www.list.co.uk/music ■ Trilok Gurtu Band with Jan Garbarek and Shankar Mahadevan and Lau Royal Concert Hall: Main Auditorium, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £20 (£18). A truly international bill and Festival highlight as world-class Indian percussionist and composer Gurtu is joined by Norwegian saxophonist genius Jan Garbarek, Indian singer Mahadevan, and Scotland-based fiddle, accordion, guitar and vocal powerhouse trio Lau. See preview, page 64. ■ Buffy Sainte-Marie and Sonos The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £16. Canadian folk singer as well as activist, educator and Sesame Street star, Buffy has a career that spans around 50 years and many different spheres of activity. Her performance at last year’s Cambridge Folk Festival was lauded as an exciting return to form, and now she brings the show to Glasgow. Support from a capella sextet Sonos. ■ Sarah-Jane Summers Trio City Halls: Recital Rooms, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Highland lass Sarah- Jane Summers performs exquisitely on both the traditional fiddle and the Norwegian Hardanger multi-stringed fiddle, creating a sound that blends Scottish and Nordic traditions. ■ Songs of Scotland: Bothy and Border Songs The Universal, Sauchiehall Lane, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Ishbel MacAskill hosts another concert in the Songs of Scotland series, with performances from two greats of the tradition: Jock Duncan and Henry Douglas. ■ Tom Paxton and Michelle Burke City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £16. Legendary folk singer/songwriter whose credits include ‘The Last thing on my Mind’, ‘Ramblin’ Boy’ and ‘Bottle of Wine’, appears here with the current lead singer of Irish/American favourites Cherish the Ladies. FREE Celtic Connections Late Night Session Royal Concert Hall:
Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. See Thu 21. Thursday 28
Glasgow ■ Iain Anderson in Conversation: Barbara Dickson Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 12.30pm. £3.50. The BBC Radio Scotland presenter chats to the Dunfermline-born (and former folksinging partner of Archie Fisher) concert singer, Barbara Dickson about her life and the recent release of her autobiography. FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 21. ■ Nikaido Kazumi and Shugo Tokumaru with the National Jazz Trio of Scotland Classic Grand, Jamaica Street. 7.30pm. £12.50. Standing. The latest of Scottish jazzer and unprejudiced exploratory musician Bill Wells’ left-field convocations brings two stand-out Japanese vocalists and guitar players together with the strong vocals and percussion of the NJTS for an evening that might end up sonically anywhere. ■ Catriona MacDonald Quartet and Bellevue Rendezvous St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. The Blazin’ Fiddler presents lesser-known traditional fiddle works, old and new, with classy accompaniment by Dave Milligan, piano; Conrad Ivitsky, bass; and James Mackintosh, percussion. Edinburgh/Galloway group Bellevue Rendezvous support, proffering European folk sounds on fiddle, nyckelharpa (Swedish keyed fiddle) and bouzouki. ■ Natalie Merchant and Lunasa Royal Concert Hall: Main Auditorium, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £20 (£18). Natalie Merchant, former
singer of 10,000 Maniacs, then solo for 15 years, performs some of her latest material, much of the inspiration for which was gained from poetry. Top Irish band Lunasa collaborates with Merchant on her latest album, and will accompany her, as well as performing their own set. ■ Showcase Scotland Concert O2 ABC, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £15. Celebrating the diversity of style and genre within contemporary Scotland, this concert features Hebridean fleet-fingered piper Fred Morrison, veteran percussive-folksters Old Blind Dogs, pan Celtic/Appalachian all-women sextet The Shee and solo Gaelic singer Alyth McCormack. FREE Archie Fisher’s Travelling Folk BBC Scotland, Pacific Quay, 353 8000. 8pm. Free but ticketed. See Thu 21. ■ The Frost is All Over and Fidil Tron Theatre, Trongate, 353 8000. 8pm. £12.50. The Frost is All Over is an absorbing project incorporating the considerable musical talents and expertise of legendary traditional accordion player and cultural guardian Tony McMahon (accordion) and David Power (uilleann pipes), the acting prowess of Eamonn Hunt, and specially written poetry from Dermot Bolger, all evoking Ireland’s past and present. Also appearing is admired Donegal trio Fidil, and guess what they play. ■ Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three City Halls: Recital Rooms, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £10. Pokey LaFarge lives and sings the American hobo/troubadour myth, from the Delta to Appalachia via the downbeat dives of Tennessee, and he’s very easy on the ear. ■ Songs of Scotland: Is That Traditional? The Universal, Sauchiehall Lane, 332 8899. 8pm. £10. Part of the series of wee concerts exploring a different aspect of Scottish song every night of the festival. Tonight’s event, hosted by Ishbel MacAskill, features Lionel McClelland and Eilidh Mackenzie.
