Published: 05 Feb 2017
After 18 incredible days packed with concerts, ceilidhs, talks, workshops, free events, late night sessions and a host of special one-off musical collaborations Celtic Connections 2017 came to a triumphant conclusion on Sunday 5 February.
2,375 musicians from 50 countries performed 800 hours (48,000 minutes) of music across 26 stages in venues throughout Glasgow over the course of the festival.
176 out of a total of 222 ticketed events sold out, including A Night for Angus, Four Men and a Dog, Mànran with Blazin’ Fiddles and Linsday Lou & The Flatbellys, Martha Wainwright, Duncan Chisholm: The Gathering, Karine Polwart’s Wind Resistance, Martin Green’s FLIT and the Tiree Song Book.
Celtic Connections 2017 welcomed more than 110,000 attendances.
More than two-thirds of the shows featured Scottish artists as part of the festival’s international line-up.
On the festival’s middle Saturday, 28 public events were presented across 24 stages..
Celtic Connections is supported by Glasgow City Council and Creative Scotland, and delivered by Glasgow Life.
The 2017 festival opened on Thursday 19 January in the Main Auditorium of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with award winning folk singer songwriter Laura Marling performing the world premiere of orchestrations of her songs by Kate St. John with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and special guests.
The Opening Concert began the festival’s celebration of inspiring women artists. This celebration continued with performances by artists including legendary singer Shirley Collins, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Olivia Newton John and Beth Nielsen Chapman. While Roaming Roots Review led by Roddy Hart featured music by some of the world’s greatest female singer songwriters.
A performance by Brazilian superstar Roberta Sa at Drygate took the celebration of inspiring women artists into the heart of this year’s Showcase Scotland.
The largest annual music industry delegate event in Scotland, Showcase Scotland took place from Wednesday 25 January to Sunday 29 January, and was attended by over 180 music industry professionals from 23 counties. The event provides a platform for Scottish artists - this year including C Duncan, Adam Holmes and the Embers, and Rachel Sermanni - to perform in front of promoters, festival directors, and record label representatives.
Each year Showcase Scotland also provides the same opportunities for artists from Celtic Connections International Partner. In 2017, Celtic Connections worked with the MIMO Festival to present Brazil as the International Partner.
As well as the show by Roberta Sa, performances took place featuring leading Brazilian artists Yamandu Costa, Renata Rosa, Carlos Malta, Baby do Brasil – and Hamilton de Holanda & Baile do Almeidinha, who played to a packed out Old Fruitmarket as part of the World Beat Bothy on Saturday 28 January.
At the closing reception for Showcase Scotland, it was announced that Celtic Connections and Culture Ireland will present Ireland as the International Partner for Celtic Connections 2018.
Other festival highlights included the world premiere of the Celtic Connections commission The Rhythm in Me by Trilok Gurtu and Evelyn Glennie, the Inveraray & District Pipe Band with Bagad Kemper, Mexrrissey, La Banda Europa, An Evening with Tom Paxton, St Paul & the Broken Bones, Aziza Brahim, and the story of legendary street singer Margaret Barry told in She Moved Through the Fair.
The Transatlantic Sessions concerts, under the musical direction of dobro maestro Jerry Douglas and fiddle legend Aly Bain, were looking set to be one of the highlights of Celtic Connections closing weekend, with a storming line-up including John Paul White, Tift Merritt, Dirk Powell and Eddi Reader performing on Friday 3 February, with the second of the two concerts taking place on the evening of Sunday 5 February.
The festival’s New Voices strand, in which composers are commissioned to produce new pieces of music based on traditional themes, saw premieres performed in the Strathclyde Suite from Seán Gray, Hannah Fisher and Fraya Thomsen.
Celtic Connections award winning Education Programme was once again at the heart of the festival.
11, 000 children from across Scotlandtook part in the Education Programme through free morning Schools Concerts in the Main Auditorium of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall featuring artists including Siobhan Miller, Vishtèn and Imar, and school workshops led by leading Celtic musicians.
The schools concerts also feature musicians who are at school, on stage. This year, The Fridays performed on Wednesday 1 February on the bill that also featured Vishtèn and Imar.
