The Club - Late night jam sessions.
Celtic connections Latest Information - 9th January
Some shows are proving to be very popular and are already sold out. The workshops are also very popular so book soon.
SHOWS SOLD OUT
Idlewild - ABC - 23/01/2007
James Grant - The Tron Theatre - 28/01/2007
John Martyn - Main Auditorium - 29/01/2007
Workshops have also been very popular and with limited places, the following have sold out:
Opening Your Voice, 20/01/2007 11.00am
Come & Try Samba, 20/01/2007 1.30pm
Come & Try Fiddle, 20/01/2007 1.30pm
Women's Samba Workshop, 21/01/2007 11.00am
Come & Try Clarsach, 21/01/2007 11.00am
Come & Try Clarsach, 21/01/2007 1.30pm
Bodhran for Beginners, 27/01/2007 11.00am
NEW DATE ADDED TO THE FESTIVAL FOR JAMES GRANT
We are pleased to announce that demand for James Grant tickets has been so high that we have added an extra date - Friday 19 January at The Tron Theatre. The first concert which takes place on Sunday 28 January at the same venue, sold out very quickly and we were fortunate to be able to add this extra date.
The support for James Grant on the 28th will be The Statebroadcasters - previous Open Stage winners. The band are an Americana-tinged folk-country-pop combo who play gentle songs with an eclectic backing.
SPECIAL GUESTS TO APPEAR WITH L?NASA
L?nasa, one of the most sought-after bands on the international Irish music scene, will celebrate their tenth anniversary at Celtic Connections and we are excited to announce that they will be joined onstage by some very special guests.
Karan Casey, who has been labelled "The most soulful singer to emerge in Irish traditional music in the past decade" (The Herald, Glasgow) will be the first of the three guests. The Waterford-born singer is to release her new album, Chasing the Sun in April. Largely recorded at her home in Co. Cork the album uncovers Karan's fine talent for songwriting and her sensitive approach to age-old themes such as love and oppression.
Kevin Burke is one of the top living Irish fiddlers, and the acknowledged exponent of the highly ornamented Sligo style. He returned to Ireland and played for a while with Christy Moore after his leaving Planxty and then replaced Tommy Peoples as fiddle player with the Bothy Band from 1976-79. After its demise, he teamed up with Micheal O' Domhnaill, also of the Bothy Band, touring throughout Europe and the United States and recording two albums. He currently plays with Open House, a band which grew out of his last solo album.
Sara Watkins is a fiddler, vocalist, and songwriter, and is one third of the contemporary bluegrass/folk band Nickel Creek. Distinguished by their youth and eclectic taste, Nickel Creek became a word-of-mouth sensation on the progressive bluegrass scene and soon found their appeal spreading beyond the genre's core audience. The recent release Why Should the Fire Die? is a dark and introspective collection of new material that has found the trio steering even further away from their bluegrass beginnings.
THE POOZIES TO SUPPORT DICK GAUGHAN
We can confirm that The Poozies will be opening the show for Dick Gaughan's "Handful of Earth" on Monday 22nd January in the City Halls. From Karen Tweed's mercurial accordion playing; through the delicate strength of Eilidh Shaw's Gaelic singing; to the earthy traditional Scottish songs and tunes from Patsy Seddon and Mary MacMaster, The Poozies blend their musical and life experiences, producing an unusual and vibrant style of music that has no boundaries.
A Poozies concert is a roller-coaster of emotions. One minute they evoke heaven with their harmony singing, the next they'll have the audience rolling in the aisles with their wacky sense of humour.
LATE LICENCE FOR FESTIVAL CLUB
For the first time the festival can announce that the good times will continue later than in previous years as the Festival Club at The Holiday Inn City West on Bothwell Street has a late licence until 4am this year. With food and drink in plentiful supply revellers can continue into the early hours of the morning whilst witnessing some of the best musical collaborations of the festival.
With plenty going on at the festival, we'll no doubt be in touch soon with more news. If you would like to talk to someone in the Press Office please call:
0141 353 8017/0141 353 8070.
