First, apologies for not keeping to my promise of writing here more often in 2025. It’s been a bit rough first weeks of the year, with some health issues (again) and, frankly, the state of the world causing me some chronic stress and tiredness as well. And as we are psycho-somatic beings with everything affecting everything else…
But on to the actual stuff. Me and my wife decided already last autumn to have 10 days at CC2025; as Celtic Rovers, we got the tickets to our chosen gigs when they went on pre-sale. Accomodations and flights were booked at the same time, so everything was all set to go even before November. Never had we been so well prepared – how smoothly things would go!
…except, of course,they didn’t.
First, the flight we had booked was on Friday, January 24. That was the day a thing called Eówyn struck Ireland, Scotland and northern England with hurricane force. Already on Wednesday evening that week we got a message from friends in Glasgow that something really bad was on its way.
Long story short: Finnair did a smooth job in automatically placing us on a flight two days after the scheduled one, so we arrived in Glasgow on Sunday, Jan. 26, having missed the previous night’s gigs. What really eats me is missing out on Shane Cook and the Woodchippers; we gave our e-tickets to the friends I mentioned and they said it was a fab gig all the way. Good to know, at least.
During that Sunday I began to feel a discomfort and some pain and Monday morning found me, my wife and our dear local friend at the Royal Infirmary, where the nicest possible doctor examined me and quickly concluded I was not an emergency but I should see a doctor when I get back home (I did and I’m being treated). Pain medication took good care of me for that entire week and we went to all the gigs we had tickets to, had quality time with our friends and did some nature hiking with them too, which was totally great.
Now just very quick’n’brief comments on the gigs, while memory still serves:
- Sun, Jan 26: Ross Ainslie and the Sanctuary Band were just as good as you’d expect. No big surprises, they played I think the entire Pool album and stuff from Ross’ previous band albums. Very solid, of course.
The opening act, Leonard Barry Trio, presented excellent, vibrant contemporary Irish folk. Supreme playing, hugely entertaining. Wasn’t familiar with Mr. Barry before, now I’m a follower.
- Wed, Jan 29: The harp & fiddle duo of the Welsh harp legend Catrin Finch and Irish fiddle virtuoso Aoife Ní Bhriain was a match made in heaven, as already previously testified by their album Double You. Stunning playing, gorgeous tunes, overall divine. Check out the album if you weren’t there.
The special guests of the evening, Hegedu, were a quite impressive new unit. Led by fiddler Chris Lyons, the band plays music that’s a unique combination of elements from Celtic, Central European and classical music, and something completely original. Fascinating, expertly played and pretty challenging at times. Will keep a close on these guys! - Thu, Jan 30: Natalie MacMaster and Donnel Leahy, that incredibly dynamite fiddle couple from Canada, put on an explosive show with their band, a couple of their kids (young adults now) and, of all people, Tim Edey (!) at the Barony Hall. It was a wild show where you didn’t always know where it was going, especially after Mr. Edey entered 😀
Big entertainment, Canadian style, with Natalie and Donnel’s fiddle mastery combined with grand showmanship.
Special guest Frances Morton and her band were very good indeed. Her flute playing in exquisite, the tunes are great and her warm personality lit up the venerable hall.Have not yet listened to her debut album Sliocht but I intend to do it asap. - Fri, Jan 31: As we had visited the isle of Iona last spring and already owned Paul Anderson‘s beautiful album Iona, we could not wait to see the entire Iona: In the Footsteps of Columba concert – or rather, a presentation or performance, with narration, poetry, some acted segments and projected visuals, courtesy of St. Margaret’s Braemar. Also, Mr. Anderson is one of my favorite fiddlers and this was for us a rare opportunity to witness his playing live.
