KInnaris Q, Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow - Celtic Connections Festival

Support came from Sidiki Jobarteh, a hugely talented Gambian balafon player (a gourd based xylophone), with a percussionist and guitarist to provide the backing.  Jbarteh is also an impressive vocalist, and the others provided backing vocals too.

He is very much rooted in the Gambian folk tradition, with a mix of  old and new, including several self penned, and composition by his mother (Sona is a renowned kora virtuoso).  He has a sympathetic feel for the music, and the old rhythms that underly the melodies.  It's impossible to sit still when listening, this is music to move too.  The beat almost jazz like, Jobarteh's hands a literal blur at times, and the crowd were borought into play singing along to the final number.  This lad has a big future, and this was a great way to open the night.

The Kinnaris Quintet have now become, with the departure of Laura Wilkie, a quartet called Kinnaris Q.  But nothing else has changed.  Still the same high standard of musicality, still the origninality and variation in theoir m usic, and still having enormous fun with each other.  Aileen Gobbi remains as bubbly and hilarious as ever in her introductions, the music as complex as ever.  It was a shame that the sound balance sounded a bit off at times, but even that couldn't hide the quality of the music, or the way it engages their audience.

A wonderful gig.

Session A9 and Phil Cunningham - Beyond the Further Shore, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections

 Seven middle aged men with a lot of forehead on show.  Keyboard, guitar, percussion and four fiddles.  They began in sedate fashion, sounding like a restrained Country & Western outfit.  But that impression didn't last long as the tempo increased and the notes flowed with abandon.  And got rowdier and rowdier...

There's a real sense of drama in their orchestration, even with unlikely candidates such as Strathspeys.  A few songs thrown in two, largely North American in origin.  Guitarist Marc Clement has a surprisingly good voice for a band mostly renowned for it's instrumentals.  

They're funny guys too.  Not a lot of chat, but they made it count when they did.  But it's the music that says it all.  No wonder SA9 are one of the most respected bands in the country.

In 2021 the BBC commissioned Phil Cunningham to make a documentary about the musical links between Scotland the north of Ireland, which became The Narrow Sea, the Further Shore, broadcast in early 2022.  This performance brought the music form that show, played live by a large all-star band of some of Scotland's finest folk musicians, and a string quartet as part of the line up.

Cunningham provided introductions to each track, linking the music to place and events.  Some had soundscape intros taken from the  programme, featuring water, rowers and old engines.  Whilst it didn't raise the pulse rate as Session A9 had done, we were treated to a collection of lovely melodies, lovingly arranged.  But the highlight didn't come from the TV series, but a piece Phil had been asked to write to mark the sadness of events in Ukraine.  A stunning and moving tune, and a fitting tribute to the suffering there.

Breabach and Dervish, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections

 Breabach to kick off with, and their usual 5 person line up, with double bass, guitar, cajon, fiddle, whistles and Highland bagpipes.  Plus vocals from Megan Henderson, Ewan Robertson and Calum MacCrimmon, and the excellent step dancing of Megan.

Most of the set featured material from their newest album, Fàs.  Beautifully orchestrated and contemporary.  Songs about change and wind power.  And a lot of laughs - both James Lindsay and newest member Conal McDonagh can be very dry.  

And they saved the best for last, with MacCrimmon and McDonagh blowing up the bags and letting the pipes rip.  Stirring stuff to end an entertaining set.

Dervish might be a generation ahead of them, but still bring passion and wildness to their music.  Confident, relaxed, professional, funny and gifted.  It was a strong and very varied set, and every member of the six piece line up had a chance to show off their solo talents.  

But it's always Kathy Jordan's vocals that stand out above all else.  With a wide range and expressive phrasing, she always remains unmistakably Irish, no matter the material.  Dervish also brought on a bit of step dancing, importing a youngster to undertake the duties and save their energies!

For the finale they were joined on stage by Breabach for a rousing singalong to end the evening.  Great stuff.

The Ross Couper Band plus support, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections

 Three sets of around forty to fifty minutes each, and three diverse acts.

Opening the evening was Breton duo Jean-Luc Thomas and Gabriel Faure, playing flutes and fiddle respectively.  Eclectic and unexpected, their influences took in the traditions of their Celtic home, mixed with music from the Middle East, North Africa, Brazil and beyond, in a style that was entirely their own, and owed as much to jazz as to folk.   Thomas produces weird vocalisations during his playing, and even demonstrates use of the flute as a percussive instrument.  Both of them are shyly funny, excellent storytellers and full of surprises.  Excellent.