The Friday’s appearance was organised with their teacher at Hazelwood School, and she commented: “I just want to say a big thank you to you and all the team backstage who made our appearance at the schools concert this morning so smooth and easy.
“Everyone had a ball and really loved being on the stage, with what seemed like thousands of school pupils in the audience!! It was such a good atmosphere and we were thrilled to part of it.”
The work of the Education Programme is supported directly by the festival’s Celtic Rover patron’s scheme – which gives discounted rates on bookings and exclusive experiences during Celtic Connections 2017, such as access to rehearsals for Transatlantic Sessions on the afternoon of Friday 3 February.
A range of more than 60 public workshops took place, from Come&Try Spoons to Bodhran for beginners, which were open to all ages and abilities with over 1,100 participants.
Donald Shaw, Artistic Director of Celtic Connections, said: “The last eighteen days have been exhilarating and unforgettable. From the intimate intensity of Laura Marling accompanied for the first time by a full orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, to a Ceilidh led by Aidan Moffat. From the stunning virtuosity of an evening of maestros of stringed instruments from Brazil, India and the US dazzling the audience with their skills, to Tryst which saw ten specially commissioned new pieces for pipes.
“One of the many true joys of Celtic Connections is that within our tradition of Celtic music and international collaborations, we do not think about creative boundaries. Instead, we present on our stages some of the most brilliant musicians working today and explore the richness and diversity of the music we are celebrating.
“The journey we have been on through Celtic Connections 2017 has shown the power of live music to connect with individual lives and to resonate with the wider world in which we all live, and we are already looking forward to presenting Celtic Connections in 2018, in what is going to be a very special 25th anniversary year.
Councillor Archie Graham, OBE, Chair of Glasgow Life, said: “If you love world, traditional and folk music there is only one place to be at this time of year. In Glasgow at Celtic Connections we shake off the cold and dark of winter as we welcome leading musicians from across the world, and an unrivalled selection of musicians from Glasgow and throughout Scotland.”
“Celtic Connections 2017 has also reached out to school children throughout the city and across Scotland to give thousands of young people the opportunity to learn about and experience Celtic music through workshops and the free schools concerts taking place as part of the festival’s Education Programme. The response of the pupils and their teachers is inspiring.
“Celtic Connections is about celebrating our traditions, about building new international links, and, through the Education Programme, helping to ensure that our Celtic musical heritage thrives long into the future, lighting up every month of the year for many generations to come.”
Alan Morrison, Head of Music, Creative Scotland, said: “Yet again, Celtic Connections warmed up my winter nights with a programme that was truly world class. This festival thrives on its global collaborations and its ability to demolish borders through the transcendent power of music. The Unusual Suspects Of Celtic Colours twinned Scottish heritage that of Cape Breton, while the massed international ranks of La Banda Europa created musical textures I'd never heard before - who knew you could get a groove going from the combo of a carnyx and two bowed saws?
"Celtic Connections 2017 also proved that women are the backbone of the folk scene. Karine Polwart's fiery opening night salvo defiantly set the festival in motion, as did Kate St John's beautifully lush arrangements for Laura Marling's songs. Roaming Roots Revue was a constant stream of surprises - Kathryn Joseph doing Stevie Nicks, Jesca Hoop doing Kate Bush, Yola Carter stealing the show doing Aretha Franklin.
"The music spanned genres but never lost sight of its roots, and I'm confident that the future of folk music is in safe hands, having seen the next generation of Scottish talent - from Ryan Young's fiddle to Mohsen Amini's concertina - shine in the festival spotlight."
ENDS
For further information about Celtic Connections please contact:
Brian Maycock
Email: Brian.Maycock@glasgow.gov.uk Telephone: + 44 (0)141 287 5973 / + 44 (0) 7884 116 421
Celtic Connections is promoted by Glasgow Life. Glasgow Life and its service brands (found at www.glasgowlife.org.uk) are operating names of Culture and Sport Glasgow ("CSG"). CSG is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland with company number SC313851 and having its registered office at 220 High Street, Glasgow G4 0QW. CSG is registered as a charity with the office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (No SC037844).
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