Celtic Connections 2007 - Sunday 21st January
New Voices: Nuala Kennedy
Sun 21 January, 1:00pm
£7.50
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Strathclyde Suite
Sponsored by the Sunday Herald
Programme
Nuala Kennedy Astar: Journey (1:00-3:00pm)Nuala Kennedy Flute / Vocals / Whistles
Will Oldham Vocals
Oliver Schroer Fiddle
Daniel Lapp Trumpet / Vocals
Brian MacAlpine Piano
Donald Hay Drum Set / Percussion
Mario Lima Carib? Bass
Jenn Butterworth Guitar / Vocals
Eilidh Mackenzie Vocals
"bright and rhythmic, percussively accently playing?a voice of luminous clarity" The Herald on Nuala Kennedy
Every year Celtic Connections commissions three young musicians to present a specially written piece of work in its New Voices series. New Voices allows the festival to continue to support new music and help young talent to make their mark on the traditional music scene. This year, three New Voices concerts will take place in The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ? one on each Sunday of the festival.
This afternoon, flute player and singer Nuala Kennedy collaborates with some of her all-time favourite musicians who have influenced her musical career, playing her new commission Astar: Journey. Guests include Kentucky singer Will Oldham, fiddler Oliver Schroer and trumpet player/vocalist Daniel Lapp from Canada, Scottish pianist Brian MacAlpine, Donald Hay (drums and percussion), Mario Lima Carib? (bass), Jenn Butterworth (guitar/vocals) and Eilidh Mackenzie (vocals).
Nuala Kennedy grew up in Dundalk, Co. Louth where she was a member of the ceilidh band Ceoltoiri Oga Oghrialla. In 1995 she moved to Scotland where she now lives. She is best known for her work with trio Fine Friday, with whom she has toured extensively and recorded two critically acclaimed CDs, Gone Dancing (March 2002) and Mowing the Machair (Dec 2004). An accomplished and versatile musician, with a wide repertoire of Scottish traditional and contemporary music, she is much in demand as a session musician and plays with the Celtic big band The Unusual Suspects.
Nuala has tutored flute at the Boxwood Flute School and The Coast String Association in Canada, and on the Traditional Music Degree in Newcastle University. She has worked for Channel 4 ?ideas factory', teaches for Feisean Nan Gaidheal and assists teachers using ABC, an innovative new creative music program for primary schools.
In the past year, Nuala has toured the U.K. and Ireland with Harem Scarem alongside Bonnie Prince Billy (a.k.a. indie poet Will Oldham) and returned to Cape Breton Island for Celtic Colours International Festival.
Taste of the Fest hosted by Ishbel MacAskill
Sun 21 January, 2:00pm
£10
The National Piping Centre
Ishbel MacAskill host
"The commanding Ishbel MacAskill, who made Campbell's comparison of her with Aretha Franklin no empty claim." Scotland on Sunday
Celtic Connections answer to pick 'n' mix. Experience a taste of the festival in the intimate surroundings of The Piping Centre courtesy of host Ishbel MacAskill.
Danny Kyle's Open Stage hosted by Gibb Todd
Sun 21 January, 5:00pm
Free
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Exhibition Hall
Supported by The Evening Times
The Open Stage features live music at 5pm every day during the festival.
Danny Kyle was a passionate supporter of traditional music and a constant campaigner for its revival in Scotland. The Open Stage has been an integral part of the festival for the last six years. Each night of the festival, new musical talent is given the chance to shine under the Celtic Connections spotlight and the six best acts win through to the coveted final night concert. Compered by Danny's close friends, Gibb Todd and Liz Clark, it has been the launch pad for many now familiar names such as Adam Sutherland, Karine Polwart and GiveWay.
