listings compiled by iiorman Chalmers
Information
Celtic Connections: runs from Wed 15 January to Mon 3 February
Venues: Unless otherwise stated, all concerts are at venues within the Glasgow lioyal Concert iiail, 2 Sauchiehall Street; others take place at The Piping Centre. 30 McPhater Street, Cowcaddens; Adelaide’s. 209 Bath Street; The Barony iiall. MacLeod Street; the Fruitmaritet, Albion Street; and the Festival Club. l0.30pm-3am at the Central Hotel, Gordon Street. There are exhibitions of painting and photography, record and merchandise stalls and live radio broadcasts from the GRCH. See the Celtic Connections official programme for a full list of workshops and masterclasses.
Tickets and lnfonnation:
lnforrnation line Ol4l 353 4137. Credit card booking 014i 287 5511. Tickets also bookable from the Ticket Centre. Candleriggs. 0141 287 5511. Special access information on the Accessibility Hotline Ol4l 332 6633. ext 4 l 37.
WEDNESDAY 15
I Highlands and Islands Suite Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £7.50—£2|.50. Phil Cunningham’s magnum opus. orchestrated and conducted by Dave Heath. with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra the Glasgow Phoenix Choir. and the assembled-for-the- show Highland Fiddle Orchestra featuring top scrapers front Capcrcaillie. Wolfstone and other folk bands. Soloists include vocalist Karen Matheson, twin harps from Sileas. the three Glenuig MacDonald Brothers on Highland pipes. Manus Lunny on bouzouki. Shooglenifty‘s James Mackintosh on percussion and Aly Bain on fiddle.
THURSDAY 16
I Capercaillie/la Bottine Souriante Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £l3. £l l. £8.50 (standing). French-Canadian nine- piece La Bottine‘s Glasgow gig late last year was a highlight. Superb rhythm. musicianship. humour. a Falstaffian lead vocalist and a wall-of-sound brass section are their basics. For all their famous musical skills. and singer Karen Matheson‘s unique vocal abilities. Capercaillie just might sound tame in comparison.
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I Dervish/Simon Thoumire Trio Strathclyde Suite. 8pm. £9.50. Great
by fizzy singer/trad percussion player Cathy Jordan. Simon Thoumire squeezes
new life out of the concertina. in a quality
folk/jazz fission.
I The Folk Divas Adelaide's. 8pm. £6. The regal Gaelic singer lshbel MacAskill with her lady-in-waiting. leading Scots singer Sheena Wellington. both attended
by youthful fiddle and harp in the hands
of Fiona Moore and lngrid Henderson.
I iiumpff Family/Drop The Box Old Fruitmarket. 9pm. £8.50. Energetic. sometimes raucous roots from two
distinctive Scottish outfits. both musical rnagpies. with the Humpffs ahead in the
anarchy stakes.
FRIDAY 17
Sligo-based band playing tight. authentic. straight-ahead traditional music. fronted
I Sileas Piping Centre. 6pm. £5. With a
new Sileas album just out. and taking time
out from the Poozies and Calcdon. Patsy Seddon and Mary MacMaster play gut and metal-strung Scottish small harps. with vocals in Gaelic. English and Scots. I Opening Ceilidh Central Hotel. 8pm. £10. With the Fabulous Borsini Brothers and their guests. Antipasto and accordion
anorak Phil Parmaham leads other
celebrated. costumed ceilidh caperers in a night of secret music for dancing. Plus the
Portobello Ceilidh Band.
Socialism with a melody. social from two great performers.
I Jock Tamson’s Bairns/Chantan Strathclyde Suite. 8pm. £9.50. The
Elspeth Cowie and Corrina iiewat.
and Bay Fisher. I Horse/God’s Boyfriend ()ld
roots showing from a woman with a
foursome.
night commission from the musical
Bairn‘s ‘Lasses Fashion' was chosen by Richard Thompson as one of his top ten favourite albums (his only ‘folk' choice). Following the release of a compilation CD. the band have re-formed after more than a decade. and are here supported by vocal harmony trio Chantan. comprising the powerful voices of Christine Kydd.
I Songs of Three iiations Adelaide‘s.
8pm. £6. England. Wales and Scotland represented by Jo Freya. Siwsann George.
Fruitmarket. 9.30pm. £1 l. Rock with its
I Simon Thoumire Orchestra Festival Club. 10.30pm. Free. Special opening-
I Billy Bragg/Dick Gaughan and Guests Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £12.5()/£l().5().
conscience in rhythm. A challenging night
famous voice. and a young East Kilbride
imagination of concertina wiz Thoumire in a nine-piece band of topjazz and folk players performing a three-piece suite.
1 fl -. 1 I Dervish: The
16 Jan.
best place to hear Dervish yr old be in their local Sllgo pub, but on- stage they are little different. Unprotentious and good-humoured. their so-together ensemble sound is made from the basic building-blocks of Irish traditional music, the reel, fig and homplpe; the tiddle, flute and box - with Cathy Jordan's engaging songs, and her galvanlslng rhythms on bones and bodhran. Dervish, Strathclyde Suite, Thurs
3?.
