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Breadth and barnstormers at Celtic Connections
CONRAD LANDIN sees the annual musical festival get off to a strong start
Charismatic: Delgres
KENNY MacASKILL is disappointed by a polemical, rather than factual, account of the Lone Star State and its political path since the civil war
PAUL DONOVAN is fascinated by the lives of Charles and Mary Bagot, and the insight this biography shines on the morals of pre-Victorian society
GORDON PARSONS appreciates fine performances and a feel for ambiguity, but misses the music of the dialogue
DOUGLAS FIELD relishes the hard-boiled language, satire and humour of the third and last of the Harlem trilogy
STEPHANIE BROWN draws attention to the hidden labour of the female embroiderers, and how a 19th century replica made no such error
MIK SABIERS revels in a band that ploughs an idiosyncratic furrow of expletive laden, guitar-driven alt rock
Syne of the Times
Royal Concert Hall
★★★
Delgres
Drygate Brewery
★★★★★
SCOTLAND always sees in the New Year in style and my own head was testament to that on January 1. But it didn’t feel like 2019 had truly begun until the opening of Celtic Connections, with the comforting knowledge that this wonderfully eclectic celebration of the traditional genre and its impact across the musical world will continue until the start of next month.
The world-famous festival opened with a taster session of its sheer breadth at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall. Kin and the Community, a film made by Uist musician Padruig Morrison, brought this year’s guiding theme — the handing down of tradition — to the fore.
With just a handful of musicians providing a live accompaniment, it was a little underwhelming as kick-offs go. True, the numbers gradually swelling on stage made for a nice effect but, patient as I am, I had to sympathise with the high-profile figure I saw slipping out after the first half.
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