Mackintosh Church, New Venue at Celtic Connections 2015

 

The picturesque Mackintosh Church has been added as a venue for Celtic Connections 2015. There will be three very special concerts performed within this iconic building.

An Evening with Mairi Smith and Friends will feature the delicately earthy, sublimely elemental timbre of Lewis-born Mairi Smith’s voice. Her profound understanding of the Gaelic tradition has made her one of Scotland’s most revered singers in any language. In this Celtic Connections concert she explores and celebrates the close Gaelic kinship between Scotland and Ireland, in company with sisters Tríona and Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, whose illustrious joint careers takes in work with Skara Brae, The Bothy Band, Relativity and Coolfin, as well as solo work and the recent super group T with the Maggies. Also featured are two of the younger Scottish singers that Smith continues to inspire, Brave soundtrack star Julie Fowlis and former Daimh vocalist Calum Alex MacMillan.

An Evening with Mairi Smith and Friends
Fri 16 January, 7:30pm
£15

 

 

The sounds of Ganesh Kumaresh with Trio AAB will also be reverberating of the Mackintosh Church walls during next year’s festival Combining serious musicianship with an infectious sense of fun, Scotland’s Trio AAB – twin brothers Tom and Phil Bancroft, on drums and saxophone, and guitarist Kevin Mackenzie – cite influences that range from “post-Ornette bop to The Sound of Music”. Here they team up for an exciting and adventurous cross-cultural exchange with leading Indian violinists Ganesh and Kumaresh Rajagopalan, plus percussionist Anantha R Krishnan.

Ganesh Kumaresh with Trio AAB and Patsy Reid
Sat 17 January, 7:30pm
£15

 

 

The final concert to take place in the Mackintosh, for 2015’s festival anyway, will be An Evening with Jimmie Macgregor and friends Now 84 years young, Glasgow’s own Jimmie Macgregor has enjoyed an astonishingly long and diverse career, working variously as a schoolteacher, quarryman, mortuary attendant, potter, illustrator, radio and TV presenter – and above all, of course, as one of Scotland’s most cherished and important folk musicians. His long-time partnership with the late Robin Hall reached a TV audience of millions through their celebrated nightly appearances on the BBC’s Tonight show, and later on the White Heather Club, with many of their songs going on to become folk standards. Few performers can have anything like as many musical friends to pick from, so settle back for an evening of the choicest entertainment.

An Evening with Jimmie Macgregor and Friends
Sat 24 January, 7:30pm
£15

More at www.celticconnections.com