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Announcement Full Programme Celtic Connections Online Festival 2021

Celtic Connections online festival Friday 15^th January and Tuesday 2^nd February 2021

Programme Information

Opening in unparalleled style, the first online concert from the festival will include sets from some of the very best musicians on both the Scottish and international music scenes. With over 12 performances packed into the 90-minute show, the footage has been recorded across many of Glasgow’s venues as well as captured remotely across the world, bringing a true feeling of optimism and connections as it welcomes back so many musicians who have graced the festival stages across the years.

Each night’s online concert will show an ambitious line-up

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Friday 15th January, 2021

• Celtic Connections 2021 Online Celebration Concert (Various Artists) 7.30pm – 9pm £10
• Aired on BBC ALBA channel: EP1 Cuirm@Celtic Connections: Duncan Chisholm 9pm

Saturday 16^th January 2021

BEMIS presents ‘The New Scots in Concert’ 6pm – 6.50pm £2

Shooglenifty – RANT – Fiona Hunter – Paul McKenna 7.30pm – 9pm £7

Two concerts, with the first in the shape of BEMIS presents ‘The New Scots in Concert’ with music from Jamaican musician Brina, whose sound is steeped in the rhythm of her native culture and inspired by World Roots Reggae music. The Ando Glasho Collective, a group that showcases the cultural heritage of the Roma people living here in Scotland, will also perform as part of this early evening show.

Later that evening Celtic Connections will welcome to its stage the heady line-up of acid croft pioneers Shooglenifty, fiddle playing royalty RANT and scots singer Fiona Hunter (of Malinky fame). One of Scotland’s finest young singer-songwriters Paul McKenna will also perform as well as Sudanese singer-songwriter Amira Kheir.

Sunday 17th January, 2021

Josie Duncan – ‘New Voices’ 1pm £2

Chris Stout & Catriona McKay – Georgia Cecile – Fergus McCreadie – Sona Jobarteh 7.30pm – 9pm £7

The afternoon of Sunday 17^th January will have viewers settling into Josie Duncan’s New Voices commission while the evening will once again welcome a smorgasbord of talent in the shape of long-term collaborators and cross-genre pioneers Chris Stout and Catriona McKay and the Gambian artist and first female Kora virtuoso from a west African Griot family Sona Jobarteh. Jazz will also take centre stage on the Sunday night with award-winning jazz artists, including Jazz FM vocalist of the year nominee 2020 Georgia Cecile and jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie whose second album, Cairn, is out on 29^th January.

Monday 18th January, 2021 

Come Away In with Karine Polwart, Eddi Reader, Rab Noakes, Siobhan Miller & Finlay Napier 7.30pm – 9pm £7

A special show entitled Come Away In will air on Monday 18^th January. Inspired by Karine Polwart’s song of the same name that celebrates Scottish hospitality and is partly inspired by The Wren’s Nest by Robert Burns, this song circle show will include performances from some of the best vocalist on the Scottish music scene – Karine Polwart, Eddi Reader, Rab Noakes, Siobhan Miller & Finlay Napier.

Tuesday 19th January, 2021   

Dementia Friendly Concert with Catherine Tinney and Luc McNally 1pm -1.45pm free

Breabach – Aidan O’ Rourke 365 – Rachel Newton – Bassekou Kouyate – Katherine Priddy 7.30pm – 9pm £7

Scottish folk group Breabach will perform as part of the show being aired on Tuesday 19^th January. Part of Aidan O’Rourke’s 365 show will also be aired where he will once again be joined by Kit Downes. Singer and harpist Rachel Newton (winner of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year in 2017) will also perform songs from her new album To the Awe. One of the true masters of the ngoni, an ancient traditional lute found throughout West Africa, Bassekou Kouyate will perform with his quartet of fellow instrumentalists Ngoni Ba, recorded remotely in his home village of Garana in Mali. Brummie folk musician Katherine Priddy will also perform as part of tonight’s entertainment.

