{"id":19575,"date":"2023-10-10T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/?p=19575"},"modified":"2023-10-10T12:31:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T11:31:20","slug":"celtic-connections-2024-set-for-expansive-programme-of-unmissable-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/celtic-connections-2024-set-for-expansive-programme-of-unmissable-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Connections 2024 set for expansive programme of unmissable music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
21.01.2023 – Treacherous Orchestra at the Old Fruitmarket. Photographer: Gaelle Beri for Celtic Connections.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

World-renowned Glasgow festival Celtic Connections <\/strong>will once again light up stages, venues and dark winter nights from Thursday 18 January to Sunday 4 February 2024<\/strong>, for what will be one of its biggest-ever capacity festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proudly known as Europe\u2019s premier folk, roots and world music festival, and the home of spectacular musical showcases and one-off collaborations, Celtic Connections<\/strong> has continued to expand into a multitude of genres over its 30-year history. This year will see the festival stage another ambitious programme of incredible performances spanning acoustic, traditional, indie, Americana, Jazz, blues, orchestral, experimental and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glasgow\u2019s status as a UNESCO City of Music<\/strong> will be well and truly on display as more than 300 events bring 25 venues across the city to life, welcoming a host of unmissable music across its 18 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much-loved venues, such as the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Barrowland Ballroom, as well as The Pavilion Theatre and Barony Hall, will be providing audiences with a warm Glaswegian welcome, and organisers are encouraging anyone who has never attended what is the biggest winter festival of its kind, to come and experience its magic for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celtic Connections<\/strong> boasts a diverse line-up that caters to a wide range of musical tastes. From the high-energy rhythms of bands fusing contemporary sounds with traditional music, to intimate and soulful settings of acoustic performances, this festival offers something to satisfy every musical palette.
Like the anticipated 110,000 attendees, musicians will descend on Glasgow from near and far. From just along the road to all corners of the globe, including North America, West Africa, India, Australia, Ukraine, Norway, Sweden, France and Ireland, international artists of the highest calibre are once again lining up to play a sought-after Celtic Connections <\/strong>slot.
General tickets for the festival go on sale at 10am, Wednesday 11th October<\/strong> at www.celticconnections.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celtic Connections 2024<\/strong>\u00a0programme highlights include:
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Famed for its expansive and genre-defying cultural spectacle, the\u00a0Celtic Connections Opening Concert<\/strong>\u00a0will have Glasgow Royal Concert Hall audiences marvelling once again as it stages the European premiere ofATTENTION!\u00a0<\/strong>The remarkable new symphonic work from American Grammy winner\u00a0Chris Thile –<\/strong>\u00a0referred to by Billboard Magazine as \u201cthe best mandolin player in the world\u201d – will also welcome the\u00a0BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another world-leading instrumentalist in the form of American double bassist and composer\u00a0Edgar Meyer\u00a0<\/strong>will also cross the Atlantic for another live European premier alongside the trailblazing string group the\u00a0Scottish Ensemble.<\/strong>\u00a0Hailed as \u201cthe most remarkable virtuoso in the relatively un-chronicled history of his instrument\u201d (The New Yorker), Meyer will perform his Concertino for strings and double bass
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0100 years on since the death of Scottish schoolteacher and iconic revolutionary socialist\u00a0John MacLean, a centenary concert will see a glittering cast come together to recognise the significance of the Red Clydeside era. Music, poetry and reflections on John\u2019s life, his legacy and the movement that he stood for will be led by the likes of\u00a0Karine Polwart<\/strong>,\u00a0Eddi Reader<\/strong>,\u00a0Billy Bragg\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Siobhan Miller<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As part of the festival\u2019s continued hosting of world music stars\u00a0Ang\u00e9lique Kidjo<\/strong>\u00a0– a four-time Grammy Award winner, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and\u00a0one of the\u00a0greatest artists in international music today – willcelebrate 40 years of wowing audiences by\u00a0bringing her undeniable creative force and\u00a0irresistible mix of West African roots and Afro-beat grooves\u00a0to the Celtic Connections stage
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Award-winning Kyiv world music quartet\u00a0DakhaBrakha<\/strong>, which translates to give\/take in old Ukrainian, will bring their astonishing trans-national sound rooted in Ukrainian culture to Scotland when they play The Pavilion Theatre
