- Celtic Connections
The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in
Glasgow ,Scotland , and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of traditional Scottish music and also features international folk, roots and world music artists. The festival is produced and promoted by Glasgow’s Concert Halls.History
The Celtic Connections festival was founded by Colin Hynd in 1994 to fill a scheduling gap in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall's normally quiet post-Christmas period. The first festival took place in just one venue attracting around 32,000 people to attend.
In February 2004, Celtic Connections was presented with The Good Tradition Award at the
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in recognition of its exceptional contribution to traditional music and culture. The festival also recently picked up a Nordoff Robbins Tartan Clef Award.In its 13th year (2006), over 100,000 people filled 10 venues seeing hundreds of artists brought to Glasgow from every part of the globe.
The festival today
In 2008, Celtic Connections celebrated its 15th birthday, with festival attendances reaching 120,000 and events taking place across 14 venues throughout Glasgow over 19 days. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7226142.stm]
Celtic Connections brings in visitors from throughout the world and is an integral and vibrant part of cultural life in Glasgow, with the economic impact on the city reaching £5.8 million in 2007. The festival actively promotes artistic links and cultural exchange across countries, reinforced by Showcase Scotland which brought 200 music industry delegates from 35 different countries to Scotland looking to book Scottish bands for festivals abroad in 2008.
Donald Shaw, a founder member of Capercaillie, is the current Celtic Connections Artistic Director, having been appointed to the role in 2006.
At the core of the festival is the Education Programme, which sees thousands of school children attend free morning concerts experiencing live music ranging from Burns to spiritual and blues. Celtic Connections also continues to foster new and young talent through its Young Tradition and New Voices series of concerts, and through the Danny Kyle Open Stage competition.
Every night of the festival, once the concerts are over, the late-night Celtic Connections Festival Club runs through to the small hours of the morning. No programme is announced in advance, and the club is renowned for one-off collaborations between musicians appearing at the festival.
Celtic Music Radio broadcasts in the Glasgow area on 1530 kHz and on http://www.celticmusicradio.net, and is based in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall during the festival. Celtic Music Radio broadcasts around 7 hours of live material from the venue every day. This includes interviews with performers, reviews and previews of gigs, and live coverage of concerts, including every act on the Danny Kyle Open Stage.The 2008 festival opened with the Common Ground concert where many of the artists taking part in the event performed together. Donald Shaw, artistic director of the festival, spoke about the future of Celtic Connections as well as the 1,000+ acts and 300+ events taking place in 2008 exclusively online. [http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=Exp%20Events&vxClipId=1380_SMG1690&vxBitrate=300]
Celtic Connections 2009 will run from Wednesday 14th January – Sunday 1st February.
Artists
Artists who have appeared at the festival in the past include include
Joan Baez ,Bob Geldof ,Clannad , Capercaillie,Kate Rusby ,Sinéad O'Connor ,Alison Krauss ,Shane MacGowan ,Runrig ,Eddi Reader ,Evelyn Glennie ,Carlos Núñez ,James Grant ,Dougie MacLean ,Billy Bragg ,Beth Nielsen Chapman ,Mariza ,Seth Lakeman , TheClan Gregor Society Pipe Band , k.d. lang,Steve Earle , Idlewild,Teenage Fanclub ,Snow Patrol ,Bert Jansch andBernard Butler , and many more.Venues
The focal point of the festival is the
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall , where performances take place in every space, from workshops in the foyers, to performances by world-class artists in the Main Auditorium. The Old Fruitmarket, City Halls, ABC, The Tron, The Piping Centre, The Classic Grand and The Tall Ship also regularly host Celtic Connections concerts.In the past, Celtic Connections events have taken place in The Barrowlands, The Arches, Tramway and
Glasgow Cathedral .External links
* [http://www.celticconnections.com/ Official site]
ee also
*
Culture in Glasgow References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