Wednesday 20th January, 2021

Blue Rose Code – Karen Matheson – LYRE – Rory Butler 7.30pm – 9pm £7

Wednesday 20^th January will showcase Blue Rose Code, the musical embodiment of Edinburgh-born musician Ross Wilson. Karen Matheson of Capercaillie fame will also perform a mixture of new material from her new solo album Still Time, out next month.  Strings trio LYRE are a new group comprising of Patsy Reid, Alice Allen and Marit Fält and they, alongside Scottish acoustic troubadour Rory Butler, complete the line-up for this mid-week show.

Thursday 21st January, 2021 

Ross Ainslie Band – Talisk – Mànran – Siobhan Miller – Beth Malcolm 7.30pm – 9pm £10

Scottish trad will take to the stage on Thursday 21^st January with multi-instrumentalist Ross Ainslie and his band alongside renowned folk-trad groups Talisk and Mànran. Scottish singer-songwriters Siobhan Miller and Beth Malcolm will also perform.

Friday 22nd January, 2021 

Blazin Fiddles – Xabier Diaz – Gnoss – Deirdre Graham 7.30pm – 9pm £7

Aired on BBC ALBA channel: EP2 Cuirm@Celtic Connections: The Staves 9pm

Friday 22^nd January will be headlined by the exuberant fiddle playing of contemporary folk group Blazin’ Fiddles. Galicia’s Xabier Diaz records his set from his native Santiago de Compostela and the folk four-piece Gnoss and Gaelic singer Deirdre Graham perform sets from Glasgow’s stages.

Saturday 23rd January, 2021 

Dreamers Circus – Kathleen MacInnes – Imar – Rajasthan Dawn Concert 7.30pm – 9pm £7

Admiral Fallow in Concert 9pm – 10pm £7

Dementia Friendly Concert with Robbie Greig and Hamish MacLeod 1pm -1.45pm free

Fara – Rachel Walker – Assynt – Chloë Bryce 7.30pm – 9pm £7

The first concert of Saturday 23^rd January will welcome Nordic folk outfit Dreamers’ Circus who have recorded from at home Denmark. Vocalist and exponent of the Gaelic tradition Kathleen MacInnes and folk five-piece Ímar will join the Nordic trio on tonight’s bill.

A special performance which has been captured for the festival in Rajasthan will also be part of this middle weekend show. The Womanly Voices of Jodhpur Riff was recorded at 4am with eight local female Rajasthan musicians playing as the moon went down and the sun came up. The line-up includes mother Sundar Rao and her daughter Ganga Rao on vocals, alongside Mohini Devi also on vocals and her daughter Susheela – the very first Rajasthani woman folk artist to play the khartal instrument on an international platform (with her first performance at Jodhpur RIFF – Rajasthan International Folk Festival in 2019 and now as part of Celtic Connections 2021.)  

The later Saturday night show, starting at 9pm, will be Scottish indie group Admiral Fallow who will perform a one-hour concert for the festival.

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Sunday 24th January, 2021   

Charlie Stewart – New Voices 1pm £2

The Secret Sisters – Kinnaris Quintet – An Tobar Presents 7.30pm – 9pm £7

José González in Concert from Sweden 9pm – 10pm £10

Sunday 24^th January will be a day packed full of entertainment with three online concerts. The first of the day will be the festival’s second New Voices commission, this time from 2017’s BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Charlie Stewart.

The evening’s show will welcome the Americana duo The Secret Sisters. A high energy and driving performance will also come from Kinnaris Quintet. An Tobar is a creative hub on the beautiful Isle of Mull and for the first time they have commissioned a special set for this year’s festival that will be performed by Mairearad Green, Sorren MacLean & Hannah Fisher and Roddy Woomble of Idlewild fame.

The late-night show on Sunday 24^th January will come from the legendary Argentine-Swedish singer-songwriter José González. After an unusually long break from live shows and recording of a new album for release later this year, José González will join in with an exclusive solo performance from a special venue in Gothenburg, Sweden.