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Scotland burgeoning traditional music scene is again celebrated throughout the festival with opportunities to see exciting familiar profile acts like\u00a0Dallahan, RANT, Breabach, Mec Lir, Heisk, Session A9\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0The Canny Band\u00a0<\/strong>alongside emerging artists like\u00a0Beth Malcolm, TRIP, Lauren Collier, Tarran\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Amy Laurenson<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another special international collaboration will come in the form of\u00a0Citadels of the Sun<\/strong>. Presented in tandem with Jodhpur Rajasthan International Folk Festival, Irish and Rajasthani musicians will come together at Barony Hall to share common themes and stories that connect the cultures of the two regions. The show will feature\u00a0Martin Coyle, Paul Cutliffe, Sarah E Cullen, Asin Khan Langa\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Sawai Khan Manganiyar<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The wealth of transatlantic talent featuring at the 2024 festival also includes country royalty with\u00a0Carlene Carter\u00a0<\/strong>(daughter of June Carter Cash), 15-time Grammy Award winner and banjo virtuoso\u00a0B\u00e9la Fleck,\u00a0<\/strong>beloved singer-songwriter and virtuoso pianist\u00a0Bruce Hornsby,\u00a0<\/strong>andCeltic Connections favourites\u00a0Sarah Jarosz, Teddy Thompson, The Milk Carton Kids, Tommy Emmanuel, Darlingside\u00a0<\/strong>and bluegrass star\u00a0Tim O\u2019Brien<\/strong>,who will revisit his seminal album\u00a0The Crossing<\/em>\u00a0alongside\u00a0Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0John Doyle<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Orcadian folk quartet\u00a0FARA\u00a0<\/strong>will be joined on stage by a multitude of talent including artists from the Caribbean, Middle East, Mali and Quebec\u00a0for a very special international showcase accompanied by new arrangements written especially for the occasion and played by Scotland\u2019s brand-new string ensemble\u00a0Thirteen North<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On what will be the 50th anniversary since the\u00a0Scottish Chamber Orchestra<\/strong>\u00a0formed, they will grace the Celtic Connections stage with unique arrangements with guest performances from Scotland\u2019s much loved\u00a0Paul Buchanan<\/strong>\u00a0(The Blue Nile), American singer\u00a0Aoife O\u2019Donovan\u00a0<\/strong>(performing her new work”America, Come” exploring the women\u2019s suffrage movement and passing of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution), visionary Scots folk band\u00a0Lau\u00a0<\/strong>and harpist and composer\u00a0Maeve Gilchrist<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Beloved Scottish singer-songwriter\u00a0Dougie MacLean\u00a0<\/strong>will mark five decades of extraordinary music making with a special show entitled\u00a0Songmaker 2024 – Celebrating 50 Years of Music<\/strong>
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Roddy Hart\u2019s\u00a0Roaming Roots Revue\u00a0<\/strong>is back for its 12th year to present\u00a0Songs of Modern Scotland.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0This\u00a0epic concert celebrating will, for the first time in its history, celebrate the great Scottish Songbook, revisiting and reinventing modern classics with the help of the\u00a0Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Symphony Orchestra<\/strong>, featuring fourth year students and conducted by\u00a0John Logan<\/strong>, and a who\u2019s who of Scottish talent including Biffy Clyro\u2019s\u00a0Simon Neil<\/strong>, Idlewild\u2019s\u00a0Roddy Woomble<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Rod Jones<\/strong>, Del Amitri\u2019s\u00a0Justin Currie<\/strong>, and many more
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Contemporary Scottish Celtic outfits will be out in force, with both\u00a0RURA<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Talisk\u00a0<\/strong>headlining shows at the iconic Barrowland Ballroom, whilst BBC Radio 2 playlist regulars\u00a0Skerryvore\u00a0<\/strong>bring their expansive and captivating sound, epitomised in their recent UK top 40 album\u00a0Tempus<\/em>, back to Celtic Connections and powerhouse\u00a0Skipinnish\u00a0<\/strong>celebrate 25 years of musical voyage with friends who have played with them along the way
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of Scotland\u2019s most renowned folk groups\u00a0Blazin\u2019 Fiddles\u00a0<\/strong>will also celebrate their 25th year on road at The Pavilion Theatre,\u00a0Kinnaris Quintet\u00a0<\/strong>will play their biggest Celtic Connections headline show to date at The Old Fruitmarket with special guests including\u00a0Julie Fowlis\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Karine Polwart<\/strong>, and Skye\u2019s own electro-trad duo\u00a0Valtos\u00a0<\/strong>will bring a star-studded line up of musical friends celebrating Gaelic song and beats to their show at SWG3
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The festival\u2019s New Voices strand, which each year allows a trio of emerging Scottish artists to embark on a new musical commission, will this year champion the young voices of celebrated cellist\u00a0Alice Allen<\/strong>, whistle and bagpiper\u00a0Ali Levack<\/strong>\u00a0(Project Smok and BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2022), and talented young fiddler\u00a0Charlie Grey<\/strong>\u00a0(Westward the Light)
