NEWS
Announcements, line-ups and opinion
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2 0 Y E A R S O F C E LT I C C O N N EC T I O N S The cultural behemoth that is Celtic Connections (Thu 17 Jan–Sun 3 Feb) looks set to bring its A-game next year, as it celebrates 20 years on the music scene with a bumper programme from around the globe. Folk, roots, indie and jazz will all be represented as stalwarts of the scene, including The Mavericks, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kate Rusby, Roddy Hart (pictured below left), Karine Polwart and the Lonesome Fire, Aimee Mann and Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, make an appearance. Other highlights of the programme include Galician piper Carlos Núñez and Americana string band Old Crow Medicine Show, the latter of which will perform at the Barrowland Ballroom. Elsewhere, the global talent continues with Salif Keita who mixes West African sounds with pop, jazz and Latin inl uences.
SA N S O M TA K E S N T S H E L M Following much speculation and anticipation, the new artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland has been announced. Laurie Sansom will succeed Vicky Featherstone when she leaves in December to take up her new role at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Sansom, who is currently artistic director of the Royal and Derngate in Northampton, will take up the post from March 2013. Prior to his much celebrated successes in Northampton, Sansom was Alan
Ayckbourn’s associate director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, developing and directing over 20 plays during his time there. Early reports suggest that ideas around Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games and the independence referendum in 2014 will feature in the theatre company’s output.
B P P O R T R A I T AWA R D R E T U R N S After a i ve-year hiatus from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the BP Portrait Award is back in its popular stomping ground, showcasing 55 portraits from an array of artists from around the world. Highlights of the exhibition, which runs until Sun 27 Jan, include award-winner Aleah Chapin, showcasing her large scale nude, Auntie, as well as works from runners-up Alan Coulson and Jo Fraser (whose ‘The Weavers’ is shown above). See nationalgalleries.org for more.
S I M P L E M I N D S F O R ST R E E T PA R T Y Scottish rock band Minds Simple this will headline year’s Edinburgh Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens. The band, best known for ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ and ‘Alive and Kicking’, will be joined by Scottish indie band The View and Edinburgh’s Bwani Junction. Other new additions to the Street Party include open air nightclub REW1ND3R: The Biggest Party – In Years, See list.co.uk for more.
MICHAEL MARRA RIP
A personal recollection of the late Scottish singer-songwriter by musician and collaborator Eilidh Mackenzie
A few times in our lives we may be lucky enough for our path to cross with that of someone truly exceptional. The crossing can change your outlook, coni dence, politics or career path. I feel totally blessed to have crossed
paths with the great Michael Marra. We met i rst in the early 1990s at a songwriter’s workshop. He later produced our i rst Mackenzie album, Camhanach, and our paths remerged on my 2009 solo work, Bel Canto. I still pinch myself to think of how his involvement in all of these projects make them both extra precious.
A modest man of small stature, he was a giant of letters, a bard in the true sense – statuesque in his writing, with a l air for i nding the perfect melodic partner. He possessed a heart of enormous proportion and his conversation, like his song, was intense and always inspirational. Rather than opinionated, he held many opinions and gently led you to look at things from other, sometimes initially obscure, perspectives. However, it should come as no surprise that he was aware of the way he looked at language and turn of phrase. And his comic timing was showcased at its very best through song. For many, his much- loved song ‘Hermlessis’ was a contender for the alternative national anthem for Scotland. Michael came across as an unpretentious man who identii ed with the common man but held his own honoured men in high esteem. A man’s a man for a’ that, indeed. Michael was a gentleman and a genius. A singer-songwriter like no other, he was a dear, beloved man. Michael Marra will forever be my Rabbie Burns. ■ Michael Marra sings the track ‘You Misunderstand Me’ on Eilidh Mackenzie’s album Bel Canto.
15 Nov–13 Dec 2012 THE LIST 7