 The Isla Ratcliff Band followed, featuring Ellen Gira (cello) and Iona Reid (piano) accompanying the eponymous leader's vocals and fiddle.  Playing firmly in the Scots fiddle tradition, but inspired by a long stay in Cape Breton, Ratcliff gave us strathspeys, jigs, reels and a single song.  A decent enough vocalist, talented fiddler, and very smiley.  Enjoyable without being inspiring.

Which is not what I'd say about the Ross Couper Band.  Backed by young keyboard star Michael Biggins and drumming legend Paul Jennings, with an accordionist joining later, Couper can certainly do the slow and delicate stuff with great accomplishment.  But as he said himself, it's not really what anyone goes to see him for.  Fast, wild, at times astonishing, and always inspiring, Couper mixed up his own tunes with traditional material from his native Shetland in a very modern package.  Great drumming, some wonderful piano, but above all it's the energy, spectacle and passion of Couper's playing that dominates and fascinates.  That set seemed all too short...

Brian Finnegan with Ross Ainslie & Tim Edey, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections

 Three very differing sets to this gig, which had been moved into the wider spaces of the main concert hall.  

The opener brought some confusion.  Two woman, a harp and a fiddle.  I immediately recognised them as Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl, but neither organisers nor the performers themselves made any introductions so if you didn't know who they were to begin with you were no better off by the end.  A strange omission.

Rachel did introduce the work they were to play, four musical interpretations of Mairi Kidd's stories about Scots women who were persecuted as witches.  Not the cheeriest of subjects, but the music, with Rachel's vocals, was accompanied by short films on the screen above their heads and provided some thought provoking moments about one of the darker corners of our history.

Another duo followed, and they soon made it know that they were Tim Edey (guitar and button accordion) and Ross Ainslie (whistles and bagpipes), in case you didn't know already (I did).  Edey is well know, not just for his outstanding musicianship, but as one of the zaniest characters on the British folk scene, and he did not disappoint in providing entertainment.  His grin was wide before they'd settled into their seats and expanded with joy as the set progressed.  The giggling laugh is pretty infectious as well!

But it was music we were here for and these guys deliver.  A well balanced set of differing tempos and styles, some of it lightning fast.  Ainslie is always an imaginative and varied player, but it was Edey's guitar work that stood out most.  Not just constant chord changes, but style changes too, so that one number might feature folk, jazz and blues guitar all jumbled up, but never inappropriate and always adding to the whole.  Tunes of their own were joined by compositions from the likes of Donald Shaw (Mr Celtic Connections of course!), Charlie McKerron and Tommy Emmanuel (aka God according to Edey!).

Wonderfully entertaining, and Edey's smile would bring sunshine into a blizzard.

Finally the main act of the night, Brian Finnegan and band.  The Irish whistle virtuoso performing material from his acclaimed new album, Hunger of the Skin.  With him on stage were John Blease on percussion and Liam Bradley on drums, Sean Og Graham on guitar, Patsy Reid on fiddle, Paul Dunlea blasting out the trombone, and Conor McCreanor on bass.  Plus, for a couple of numbers, being joined by Finnegan's Flook partner, Sarah Allen on Flute.  All that and some recordings of poems, with images, being played in the background.

Brian, as he admitted from the off, likes to talk to audiences.  Which is a plus, for he's an engaging speaker and keen to explain the thinking behind the various pieces of music and poetry, all on the theme of togetherness.  The music provides strong melodies and even better arrangements, Finnegan's incredible flying fingers back by strong and imaginative rhythms, and lovely harmonies and solos from the others.  We had a battle of the percussionists, which was fun, and Allen intrigued with her stance, a style tribute to Ian Anderson and a stork.  

Life enhancing.

Jack Badcock, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections

 Transferred into the main concert hall for covid reasons, Badcock looked overjoyed to be playing to the larger venue, which was better suited to the size of band he had accompanying him.  Overjoyed, but not overwhelmed, and we were given an hour of smooth vocals and equally smooth string accompaniments.

Michael Biggins on keyboards, Alyn Cosker on drums and Jack's guitar provided the rhythm section.  The lushness came from the string section, headed by ace arranger Seonaid Aitken on fiddle, with Patsy Reid (viola), Su-a Lee (cello) and Charlie Stewart (fiddle and double bass).  

Badcock talked about the theme of the interconnectedness of human beings that provided the common link though the songs, a mix of (mostly) new material with some from his last album.  A couple of pieces went well beyond the usual 3-4 minutes length, allowing for development of themes, both verbal and musical, and the resulting richness is hopefully a sign of things to come from him in the future.  

Always enjoyable, and often beautiful.

The Orcadians of Hudson' Bay, Assynt, The Mitchell, Celtic Connections

Young trio Assynt opened the show.  Fiddle, guitar and mandolin, whistles and full fat Highland bagpipes.  The tunes are mostly self penned, but firmly routed in the tradition and many sound as if they could have been around for hundreds of years.  The slower numbers are sensitively played, but it's the fast stuff that gets the crowd going, with David Shedden's pipes rousing the passions and bringing the greatest response from the audience.  They've got a bit of stage presence too, with the odd amusing anecdote.  Great entertainment.

