The majority of the concerts at Celtic Connections 2026 are listed in the article here, with links through to ticket purchases. Read on below for the review and photos from Celtic Connections 2019.
By Chris MacKenzie
There used to be a time, back in the early days, when it was possible to go to a concert most nights of Celtic Connections and you didn’t have to leave the Concert Hall and would see all the main acts. In 2019, there were 30 venues, 300 events and 2000 musicians so unless you have a Tardis or Hermione’s Time-Turner you can only see a small subset of the artists but that just leaves others to see next year, or the year after that.
Despite the number of events many of them sell out, illustrating just how much Celtic Connections has become part of the Scottish and international traditional event calendar. Long may that continue.
One of the most rewarding aspects of attending Celtic Connections is discovering new artists through the carefully crafted pairings that Donald Shaw and his team put together. This was the case at the long-awaited Deaf Shepherd concert when the Americana/folk trio of Alden (vocals, guitar), Patterson (fiddle, vocals) and Dashwood (dobro, vocals) took to the stage first. Their tight vocals and classy playing was warmly received by the sell-out crowd in the Strathclyde suite in the Concert Hall.
It is a sign of the enduring popularity of both Celtic Connections and Deaf Shepherd that 25 years after they played at the first festival, the band were back in a sell-out concert.
The line-up has morphed a little with Malcolm Stitt, John Morran, Clare McLaughlin, Mark Maguire, Jenna Reid and Finlay MacDonald taking to the stage this time round, for what was their first concert in eight years.
Any doubts that they may be a little ring-rusty were blown away in the opening seconds of the first track, as they launched into their trademark pipe and fiddle attack on the 4lb Brownie set. It was classic Deaf Shepherd and had the crowd rocking from the outset. While the band can raise the rafters, they have always had a delicate side and John raided his Burns catalogue, the Lowland mouth music tradition and the contemporary store for some beautifully arranged and delivered songs. The highlight was undoubtedly his rendition of Gavin Stevenson’s Huntin the Buntin’, which was a delight.
The song interludes allowed everyone’s pulse to get back down to non-life-threating levels before the energy level was cranked up and the band powered through strathspeys, jigs and reels. The addition of original members Rory Campbell and Marianne Campbell was well received by the crowd and added kerosene to the fire with twin pipes and a trio of fiddles stoking the flames. The inevitable encore saw the band joined by two more of the original line-up, Gavin Pennycook and Angus McLaughlin, for an emotional version of Lost for Words at Sea. The finale could only be the Gie’s a Drinkset and with everyone pitching in, it was a rocking, bouncing, dancing-in-the-aisles end to the night. Here’s hoping it won’t be another eight years before this band get back on stage.
Like Deaf Shepherd, Breabach follow in the well steeped Scottish folk band tradition of a pipe and fiddle sound that stretches back to the Whistlebinkies, the Tannahill Weavers and Battlefield Band (to name but a few).
Breabach may be relative newcomers in relation to Deaf Shepherd, but they have been around for 14 years and their recording output of six albums does make Deaf Shepherd’s three look a little paltry. Breabach have picked up many fans over the years, and they packed out the Fruitmarket.
They did not disappoint as they powered through a set full of energy and musicality. The Oban Ball set from their most recent album, Frenzy of the Meeting, kicked things off with pipes to the fore. There are very few bands who can boast two pipers of the calibre of Calum MacCrimmon and James Duncan MacKenzie and with both front and centre on pipes, it is a great sound. Of course, Calum and James are both multi-instrumentalists and during this concert you were as likely to hear them on whistle or flute as pipes.
The singing duties were shared across the band with Ewan Robertson, Calum and Megan Henderson all taking a turn. Ewan’s smooth delivery of The Birds of Passage and Calum’s The Iceman provided the highlights. As well as singing and providing the fiddle backbone to the band, Megan also displayed her step-dancing talents to the delight of the crowd. It is a testament to the musicianship of Megan, Calum and James that their playing is so tight you couldn’t get a cigarette paper soaked in oil between them. Add in Ewan’s sympathetic guitar playing and James Lindsay’s superb double bass playing and it all adds up to a complex, multi-layered sound that stays true to the melody.
By the big finish with the Knees Up set and an encore of The Last March, followed by a twin pipe-led strathspey and reel set with more step dancing, the band had folk on their feet and earned a standing ovation.
It is beyond argument that Celtic Connections have been a major factor in the changes that have swept through the piping world over the last 20 years. From the outset, the festival featured the pipes in many forms and has always had a piping concert. That concert has always taken a broad church approach to piping and included bellows pipers, pipers from France and Spain, pipers from the folk tradition as well as Gold Medallists and top pipe bands. This approach has undoubtedly helped get the piping world to the place we are now where there is room for everyone.
This year, the concert was billed as The Conundrum: International Piping Night and was the brainchild of piping virtuoso Finlay MacDonald.
It took the form of an extended “tag team” performance with new players joining those on stage and then staying on while the original players bow out. First up were the father and daughter duo of Philippe Morice (on bombarde) and Enora (on Highland pipes), who played a selection of music from Brittany with their instruments and performances sparking off each other.
They were joined by uilleann piper and 2018 Scots Trad Instrumentalist of the Year, Calum Stewart for a dance set from Loudéac that synced Highland pipes, uilleann pipes and bombarde in a rhythmic fusion that would get even the most wooden feet dancing. As Philippe and Enora left, Calum was joined by Steve Byrnes on bouzouki and for William Marshall’s Craigellachie Lasses followed by one of Calum’s own compositions, The Phoenix.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Calum live, then seek him out. His playing sparkles with that rare mix of pace and control which teases every ounce of melody out of the tune even at F1 speed. After a blast through the Cairngorm set, Finlay tagged in for The Angel’s Shareset of reels with Calum.
