Celtic Connections

As Glasgow’s annual festival of traditional and world music celebrates a big birthday, we look back at its history and forward to what you can expect to see and hear at Celtic Connections 2023

Words: Clare Stevens

It is 30 years since music producer Colin Hynd founded Celtic Connections, a wide-ranging festival embracing both Scottish traditional music and other more youth-focused genres, to fill a gap in the post-Christmas schedules of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (GRCH). It will never work, scoffed the city’s arts commentators – but it did. Promoted by BBC Radio Scotland, the first festival attracted 33,000 people to the concert hall, which had been opened in 1990 in time for Glasgow’s year as European City of Culture and is one of the largest in the UK.

The event quickly outgrew GRCH, and by 2008 festival attendances reached 120,000 over 19 days across 14 venues throughout the city. The last pre-COVID edition, in 2020, included more than 300 events in 29 venues with a reported attendance of 130,000. A year later, Celtic Connections was one of the first organisations in Scotland to stage a completely digital-first festival, with unique content curated from specially commissioned projects and performances, filmed in many of Glasgow’s much-loved venues. More than 27,000 tickets and passes were sold and viewers from more than 60 countries tuned in. The 2022 festival did include in-person events, but with many restrictions and last-minute cancellations due to the Omicron variant.

The expectation for 2023, however, is that Celtic

Connections will be back to normal, and an ambitious and eclectic programme has been planned to celebrate its 30th anniversary, and acknowledge the resilience of the Scottish music scene and the live entertainment industry in the face of adversity.

The aim since the start has been to offer as wide a range of events as possible, in order to attract different audiences, since no one group of music fans is likely to be able attend performances every night for nearly three weeks. A controversial issue in the early years was how traditional folk and world music is defined – Hynd attracted criticism for his refusal to allow what he called ‘tartan shortbread artists’ or ‘Scottish folk karaoke’ to be included. ‘I like music to be authentic, based on the roots. It has to be good,’ he told the Irish Times in 2002. ‘The quality has to be good, the singing has to be heartfelt. Or I’ll go the opposite way, with artists who have taken the music and developed something entirely ground-breaking, different and new.’

Hynd’s successor as artistic director, taking the helm in 2006, was performer and composer Donald Shaw, one of the founding members of the hugely successful band Capercaillie. For 12 years he took the lead in planning an increasingly ambitious programme, but in 2018 a significant shake-up of the event’s organisation was announced, in response to the realisation that resources and funding were stretched.

The festival didn’t need to become any bigger, Shaw told The Scotsman newspaper at the time, but the nature of performances had changed. ‘It’s often no longer a straightforward situation of a stage with a few musicians on it. A lot of artists want to connect with film, spoken word, visuals and theatre in their shows. ’ To facilitate this process, Shaw’s role/title has changed to Creative Producer, and he works with festival manager Jade Hewat and a team of guest directors to coordinate the various strands of the festival. It is delivered with funding from Glasgow City Council through the charity Glasgow Life, with support from Creative Scotland and The Scottish Government Festivals Expo Fund.

It’s often no longer a straightforward situation of a stage with a few musicians on it. A lot of artists want to connect with film, spoken word, visuals and theatre in their shows.

Celtic Connections prides itself on its international relationships and this year it will once again extend a hand of musical friendship to artists and audiences across the world. Visitors will include Rokia Koné from Mali, known for her explosive performances with Les Amazones D’Afrique and performing from her awardwinning new album with producer Jacknife Lee. One of Africa’s most successful and popular musical exports Amadou & Mariam will return to the festival with their all-star band and the Moroccan-French outfit Bab L’Bluz will perform a brew of folk, rock and blues.

Americana will feature strongly, with visiting artists from across the pond including singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sierra Hull from Tennessee, sharing a bill with Nashville’s singer-songwriter and fiddler extraordinaire Rachel Baiman; triple Grammywinner Lucinda Williams; and newcomers Sammy Rae & The Friends. Canada’s Lonesome Ace Stringband will showcase their blend of bluegrass, folk and country, and Glasgow’s Theatre Royal will host a Song Circle show that will include the vocals of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Karine Polwart, Julie Fowlis and Robert Vincent. Firm festival favourite Transatlantic Sessions will celebrate its 20th Anniversary with an all-star lineup including Martha Wainwright, Hothouse Flowers frontman Liam Ó Maonlai, Capercaillie’s Karen Matheson and Amethyst Kiah. As ever, the show’s house band will be the crème-de-la-crème of Celtic and Americana roots talent, including Phil Cunningham, John Doyle, Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker, Donald Shaw, James Mackintosh and Daniel Kimbro, with joint masters of ceremonies Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas.

Each year since 2000, Celtic Connections has partnered with a different country to create new international industry links and advance opportunities for their musicians through Showcase Scotland. In 2023 the festival will celebrate the folk traditions of two of Scotland’s closest Celtic cousins, Brittany and Wales.

But of course Scottish musicians are at the heart of the programme. Highlights include the world premiere of Moving Cloud – an exciting collaboration of contemporary dance and traditional music created by Celtic Connections and Scottish Dance Theatre, with a new score performed by a 14-piece folk ensemble featuring the musicians of TRIP and Sian, along with Greg Lawson and Alice Allen.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra returns for a unique collaboration with two of Scotland’s most internationally celebrated traditional musicians, Chris Stout (fiddle) and Catriona McKay (clarsach) in a marriage of contemporary folk and classical music. Fiddle player and composer Duncan Chisholm has performed at almost every Celtic Connections festival since the start, and will return this year with the premiere of his new album Black Cuillin. Also returning this year are Ross Ainslie but on this occasion as part of Trio Da Kali & Special Guests; singer Hannah Rarity, this time performing with ex-frontman Colin Hay of the Grammy award winning Men at Work, and Orchestral Qawwali Project who combine together Sufi poetry, Indian classical dance and orchestral arrangements in their performance. Since 1999 over 200,000 children, from 70% of Glasgow’s schools, have taken part in Celtic Connections’ education events – often their first ever experience of live music. Strands: 30th Anniversary Youth Concert will be a joint celebration of Celtic Connections’ 30th edition and this pioneering programme. Young musicians will come together from regions across Scotland, showcasing their home traditions before premiering a brand new ensemble composition from Treacherous Orchestra co-founder John Somerville. The Opening Concert in the Royal Concert Hall will celebrate the history of the festival, with a panoply of artists who’ve featured prominently over the years taking part, alongside those emerging from the vibrant folk scene, reflecting Celtic Connections’ multi-generational breadth, its Internationalism and collaborative, cross-genre spirit. Each year since 2000,h year since 2000, CelticCeltic Connections has parctions has partnered with tnered with a differentferent country to create country to create new international international industry links dustry links and advance oppadvance oppor ortunities tunities for their musicians through heir musicians through Showcase ScotlanShowcase Scotland d

‘Our 30th anniversary is a hugely important moment for the festival, especially considering the last couple of years, which have been incredibly tough for so many musicians and the live entertainment industry in general,’ says Donald Shaw. ‘Celtic Connections 2023 is an opportunity to commemorate how far the festival and the Scottish music scene has come, and to also celebrate the fact that we are still here.’

Celtic Connections 2023 runs from Thursday 19 January to Sunday 5 February. Celticconnections.com

Left: Orchestral Qawwali Project & SCO @ GRCH Right: Tim Edey @ GRCH

Photo: Gaelle Beri