Firmly resettled into their founding four-piece, Scottish instrumental powerhouse RURA continue to evolve and refine their traditionally-rooted but potently progressive sound, now adding piano to their line-up of bagpipes, fiddle, guitar and bodhran. On their seventh Celtic Connections appearance since forming in 2010, they’ll be firing up new material for 2018’s third album, before heading studio-wards in February. “Moody, earthy, haunting and passionate. . . a band confident in their own identity” (Songlines)
Named for a semi-divine woman/bird hybrid in Asian mythology – embodying female grace and musicality – Glasgow’s newly-formed Kinnaris Quintet are Laura-Beth Salter, Jenn Butterworth, Laura Wilkie, Fiona MacAskill and Aileen Gobbi: a mighty musical force indeed.