As Calum left the stage to great applause Finlay was joined by the house band – Ross Martin, Steven Blake and Steve Byrnes – and kicked off with Andrea Beaton’s eccentrically named The Electric Water Boiling Machine, then by way of Pipe Major Donald MacLeod into Abdul’s,one of his own compositions.
Finlay was joined by his long-time collaborator Chris Stout and they finished the first half in cracking style. Finlay and Chris are so adept as a musical partnership that they could play the kazoo and triangle together and turn it into compelling music.
The second half started with Cape Breton’s Matt MacIsaac on pipes and Mac Morin on piano. They launched into Pipe Major Donald MacLeod’s Stornoway Bay before The Conundrum (surprising that it took so long to appear) and then a big set of reels and a set of jigs.
The Cape Breton sound epitomised by Matt and Mac is as infectious as flu but a whole lot more fun to have. They were joined by Brighde Chaimbeul and Ross Ainslie for a set of strathspey and reels which culminated in Mac showcasing some Cape Breton step dancing – classy and very entertaining.
Brighde and Ross then took centre stage for a set of mainly Ross’s tunes, followed by a Bulgarian set and in alignment with the theme of the night, they proved a very musical partnership.
They were joined by Galician gaita piper Anxo Lorenzo for a strange but surprisingly effective pairing of Aires de Pontevedra and The Clumsy Lover. Anxo’s set had a bright jazzy feel and he was joined by Ross and Finlay for Hector the Hero and a set of jigs. The finale had everyone on stage for a Breton song and then Ann’s March, one of Finlay’s tunes.
All in all, a great night’s piping and more evidence, if it was needed that pipers the world over have lots in common and fabulous music occurs when the different strands get together.
A piper who featured in many of the early Celtic Connections concerts was, of course, Gordon Duncan.
Sadly, Gordon went to join the great celestial pipe band in 2005 and it is impossible to know what music he would be making now, but his influence is most directly seen in the work of two of the young pipers he took under his wing in the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band.
Ali Hutton and Ross Ainslie make no secret of how inspiring Gordon was to them, and that his music has heavily influenced the musical direction they are now on. That direction was evident at their concert in the Queen Margaret Union where they played several tracks from both their latest album Symbiosis II and its predecessor Symbiosis.
While both albums do feature other musicians (who were on stage) it is fair to say this concert was the Ross and Ali big band with a beefed-up strings line-up led by Patsy Reid and including Greg Lawson, Seonaid Aitken and Megan Henderson, and guitarist Jenn Butterworth in a skeleton bodysuit.
The extra bodies on stage notched the Ross and Ali sound up to epic in scale and if a little of the subtlety of the albums got lost in the mix, this was more than compensated by the great sweeps of sound that resonated across the venue.
There were also songs from Ross Wilson (Blue Rose Code) and Fiona Hunter, with Ross’s version of his own song, On the Hill Remains a Heart, being the standout. Another highlight was their version of the Gordon Duncan classic Pressed for Time, with Ali on pipes and Ross on whistle – I think their mentor would have approved.
This year’s pipe band concert was performed by The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland. The band are, to quote the programme, a non-competing cutting-edge performance pipe band for 10 to 25-year-olds in Scotland.
Actually, they are two pipe bands – development and senior – and both are terrific. Indeed, they are so good that the development band are probably in the top 10 per cent of bands in the world and the senior band (who are crammed with Grade 1 players including some World Champions at that level) are in the top five per cent. That is seriously good.
The development band were up first and showed all of their skills with a delightful programme that included a glorious The Beaches of Harris, a skilfully executed PM Sandy Spence march, and jigs (including Caber Feidh), an evocative Hector the Hero and finished with The High Drive.
After the break, the senior band got straight down to business with The Annihilator Suite, which mixes guitar rock riffs with a driving pipe score to great effect. Then in complete contrast, and as testament to their ability, the band tackled a hefty MSR of The Argyllshire Gathering, Caber Feidh and McAlister’s Dirk and their playing would have stood them in very good stead in many a competition ring.
That said, the MSR is not really what the NYPBoS is about, and we were soon back to a big set of jigs followed by some tag-team solos. Well done to Kenneth MacFarlane, Lewis Russell and Ciaren Ross for having the nerve to perform solo on the main concert stage and acquit themselves so well. After a beautifully arranged A Tune for Lottie, it was back to rock riffs and guitar accompaniment for a punchy arrangement of Lincoln Hilton’s 400%. A set of hornpipes set up the finale of Gordon Duncan’s arrangement of Thunderstruck, a piece that is fast becoming the senior band’s signature. It’s loud, rocking, very catchy and the band nail all seven minutes of it.
Special mention should be made of the joint pipe majors of the senior band, Andrew Clark and Iain Crawford. They were presented with pipe banners embroidered with their years of service in the band and were thanked by band director Alisdair McLaren for their dedication.
One of the albums of 2018 was In Praise of Home by Rura and they performed most of it to a packed-out Saint Luke’s during Celtic Connections. Their carefully crafted tunes were skilfully played out with a hint of the extra panache that a live performance gives, sometimes slightly jazzy, sometimes almost transcendental but always melodic. This is another band who fall into the category of: “If they are in your neck of the woods, seek them out.”
