Folk and Traditional Sounds at the Heart of Celtic Connections 2013

At the heart of the Celtic Connections 2013 festival is the vibrant folk and traditional music scene, with some of the UK and Ireland’s finest musicians set to raise the roof this January and February. Artists include Scottish folk rockers Skerryvore, Irish quintet Goitse and folk singer and guitarist Nic Jones will be performing alongside his son Joseph and Belinda O’Hooley.

Gaelic infused folk-rock band Mànran will also be returning to this year’s festival alongside Irish folk band Kila. Young Highland hotshots Rura will be taking to the stage supported by singer-songwriter Norrie MacIver and his band. The 2009 Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year Rua Macmillan and his band will be headlining at the Oran Mór.

Scottish Fiddler Duncan Chisholm will be performing his Strathglass Suite in the beautiful surroundings of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Solas will be performing Shamrock City which is a body of music both honoring the Irish experience as the backbone of the US industrial revolution and addressing current debates over immigration. This performance will feature archive and newly-shot film footage from Butte, Montana, nicknamed Shamrock City.

One of today’s most incisive, articulate and exquisitely expressive singer-songwriters Karine Polwart will be performing songs from her fifth album Traces which has been greeted with critical acclaim since its release earlier this year.

Brooklyn based fiddler Jeremy Kittel is a fast-rising star of contemporary Celtic music whose headlining performance will be sure to showcase his bold, yet sensitive, traditional arrangements.

Once again, the festival spotlight shines on Gaelic talent. The life and songs of the great Gaelic singer Flora MacNeil will be celebrated in a night hosted by her daughter, singer and clarsair Maggie MacInnes and features some of her most iconic songs, performed by the Boys of the Lough, Karen Matheson, Ireland’s Peadar Ó Riada, and the Cúil Aodha choir, among other special guests – none more special, of course, than the lady herself.

Celtic Connections 2013 takes place in Glasgow between January 17th and February 3rd.

Tickets for Celtic Connections are available at www.celticconnections.com, by phone at 0141 353 8000, or in person at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls and Old Fruitmarket.