Wendy Weatherby "A Scots Quair"
Sun 21 January, 7:15pm £15 City Halls Grand Hall
- Wendy Weatherby
- Mairi MacInnes
- Rod Paterson
- Jenna Reid
- Gordon Gunn
- Pete Clark
- Ron Shaw
- Lawrence Dunn
- Alison Lucas
- Jon Beales
- Jennifer Port
- James Ross
- Leo McCann
- Stevie Lawrence
- Frank McLaughlin
- Davie Scott
- Bill Martin
- Dougie Flower
- James Chamberlain
- John Morran
Cellist and composer Wendy Weatherby's musical interpretation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's A Scots Quair was initially commissioned by Celtic Connections in 2004. All three instalments - Sunset Song, Cloud Howe and Grey Granite ? have been performed individually at previous Celtic Connections festivals, with the commission culminating tonight with the first performance of the complete trilogy. Featuring lyrics by the Pearlfishers' Davie Scott, Weatherby's music seeks to evoke both the rural and urban, ancient and modern aspects of the novels./p>
Since graduating from the RSAMD in 1983, Wendy's interest in jazz and folk music has led her to play and sing at festivals throughout the UK, Europe, the USA and the former Soviet Union. She has worked and recorded with many top Scottish musicians including Hamish Moore, Billy Jackson, The Pearlfishers, Michael Marra and Phil Cunningham and has two solo albums to her credit.
Her theatre work includes The Ship and The Big Picnic (Bill Bryden), John Bett's adaptation of Burns' The Jolly Beggars for Wildcat, Catherine Wheels The Story of the Little Gentleman, and Wee Stories Arthur and Tam O' Shanter, for which she also composed the music. Other compositions include film scores A Thief in the Night, Tickets for the Zoo, and Saved shown on Channel 4 and BBC 2.
Wendy has hosted many workshops in both cello and singing. She is regularly featured in Dr Fred Freeman's illustrated lectures on Robert Burns, performing alongside Marc Duff (ex-Capercaillie) and John Morran (Deaf Shepherd) and is in demand as singer and cellist at events worldwide.
Beth Nielsen Chapman with Teddy Thompson
Sun 21 January, 7:30pm
£18, £16
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Main Auditorium
Beth Nielsen Chapman (8:50-10:20pm)
Teddy Thompson (7:30-8:30)
Beth Nielsen Chapman has become one of the pre-eminent singer/songwriters of her generation. Her music shows up regularly not only at the top of the charts, but on television (ER, Dawson's Creek, Providence, Felicity) and in movie soundtracks, including The Prince of Egypt, Message In A Bottle, The Rookie, Where The Heart Is and Practical Magic.
Among her biggest successes as a writer is This Kiss, a huge international hit for Faith Hill and ASCAP'S 1999 Song Of The Year. The song was co-written by Beth with Annie Roboff and Robin Lerner and garnered them a Grammy nomination. That same year Beth was chosen as Nashville NAMMY'S Songwriter of the Year and was inducted into The Alabama Music Hall Of Fame.
Beth's songs have been covered by a wide selection of artists including Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Ute Lempter and many more.
As an artist, Beth has released seven albums, four of which were on Warner Brother's records including her groundbreaking Sand & Water album, written and recorded following the death of her husband from cancer in 1994. This record is often used as a tool for healing through grief, and the song Sand & Water was performed by Elton John on his 1997 U.S. tour in place of Candle In The Wind to honour the memory of Princess Diana. As Beth toured during the release of Sand & Water she often taught workshops on creativity and working through grief.
Just as she was putting the finishing touches on her subsequent release Deeper Still (to which John Prine, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Kimmie Rhodes and Andy Bey all contributed background vocals) Beth was diagnosed with stage-two breast cancer. Successfully treated over the next twelve months, she went on to release the record and made it a point to speak about her experience and encourage women to be vigilant in caring for their health. Deeper Still was Beth's first release for Sanctuary Records.
Look, her second release for Sanctuary in 2004, marked a new turning point in a life touched by both great happiness and great sorrow, and just as sadness and love shape a soul as surely as sand and water shape the earth, we see this artist's heart emerge strong, happy and still tender.
In 2005 Beth released Hymns, a fascinating side-project of acapella hymns sung in Latin, produced by Beth and featuring beautiful harmonies, with her son Ernest singing the tenor parts and her father doing some of the bass parts.