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Monday 25th January, 2021 

James Grant & Halleluliah String Quartet – Siobhan Wilson – Zoë Bestel 7.30pm – 8.45pm £7

Aired on BBC Scotland channel: BURNS NIGHT with the BBC SSO, EDDI READER and KAREN MATHESON 7pm – 8pm

Aired on BBC ALBA channel: EP3 Cuirm@Celtic Connections: Bard Mhealboist 10pm

James Grant & the Hallelujah String Quartet will perform a 50-minute set on Monday 25^th January, supported by multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer Siobhan Wilson and nu-folk singer-songwriter Zoë Bestel.

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Tuesday 26th January, 2021 

Dementia Friendly Concert with Robbie Greig and Hamish MacLeod 1pm -1.45pm free

Fara – Rachel Walker – Assynt – Chloë Bryce 7.30pm – 9pm £7

On Tuesday 26^th January the fiddle-led group Fara will take to the stage. They will be joined by an eclectic mix of Scottish talent in the form of singer-songwriter Rachel Walker, folk trio Assynt, fiddler Chloë Bryce and singer Amy Papiransky.

Wednesday 27^th January will showcase two Celtic Connections shows, with the first being ‘Home on the Sea’ (sponsored by CalMac).

Celtic Connections favourites Cherish the Ladies will return for the online edition of the festival also on Wednesday 27^th January. Their performance will be well and truly warmed up by sets from Nae Plans with Hamish Napier & Adam Sutherland and folk quartet Westward the Light.

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Thursday 28th January, 2021 

The Conundrum 2021 – TRYST – Project Smok 7.30pm – 9pm £7

Thursday 28^th January will welcome a night of piping with The Conundrum 2021 – a line-up of pipers that includes Finlay MacDonald, Ross Ainslie, Malin Lewis, Ailis Sutherland, Conal McDonagh, Bradley Parker and a band of Steven Blake, Steve Byrnes and David Foley. Also joining this bill are Tryst, the 10-member band of pipers. The neo-trad trio Project Smok will open the night of entertainment with a number of tunes built around the distinctive piping of BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2020 Ali Levack. 

Friday 29th January, 2021   

Transatlantic Sessions with Special Guests 7.30pm – 8.30pm £10

QuebecFest featuring Le Vent Du Nord, De Temps Antan & Isle Gross 8.45pm- 10.00pm £7

Friday 29^th January will showcase a Celtic Connections flagship event, Transatlantic Sessions, which will welcome the regular all-star line-up from here in Scotland and across the pond. The festival will also air a concert that celebrates the music of Quebec with QuebecFest, featuring Le Vent du Nord, De Temps Antan & Isle Gross.

The final weekend offers another jam-packed entertainment offering with the first of the Saturday shows coming from Inverness where indie-folk band Elephant Sessions perform a 75-minute gig from The Ironworks venue.

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Saturday 30th January, 2021 

Elephant Sessions in Concert £10

Roaming Roots Revue with Special Guests £10

Starting at 9pm on Saturday 30^th January will be Roaming Roots Revue with this year’s theme aptly being Songs for Survival. The renowned festival favourite will welcome an all-star line-up of Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro fame, indie/art rockers Field Music, Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh (Deacon Blue), folk trio The Staves, experimental triad LAU, singer-songwriters Heir of the Cursed and Rachel Sermanni, all beautifully accompanied by the inimitable house band of Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire.

Sunday 31st January, 2021 

Steven Blake – New Voices 1pm £2

Edwin Morgan 100^th 7.00pm – 7.45pm £5

Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi – Kris Drever – Dean Owens with Joey Burns (Calexico) 8pm – 9.30pm £7

The afternoon of Sunday 31^st January will showcase the festival’s third and final New Voices Commission from Steven Blake of Rura fame.