I Ashley Maclsaac: infant-terrible of Cape Breton musicians, the self-confessed fiddle slut enioys jamming in the Big Apple with David Byrne, Philip Glass and Paul Simon, and brings to Glasgow his unruly fiddle and his muso pals, the Kitchen Devils. Ashley Maclsaac,
The Fruitmaritet, Wed 22 Jan.
SATURDAY 18
I Afternoon Ceilidh Exhibition Hall. 3pm. £3.50. Music by youthful Leithers Wild Geese.
I Simon Thoumire Trio Piping Centre. 6pm. £5. Highly individual. superbly played. concertina-led folk/jazz crossover. I Gathering of the Choirs Main Auditorium. Noon. £6. Glasgow Gaelic Music Association in concert with llangwyn Male Voice Choir from. guess where'.’
I Kevin Burke’s Open House/Deaf Shepherd Strathclyde Suite. 2pm. £6. A wholly delightful pot-pourri from the ex- Bothy Band fiddler and his quartet of North American music maestros. wacky songwriters and jaw-dropping dance licks. in support the aurally-challenged swains play fast. cheerful Scottish music on bagpipes. fiddle and all.
I Did Blind Dogs/Feisty DesomsStrathclyde Suite. 8pm. £9.50. Aberdeen and lnverness send two bands: the Dogs play and sing contemporary. highly percussive arrangements of trad Scots. the Bcsorns are an all-women group of essentially acapella singers with a light- hearted, wide-ranging repertoire.
I The Muckle Sangs Adelaide‘s. 8pm. £6. Scots song from performers of all ages. led by septuagenarian Jock Duncan. with Brian Miller. and Maureen Jelks and the younger voices of John Morran and Barbara-Anne Burnet. Also on the bill is lrish traveller/singer iiosie Stewart.
I Silencers/Drop The Box Old Fruitmarket. 9.30pm. £1 l. Glasgow and Shetland songwriters in rocky/pop roots. Silencers were responsible for that so-awful-it-was- funny rendition of Wild Mountain Thyme for the Scottish Tourist Board!
I Emma Christian Glasgow Cathedral. 10pm. £6. Songs in the old Manx Gaelic language. with music from the isle of Man on small harp and recorder. and all lit by candles.
I Festival Club Central Hotel. l0.30pm. Free.
I Ceilidh Exhibition Hall. 10.30pm. £6. Music by Ben Wyvis and the last Resort. Hank Marvin meets Jimmy Shand.
SUNDAY 19
I Harp Forum The Piping Centre. 2pm. £5. Top harp and clarsach players in an open discussion.
I Catriona MacDonald and Ian lowthian
Piping Centre. 6pm. £5. Huge skills on fiddle and piano accordion from this award-winning duo.
I Iris DeMent and The Trouble Makers Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £13 (£1 l ). The star country-tinged American songwriter brings her own band. Supported by Deaf Shepherd.
I Gwen/Fred Morrison and Charlie McKerron Strathclyde Suite. 2pm. £6. The seminal Breton septet. a huge influence on a generation of musicians and singers. supported by Capercaillie's dynamic pairing of pipes and fiddle.
I Tony MacManus and Friends/Dougie Pincock Strathclyde Suite. 8pm. £9.50. Highly accomplished young Scots acoustic guitarist with Breton friends from Gwen. Scots Gaelic singer Ishbei McAsitill and Deaf Shepherd's Malcolm Stitt. Ex-Battlefield piper and multi- instrurnentalist Pincock supports.
I Wolistone/La Bottine Souriante 01d Fruitmarket. 9pm. £i l.
These two bands unleash massive amounts ofenergy. and hail from the Scottish Highlands and French Canada. The former are on the rockier side of folk. the latter are more acoustic. but with breathtaking brass and jazzy keyboards. I Festival Club Central Hotel. 10.30pm. Free.
MONDAY 20
I Celtic Conversations Strathclyde Suite. lptn. £3.50. Jimmy MacGregor.
I Robin Williamson Piping Centre. 6pm. £5. Ex-lncredible String Band harpist and storyteller.
I Bias/Mary Jane lamond Main Auditorium. 7.30pm. £l?..50/£lO.50. Gaelic night hosted by Malcolm Jones. Donnie Munro and Peter Wishart of Bunrig. They will perform and introduce Gaelic singers Flora Maciieil. lshbel McAsltiil and lain Macilay. with Capercaillie's piper Fred Morrison. Lamond is the leading younger-generation Gaelic singer of Cape Breton origin.
I Savourna Stevenson, June Tabor and Danny Thompson Strathclyde Suite. 8pm. £9.50. They’re among the finest folk- derived musicians in Britain. and Stevenson‘s harp. Tabor‘s voice and Thompson's bass are currently united in an album and a tour. Support by fiddle and box tnaestros Catriona MacDonald and ion lowthian.
I La Bottine Souriante/Kevin Burke’s Open
20 The List l0-23 Jan 1997