The Bevvy Sisters It’s an album launch party for The Bevvy Sisters as the trio (Heather Macleod, Kaela Rowan and Lindsay Black) deliver a woozy take on swing, jazz, folk and Americana
on their debut St James Sessions. This Celtic Connections gig is also a double bill with rap meets bluegrass four-piece The Deadly Gentlemen (who also play their own gig at Leith Folk Club, Edinburgh, Tue 26 Jan). ■ Classic Grand, Glasgow, Sat 30 Jan.
Celtic Connections Music
■ La Vent du Nord and Breabach Royal Concert Hall: Strathclyde Suite, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 8pm. Youthful Quebecois and Scots unite in their musical enthusiasms. Swap Breabach’s twin bagpipes for La Vent’s hurdy gurdy and accordion and they’re off on a Scottish tour. Hear them here separately and together, before they get stuck in the snowdrifts. ■ Jan Garbarek City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 9pm. £16. The great Norwegian saxophonist has through the 70s moved from being a master of straight-ahead modern jazz to genre- crossing fusion and modal explorations inspired by the landscapes and folk tunes of his homeland, and coloured by his knowledge of jazz and classical forms. He appears tonight with magnificent keyboard player Rainer Brüninghaus and Brazilian bassist Yuri Daniel for what will be a musical highlight of the Festival. See preview, page 64. ■ The Low Anthem and Fraser Anderson The Old Fruitmarket, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 9pm. £16. American roots rock and popular culture filtered through the multi-instrumental lo-fi mesh of the charming Rhode Island trio. Support from the stylish Edinburgh guitar picker and intimate songwriter who releases his latest album. ■ Celtic Connections Late Night Session Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 10pm. £5. See Thu 21.
Friday 29
Glasgow FREE Danny Kyle’s Open Stage Royal Concert Hall: Exhibition Hall, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 5pm. See Thu 21. ■ Martin Simpson, Sam Carter and Mairi Campbell Oran Mor, Great Western Road, 353 8000. 7pm. £12.50. Brilliant mix of English song tradition and American music (he lived in New Orleans for a few years) from the virtuoso fingerstyle guitarist and singer, a former BBC Radio 2 Folk Musician of the Year. He brings along two Andys - accordionist Cutting and bass player Seward. Opening for him is emerging guitar star and songwriter, Carter - and the Edinburgh’s singer, songwriter and fiddler from The Cast, whose recording of Burns’ ‘Auld Land Syne’ was used in the film of Sex in the City. ■ Benbecula Night St Andrew’s in the Square, St Andrew’s Square, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £12.50. From Lews Castle College in the middle of the Uists and comes a powerful collection of instrumentalists - piper Iain MacDonald, fiddler Anna-Wendy Stevenson and pianist Mhairi Hall, with outstanding Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes. Norway sends its support in the beautiful Hardanger fiddle playing of Synnove S Bjorset. ■ The Deolinda Project City Halls, Candleriggs, 353 8000. 8pm. £16. Deolinda is the imagined young woman who sits at her window in a Lisbon street watching the world go by, and listening to her grandmother’s records; that’s the music of the dramatic, platinum-selling quartet on stage: traditional fado, contemporary pop, jazz and indie- influenced Portuguese and Brazilian folk song. ■ Imelda May and The Deadly Gentlemen O2 ABC, Sauchiehall Street, 353 8000. 7.30pm. £15. Rockabilly, blues and jazz from the Irish singer, and bold, innovative bluegrass/hip hop from NYC four-piece The Deadly Gentlemen. Check out the GreatOffers on page 6
21 Jan–4 Feb 2010 THE LIST 79