A special show celebrating Edwin Morgan at 100 will be aired on the Sunday night which will showcase a selection of performances of songs that have been written to Edwin Morgan’s poems by artists such as Roddy Woomble and Karine Polwart. The festival has also commissioned a new piece of work from Gavin Bryars who has written a choral work based on poems by Morgan called the Sonnets from Scotland (this show is in collaboration with Edinburgh international book festival).

The later show on Sunday 31^st January comes from Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi. They will be supported by Orkney singer-songwriter Kris Drever (Lau), Americana singer Dean Owens who will perform alongside Calexico’s Joey Burns, Cahalen Morrison will complete tonight’s bill.

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Monday 1st February, 2021

Taigh Chearsabhadh 7.30pm – 8.30pm £5

On Monday 1^st February, Uist’s Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre have commissioned a special show that celebrates the talent that has come out of or been inspired by the island.

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Tuesday 2^nd February, 2021

Closing Event

Programming information to be confirmed

Celtic Connections and BBC ALBA

Celtic Connections welcomes BBC ALBA as broadcast partner with exclusive performances shown on the channel throughout the festival. This includes a new series of Cuirm@Celtic Connections featuring performances from festival acts. The first episode, that airs on the festival opening night (BBC ALBA Friday 15th January at 9pm) is a one-hour concert from Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum featuring fiddle legend Duncan Chisholm.  In a unique collaboration this concert will be available to viewers in the UK via the BBC iplayer and to viewers outside the UK via the Celtic Connections streaming service.

Throughout the month of January other artists featured in Cuirm@Celtic Connections will be The Staves, Gaelic artists Mischa Macpherson, James Graham and Ceitlin Lilidh, amongst others, will perform the works of Gaelic poet and songwriter Murdo MacFarlane in Bard Mhealboist, and Scottish Ensemble backed Gaelic singers including Karen Matheson perform in Co-sheirm.  In addition, just as the festival concludes there will be two special highlights programmes taking a look back over the festival.

BBC Scotland will also be showing a special Robert Burns night recorded as part of the festival on Monday 25^th January with performances from the BBC SSO, Eddi Reader and Karen Matheson. This will air at 7pm on the BBC Scotland channel.

Education Programme

Although the festival has gone online this year, the education element of the festival still holds as important a place as ever for Celtic Connections 2021.  The Celtic Connections Education Programme is now in its 23^rd year and has reached more than 200,000 children across the country since it began in 1999. This programme is supported directly by the festival’s Celtic Rover patron’s scheme, the membership programme during the festival that offers discounted rates on bookings and exclusive experiences during the festival.

The education offering this year will include 27 mini concerts, consisting of Scots song, Gaelic song, clarsach and an ‘Introduction to Indian Music’. The festival will house these online so that teachers can use them as a resource for home-learning. Every school in Scotland will have access to these mini concerts.

Dementia-friendly Concerts

Celtic Connections Dementia Friendly concerts will also go online this year. These performances offer concerts to people living with dementia, their carers and friends. Both concerts are also free to watch and available to access through the Celtic Connections website. The two concerts will feature Catherine Tinney and Luc McNally on Tuesday 19^th January and Robbie Greig and Hamish MacLeod on Tuesday 26^th January.

Ticketing Information

The ‘All Access’ ticket is priced at £40 and this will give access to all of the concerts taking place across the 19 days.

It is also now possible to purchase tickets for individual shows..

The Celtic Connections Rover Membership Programme is back for 2021 with a Celtic Rover Digital package that includes access to a host of exclusive Celtic Rover extras as well as the Celtic Connections Festival pass which gives the individual access to all of the festival content over the 19 days. The Celtic Rover Digital package is £45.

Buy Tickets at Celtic Connections Online

Additional Information

All concerts are recorded whilst fully adhering to social distancing guidelines and all current government guidance are observed and followed. 

Celtic Connections ask that even in watching and enjoying this digital-first festival, all audiences adhere to the government guidance relevant to them at their time of watching.

www.celticconnections.com

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