Celtic Connections
“It’s January, it’s Glasgow, the nights are long and cold. But with a jig here and a Scotch snap there, out of the darkness erupts the noisy winter carnival that is Celtic Connections, a riotous assembly of music and musicians drawn from five continents for an 18-day, 300-event hoedown that truly brings the city to life.” ~The Times
Glasgow’s annual folk, roots and world music festival, Celtic Connections celebrates Celtic music and its connections to cultures across the globe. Between 17th January – 3rd February 2013, 2,100 musicians from around the world will descend on Glasgow and bring the city to life for 18 days of concerts, ceilidhs, talks, art exhibitions, workshops, and free events.
Celtic Connections is programmed by Artistic Director (and founding member of Celtic supergroup Capercaillie) Donald Shaw, and features over 300 events across multiple genres of music.
The festival is renowned for its strong spirit of collaboration, bringing together one-off line-ups for very special one night only collaborative shows. The camaraderie between musicians continues into the wee small hours at the late-night Festival Club – home of legendary musical collaborations and spontaneous sessions.
“There are situations that you’ll see where people are playing that you’ll never see again, or if you do, it’s because it worked here first.” Donald Shaw, Artistic Director
The festival has broadened its reach over the last year and brought a taste of Celtic Connections to the Isle of Skye as part of the Year of Scotland’s Islands in March 2012. Audiences were delighted by performances from Rosanne cash, Raul Malo, Aoife O’Donovan, the Michael McGoldrick Band, Dàimh, The Deadly Gentlemen and Mànran.
Celtic Connections also visited Chicago in September 2012 as part of Year of Creative Scotland and programmed various musical performances throughout the Ryder Cup, including the Opening and Closing ceremonies along with a number of other hospitality events. Throughout the week there was an array of performers from Scotland and America, who celebrated the collaboration and long term partnerships that have developed over the festival’s history, in many performances in and around the Ryder Cup events programme. Celtic Connections also programmed two main concerts in the city of Chicago: Transatlantic Sessions premiere performance in the US at Millennium Park in partnership with World Music Festival, Chicago and a one-off show celebrating the cream of Scottish musical talent at the Harris Theater.
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