It was a beautiful experience, with a top-notch band and a very well structured narrative; only the story and fate of a tragic Italian lady we thought took too big a chunk of time of the whole. But that’s beside the point: the music was beautiful, like wise the paintings by John Lowrie Morrison, and the narration was expertly read by Mr. John Bett. We left Barony Hall very happy and with the book of the project’s art and poetry. - Sat, Feb 1: It’s always fun to attend the TMSA Young Trad show where some of the previous years’ BBC Radio Scotland Young Trad Musician finalists and winners perform both together and solo. So many wonderful musicians, so much talent on stage. Ruairidh Iain Gray did the honours as the MC and sang beautifully; Erin Raye was pure fire and elegance with her fiddle; Sam Mabbett and his accordion are always pure pleasure; the dazzle of the unique piano virtuosity and sheer style of Amy Laurenson… So many others I can’t even remember. A most entertaining afternoon 🙂
Later in the evening the duo delight of messieurs Mike McGoldrick and Tim Edey (yes, again) was just as stunningly great as to expect from them (and señor Edey just as sidesplittingly hyperactive as expected :D) . Priceless, and I don’t think I have to say any more. I believe the readers of this blog are well aware of both gentlemen, their careers and their brilliance. We got exactly what we came for that evening, and it was a doozy 🙂
Their guest act, the highly acclaimed American duo of Allison de Groot (banjo) and Tatiana Hargreaves (fiddle), was not really to our liking that much, I have to say. The quality of their musicianship is beyond question, they are excellent with their instruments. But the music felt like endless, perhaps intentionally trance-inducing, pieces of what I might call “slightly psychedelic neo-bluegrass”, or something. Unique, yes, but not our cup of tea. But this is a matter of subjective taste and not a critique of their artistic decisions or competence.
- Sun, Feb 2: One of my favorite younger instrumentalists in the Celtic scene has been, for quite some time now, the tenor banjo wizard of Dallahan, Mr. Ciaran Ryan. His first solo outing, Banjaxed, from already a few years back, was properly impressive, and his own band’s debut album Occupational Hazards, in 2o23, was one hell of a blast, really.
The Ciaran Ryan Band features a drummer and a bassist but for his New Voices concert, the emphasis was on traditional instruments (Tomas Callister, Amy Laurenson, Craig Baxter, Luc McNally and Ryan Murphy), with drums (Greg Barry of Elephant Sessions) joining the lineup in the middle of the set.
I have to say, this was one of the most fun gigs I’ve seen at the five Celtic Connections we have attended. Ciaran was in a great, albeit absentminded mood (he kept forgetting the set list and the titles of the tunes – a wee bit nervous, perhaps?) and the banter was super. Even Helsinki’s loud karaoke bars were mentioned (Dallahan played Helsinki in summer of 2023 during a heatwave), causing a few whoops from certain seats in the Strathclyde Suite (ahem). The new music was totally fab, mostly lightning fast, with detail and colour everywhere. Everyone on stage seemed to have a grand time, and so did we.
A few hours after the positive explosion of Team Ciaran, we settled in our seats in City Halls for the 2025 finale of BBC Radio Scotland Young Trad Musician of the Year competition. We recalled fondly the utterly amazing, heartstopping brilliance of the winning performances of Ali Levack (2020) and Amy Laurenson (2023) and prepared to be amazed again.
In the end our own clear favorite was Clelland Shand who had to go on stage first of the six finalists, handled the pressure wonderfully and delivered a spirited, flawless performance that spanned several styles and told of a musician artistically mature beyond his years. But we were in the minority and the victory went to Ellie Beaton and her Aberdeenshire singing – but at least my wife got to tell Clelland that he was our favorite as we made our way out of City Halls and to the hotel where only packing up was left to do before our flight home the next day.
Oh, one more thing… When we finally arrived in Glasgow, two days later than planned, and stepped out of the bus at Buchanan, the first thing that happened was that we almost literally bumped into Duncan Chisholm by the Royal Concert Hall. Always such a wonderful gentleman, he stopped to talk with us for a while and wished us a great festival as we parted ways.
That alone would have been worth the trip.
FolkNotes 