Drawing influences from the fields of folk, country, pop and jazz, her songs address such timeless themes as loss, renewal, mortality, spirituality and grace under pressure.
Support tonight comes from the singer-songwriter son of UK folk icons Richard and Linda Thompson, Teddy Thompson, whose second album Separate Ways (2005) won widespread praise as the work of a fast-maturing talent.
"He delivers eloquent songs that balance emotional potency, exquisite melancholy and droll barbed humour." Uncut on Teddy Thompson
Bob Fox with Siobhan Miller
Sun 21 January, 8:00pm
£10
The National Piping Centre
Bob Fox
Siobhan Miller
"one of the best voices in England" Ralph McTell on Bob Fox:
Bob Fox first made his mark on the UK folk scene touring the country's folk clubs with Tom McConville, before teaming up with ex-Hedgehog Pie man Stu Luckley. This proved to be one of the most innovative and highly acclaimed collaborations ever seen on the folk scene and led to the release of their classic first album Nowt So Good'll Pass.
Following the success of this L.P. Bob and Stu were in great demand and played almost every folk club and festival in the U.K. including Cambridge, Cropredy, Edinburgh, Fylde and Cornwall and supported Richard and Linda Thompson and Ralph McTell on major British tours.
The duo released a second album Wish We Had Never Parted in 1982 before breaking up to pursue individual projects. Since then Bob has continued to work as a solo artist.
Siobhan Miller is a fine young traditional singer from Penicuik. She is an emerging talent on the Scottish folk scene and has appeared with acclaimed band Jock Tamson's Bairns.
Fest Noz with Skolvan
Sun 21 January, 8:00pm
£10
St Andrew's in the Square
A Fest Noz is a night festival, which involves traditional music, dancing and drinking. The traditional dances which feature in a Fest Noz date back to the Middle Ages, however the tradition of Fest Noz is more recent, being invented in the 1950s.
Skolvan was founded in 1984, at a time of great effort on the part of many musicians in France to preserve traditional music in Brittany. Tonight they introduce the atmosphere of a traditional Breton fest noz ("night festival") to Glasgow. Skolvan is one of the leading bands in Brittany's contemporary folk revival. As well as guest singers there will be a dance 'caller' to help you get your steps right along with food and drink from the Breton region.
Celtic Connections 2007 - A successful first week
In a successful first week for Celtic Connections 2007, the 19-day festival has already seen a whole host of highlights.
This year's festival launched on Wednesday 17th January in spectacular style, as Glasgow city centre witnessed over 100 torchbearers parade from George Square to The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in our opening torchlit procession. Representatives from Celtic Connections' principal sponsor, ScottishPower, joined the Lord Provost, festival friends and organizers, the ScottishPower Pipe Band and the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Pipe Band to pronounce the festival officially open.
Celtic Connections' opening concert Hands Across the Water launched a busy first week for the festival and for The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, which has already had full houses for both Clannad and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
In the exclusive live premiere of the 2004 Tsunami benefit album of the same name, Hands Across the Water brought together a top selection of international Celtic and Americana talent, as the audience were treated to performances by members of Altan, Capercaillie and Solas along with Beth Nielsen Chapman, Andrea Zonn, Jim Lauderdale and Darrell Scott, who had flown in from Nashville for the event.
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall was also proud to present the live premiere of the stage version of the highly acclaimed BBC Radio 2 Radio Ballads documentary series, which received a standing ovation.
As well as visits from top international artists, the festival also focused on various regions of Scotland in its first week. Capercaillie vocalist Karen Matheson made a surprise appearance at the Barra night in St Andrews in the Square, and the audience sang along to the songs at the Tiree night. After some complimentary whisky, soup and oatcakes at the Orkney night in the Strathclyde Suite, the audience left their seats to take part in an impromptu Strip the Willow in front of the stage.
