Regardless of where you’re from or what kind of music you place, if you’re a musician passing through Glasgow between 18 Jan and 4 Feb, there’s a great chance you’ll be performing under the Celtic Connections umbrella, whether you’re playing lofty contemporary classical or rootsy americana. These connections might be tenuous by this point, but the festival’s 25th outing is set to be an anniversary event worth the coming together. With over 2100 artists set to appear across 20 venues come wind or snow (and Glasgow’s had plenty of both recently), here’s what we’re most excited for:
25th Anniversary Concert @ Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Thu 18 Jan
Overseen by original festival performer David Milligan, this year’s inaugural performance aims to reflect the festival’s cross-genre and –generational ethos.
Modern Studies with Lomond Campbell @ St. Luke’s, Sun 21 Jan
A double bill of Scottish indie royalty, reprising a transportive collaboration from last year’s Edinburgh Fringe.
Carla J Easton @ Hug & Pint, Thu 25 Jan
A specially curated night from the people behind crowd-funded label Last Night From Glasgow, headlined by the avant garde singer-songwriter.
Richard Dawson @ Platform, Sun 28 Jan
Celebrated and cerebral folk from Newcastle upon Tyne. If you thought latest album Peasant was earthier than a pig in muck, wait until you catch it live.
A. Savage @ Broadcast, Wed 31 Jan
Snotty frontman of New York’s Parquet Courts dabbled in earnest Americana with last year’s Thawing Dawn. But was it passion project or just vanity? You decide later this month.