The Orcadians of Hudson's Bay is a project put together by Gnoss fiddler Graham Rorie (and nice to see his fellow Gnossers in the audience to lend him their support) to highlight, in music, how great a contribution the people of Orkney made to the running and success of the famous Canadian trading company - and the impact that had on the islands themselves.  To this end he has undertaken a lot of research on the subject, written tunes inspired by his reading, and assembled, with the help of the Celtic Connections organisers, a top notch line up of traditional musicians to perform it with him.  Kristan Harvey, Pàdruig Morrison, Rory Matheson, Signy Jakobsdottir and James Lindsay, plus a cameo performance from those magnificent Canadians from le Vent du Nord.

The result is a mix of tales and facts from history, music that takes it's key from both sides of the Atlantic, and a performance that is both lyrical and informative.  Who knew that, in the early 19th century, around 80% of Hudson's Bay employees came from that small island group?  Rorie's tales brought the subject alive, and the music impressed, if somewhat sedately.  That's never a term associated with LVdN, and their contribution enlivened proceedings.

An interesting experiment, and one that deserves future hearings.

Della Mae, Teilhard Frost, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections

Canadian Frost is better known to Scottish audiences as one third of Sheesham & Lotus & Son, but his solo performance contains the same primary elements.  A passionate devotion to recreating the sounds of old-time American music, recounting the history of the tunes he's playing. and a lot of humour - even when playing.  Fiddle, harmonica, percussion, kazoo, a strong tenor voice combine to bring to life ragtimes, blues, jazz and folk in an eclectic package.  Unexpected twists, funny lyrics and Frost's own brand of showmanship kept the audience engrossed, and he received strong acclaim for an excellent set.

Della Mae are a five piece, all-female, Nashville-based band with bluegrass roots but a wide range of influences.  Guitars, fiddle, mandolin, washboard and double bass.  While both bassist and mandolin player take a turn at singing songs, most of the lead vocals fall to the good-time voice of Celia Woodsmith who gets more Joplinesque the rockier the numbers become.  The songs are mostly self penned, and the lyrics interesting, catchy.  While there are a few slower numbers for the most part the tempo is rocking, the beat foot tapping, and the solos from fiddle, mandolin and guitar sparkling.  Decent bass solo too.  They're engaging personalities, there's a lot of smiles and joy in their playing, and that transmits well to the rest of the room.  Great stuff and a lot of fun.

Ross Couper & Tom Oakes, Duo Ruut, Luke Daniels and Rihab Azar, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections

A concert featuring three very different acoustic duos, from very different cultures.  Something for everyone or an incongruous mish-mash?

First up was Irish guitarist Luke Daniels accompanying young Syrian oud virtuoso Rihab Azar. The tunes came from all over the Middle East and North Africa, plus the challenge of a set of Irish jigs , Daniels' home territory.  The rhythms might be different from what we're used to, but the delicacy and speed of the playing draws the listener in and it quickly feels natural to be tapping the feet to a different beat.  Plenty of interesting background information too, with Daniels an accomplished raconteur and Azar often amusing in her charmingly accented English.  A lovely experience to start the evening.

From Estonia came Duo Ruut.  Two women, one instrument.  The instrument in question being a Kannel, an Estonian variant of the zither family.  Normally played by one person, the two friends picked one up and, without anyone to teach them, developed their own style of playing.  This resulted in a unique style, both musically and visually.  They play the kannel in a variety of ways, strumming, plucking, bowing and percussively.  And they sit facing one another, side on to the audience, the box balanced on their knees, the pushmi-pullyu of musical acts.  Add in ethereal singing and sensibilities steep in Baltic folk music, and you have a very unusual sound.  Plaintive, eerie, ghostly, romantic, surprising.  At times a little repetitive, and I'd have liked to have heard them using more vocal harmonies, but frequently surprising and they never lost the listener's interest.  Oh, and they laugh.  A lot.  Impossible to dislike.

And finally the headline act, Ross Couper and Tom Oakes, fiddler and guitarist, bringing their Shetland and Devonian backgrounds, mixing them up with Scots and Irish influences, and then playing the hell out of the resulting tunes.  If you want to sum up the two men in two words then Funny and Fast would do well.  Lots of laughs, and well capable of playing the slow sensitive stuff, but renowned for the fireworks and sweat playing that brings wild grins to everyone in the room.  Outstanding.

So to my answer my earlier question - yes, definitely something for everyone, and a learning as well as a musical event.