The late night Celtic Connections Festival Club at the Holiday Inn City West, famed for staging unbilled appearances by festival performers, has already welcomed some of the festival's biggest names to its stage. Woodstock legend Richie Havens came straight from his gig at the ABC to play a set, with other artists having appeared over the week including Frankie Gavin and Tim Edey (whose initial two tune set extended to an hour), Adam Sutherland's 5.30am performance and The McDades, who got out of bed to play their third Celtic Connections gig in twenty-four hours.
American singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman paid an unexpected high-profile visit to the club's House of Song (a large collaborative singing session in which anyone can join in) after her concert on Sunday night. She brought with her members of The London Oriana Choir, who had earlier that evening appeared with her onstage in The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall's Main Auditorium. Those who were lucky enough to get in to the House of Song, which had queues extending out the door, joined in with Neilsen Chapman and her entourage in a singing session which included Americana and Scottish songs, including The Quine who does the strip at Inverurie.
And Shooglenifty were joined by groundbreaking Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq for a triumphant set at the Old Fruitmarket, which the audience danced to until 1am
Update - 4th February, 2007
'Celtic Connections has benefited the image of our country immeasurably?It inhabits the city in a way all festivals dream of, but few achieve.-' The Herald
Celtic Connections are delighted to report that the festival has enjoyed an extremely successful fourteenth year with new Artistic Consultant Donald Shaw and new principal sponsor ScottishPower.
Festival organisers succeeded in creating a more ambitious programme for this year-'s event, which featured more international artists than ever before. The festival connected with a wide range of musical genres, including classical, world and jazz, with concerts such as Scotland-'s Music Live with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Real World and L-'Occidentale de Fanfare. One-off concerts at this year-'s festival included the live stage premiere of BBC Radio 2-'s Radio Ballads and opening concert Hands Across the Water - the first and only live realisation of the tsunami benefit album of the same name, which brought together an array of Celtic and Americana talent.
Festival fans attended 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, which took place at 12 venues across Glasgow over 19 days in January and February. New venues for Celtic Connections 2007 included Classic Grand, ABC, and St Andrews in the Square.
With a 30% increase on ticket sales from last year, Celtic Connections 2007 also sold out twice as many shows as last year. Sold out shows included Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kate Rusby with Roddy Woomble, John Martyn: Solid Air, Eddi Reader and Friends, Seth Lakeman and Karine Polwart, McCalmans and Friends, Na h-Oganaich, James Grant, Justin Currie, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Idlewild, Salsa Celtica, Peatbog Faeries, Spirit, Salm and Sacred Song, Tiree Night, Banjo Night and Malinky.
The Celtic Connections Education Programme also enjoyed a successful festival, with 15,000 school children benefiting from a series of 10 school concerts in The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall-'s Main Auditorium. Well established bands such as Session A9, The McDades and the Peatbog Faeries played to audiences of excited school children from all over Scotland, many of whom experienced live music for the first time at Celtic Connections.
Celtic Connections 2007 marked a successful first year of a new principal sponsorship by international energy company ScottishPower, who are sponsoring the festival to the tune of £210,000 over three years. ScottishPower have been actively involved Celtic Connections 2007 throughout the past nineteen days, with the ScottishPower Pipe Band taking part in the opening torchlit procession which launched Celtic Connections 2007.
Celtic Connections continues to attract visitors from all over the world, expanding the international profile of the city as a tourist destination and affirming Glasgow-'s place on the cultural map. Celtic Connections will examine the economic impact of this year-'s festival thanks to a £15, 000 grant from EventScotland, Scotland-'s national organisation for sports and cultural events, which was awarded to the festival for a significant market research study. The study will also research areas of potential growth for the future.
Next year sees the festival enter into its fifteenth year, with Celtic Connections 2008 running from Wednesday 16th January - Sunday 3rd February 2008.
For more information please contact: The Celtic Connections Press Office
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 2 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow, G2 3NY
Tel:
0141 353 8070
E-mail:
claire sneddon
Tickets
for all shows are currently on sale and can be booked by phoning 0141
353 8000, online at www,celticconnections.com or in person at The
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall box office.