\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Showcase Scotland<\/strong>\u00a0– a part of the festival which facilitates international collaboration – will this year partner with the country of\u00a0Norway\u00a0<\/strong>to showcase Scandinavian talent, while other festival favourites including\u00a0Transatlantic Sessions<\/strong>\u00a0will return<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Festival-goers can also look forward to the usual mix of screenings, workshops, dementia-friendly concerts, late night sessions and pop-up performances at the Festival Club, as well as a thriving education programme that will benefit thousands of children across Glasgow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donald Shaw, Creative Producer for Celtic Connections, said<\/strong>: \u201cIt\u2019s that time of year where we lift the lid on the incredible shows and events we have in the works for Celtic Connections. Celebration and collaboration are at the heart of the festival and once again we will bring the world\u2019s music to Glasgow audiences this winter. I\u2019m very excited that our 2024 edition will welcome a huge portion of international talent back to our stages, particularly our transatlantic cousins in America, and that we will be back to staging one of our biggest ever capacity festivals. We would encourage audiences old and new with a love of music to discover all that this diverse programme has to offer and spend the dark winter nights with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glasgow Life Chair, Bailie Annette Christie, said: \u201c<\/strong>Celtic Connections is renowned internationally as an outstanding festival which brings together exceptional musicians from all over the world to celebrate a broad variety of music genres. This hugely successful event is much loved by local, national and international audiences, attracting thousands of visitors to Glasgow every year to experience and enjoy vibrant live performances in the city\u2019s wonderful venues. Over three decades, the festival has made an incredibly important contribution to Glasgow, and enhanced its global reputation as a UNESCO City of Music and a superb destination for cultural events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s exciting and extensive programme features a superb, diverse line-up of established and emerging talent. It promises unmissable performances, from intimate gigs to large-scale shows and something to suit all musical tastes, so we look forward to the curtain rising on Celtic Connections 2024, and to welcoming performers and audiences for what will be a truly special start to the new year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative Scotland Head of Music<\/strong>, Alan Morrison<\/strong> said: \u201cThe 2024 Celtic Connections programme puts Scotland at the heart of a musical map of the world. This is arguably the festival\u2019s strongest-ever international line-up, opening our ears to the inspirational sounds of artists from so many different countries and cultures. Running through it all, of course, is Scotland\u2019s own musical lifeblood, the traditional tunes and contemporary twists that continue to thrill audiences and brighten up our winter days and nights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: <\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m greatly looking forward to this year\u2019s Celtic Connections and the warmth it always brings to the colder months with leading Scottish and international musicians across a variety of genres set to descend on Glasgow for what looks to be another fantastic showcase of talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn addition to engaging audiences, Celtic Connections gives artists from near and far an important platform to stage their music and perform, providing significant value to the industry and our economy. The Scottish Government is therefore proud to support Celtic Connections with \u00a3101,000 this year through our EXPO fund, which seeks to raise the international profile of Scottish artists and help maximise opportunities for them at home and abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celtic Connections began in 1994 when it offered 66 events at one venue. It has since grown more adventurous, experimental and diverse each year, with an unwavering ambition to showcase the very best traditional folk, roots, Americana, jazz, soul, indie and world music and nurture unique local, national and international cultural partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celtic Connections 2024<\/strong> will take place from Thursday 18th January to Sunday 4th February<\/strong>. General tickets go on sale 10am, Wednesday 11th October 2023<\/strong>, with advance tickets on sale now for Celtic Rovers festival supporters.
The programme can be viewed in full and tickets purchased at www.celticconnections.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World-renowned Glasgow festival Celtic Connections will once again light up stages, venues and dark winter nights from Thursday 18 January to Sunday 4 February 2024, for what will be one of its biggest-ever capacity festivals. Proudly known as Europe\u2019s premier folk, roots and world music festival, and the home of spectacular musical showcases and one-off collaborations, Celtic Connections has continued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,37],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news","7":"category-newsletter","8":"entry","9":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"simon","author_link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/author\/simon\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcv15g-55J","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19575"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19593,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19575\/revisions\/19593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/handsupfortrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}