Concerts
Coronavirus: Cancelled Scottish festivals and events
As the COVID-19 pandemic intensifies across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, expect some of the festivals and events you’ve been looking forward to to be cancelled or postponed. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday announced a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people, beginning next week. Not only will this help slow the spread of the virus, but also free up emergency services – such as police and ambulance crews – to be deployed elsewhere as public services become stretched.
This means, of course, that gigs at venues like the SSE Hydro, the O2 Academy, the Usher Hall and other large rooms around Scotland could be affected come Monday (16 March). If you’ve tickets for upcoming events at any venue that might fit this bill, contact the venue’s box office or check their website for updates.
This rolling page, meanwhile, will keep you up to date with other events and gigs that will be cancelled or moved in response to the pandemic.
Counterflows Festival cancelled
The Glasgow grassroots music festival is off – organisers say they’re hoping to reschedule much of the 2020 line-up for next year. In a statement, they say: “Putting international artists through the stress of cancelled flights and being potentially quarantined is just too much of a risk to take given the current situation. On top of this, it feels increasingly irresponsible to be holding social events of our scale given the risk of the virus spreading.”
The festival has also put together a list of albums by affected artists available for purchase on BandCamp – that list can be found here.
Celtic Connections to scale back on overseas acts to fight climate crisis
The festival’s creative producer said limiting the number of artists who fly in to perform was ‘the responsible thing to do’
A Scottish festival celebrating international folk, roots and traditional music has said it may have to limit the number of overseas artists it invites to perform in response to the climate crisis.
Celtic Connections’ creative producer, Donald Shaw, described the issue as “the biggest challenge” facing the festival. “We cannot bury our head in the sand. It’s not really enough to fly 300 artists from all around the world and justify it on the grounds that art is important. Festivals like this one are going to have to think very seriously about whether we can do that any more.”
Speaking at the opening of Celtic Connections 2020, Shaw said he anticipated that the festival would have to “make a statement” about reducing international travel. “The number of international artists will be reduced unless someone comes up with a solution which appeases the climate emergency.”
He said the move was necessary because it is “the right thing to do. It is the responsible thing to do. We all have to take responsibility for what is happening at the moment.”
Shaw said that artists performing at the 2020 edition of the festival had been asked to avoid air travel in order to attend, but the limits of that suggestion are evident in its heavily international bill: artists from Canada, Mali, Portugal, Lebanon, America, France, Guinea, Spain, Finland, India, Senegal, Burma and Cameroon will perform across 300 events in Glasgow this week, with the Malian stars Fatoumata Diawara and supergroup les Amazones d’Afrique among the most anticipated acts.
Closer to home, Shaw said the festival organisers had been assessing the environmental impact of the CalMac ferry, compared to flights. “We’ve already discussed what the difference is between using a CalMac ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool and flights between Stornoway and Glasgow. If it is very clear that as flights cause by far the worst damage to the environment, then we have to reduce them.”
One potential solution, he suggested, was to plant “acres of trees” for every artist that flies in for the festival and to encourage alternative ways to travel from Europe.
Source: Celtic Connections to scale back on overseas acts to fight climate crisis | Music | The Guardian
10 Must-See Shows at Celtic Connections
Scotsman folk critic Jim Gilchrist picks his highlights of this year’s festival
1. Syne of the Times, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 17 January:
The festival’s opening concert sees creative producer Donald Shaw revisit his Harvest project, with established names joining emerging young talent from Scotland and Galicia.
2. Kathleen MacInnes & amiina, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 19 January:
Smoky-voiced Gaelic singer MacInnes is accompanied by Iceland’s amiina, formerly associated with Nordic rockers Sigur Rós.
3. Jenna Reid & Harris Playfair with Mr McFall’s Chamber, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 20 January:
Highly engaging duo of Shetland fiddler Reid and pianist Playfair joined by the left-field McFall’s Chamber.
4. Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita, Mackintosh Church, 24 January: Inspired duo of Welsh harpist and Malian kora player, performing in Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s beautiful Queen’s Cross Church.
5. Julie Fowlis & Duncan Chisholm: An Treas Suaile, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 24 January:
Fowlis and Chisholm’s multi-media commemoration of the Iolaire tragedy, when 201 servicemen drowned yards away from their native Lewis on New Year’s Day 1919.
6. Shooglenifty/Kinnaris Quintet, Barrowland, 25 January:
Glorious mayhem as “acid croft” pioneers Shooglenifty share the bill with the powerful new string quintet.
7. Grace & Danger: A Celebration of John Martyn, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 27 January:
Intriguingly assorted cast including Paul Weller, Eddie Reader and Eric Bibb combine to celebrate the unique talent of the late John Martyn.
8. Karine Polwart & Kris Drever with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, King’s Theatre, 27 January:
Two premier singer-songwriters join the SCO in this historic theatre to perform songs old and new, arranged by Pippa Murphy and Kate St John.
Bridget St John (Live) French Television 1970
By Johnny Foreigner
Here in the colonies, Bridget St John remains one of the more under-appreciated artists in the British Folk genre. Her voice is not as sweet as Sandy Denny’s, nor possessing the huskiness of latter-day Marianne Faithful, but combines a small scoop of each with a delicious melted Nico topping.
In England during the 1970s, she worked with Kevin Ayers, John Martyn and Mike Oldfield. Her first album, Ask Me No Questions was released in 1969, and during the early seventies, she shared Folk charts and BBC radio time with Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, Cat Stevens and Fairport Convention.
Born in Surrey, England, she lived periodically in London, Aix-en-Provence, France, eventually landing in Greenwich Village, New York, only to decide to take the next 20 years off from performing.
This small concert made for French television in 1970 is quite wonderful. Listen, and appreciate Bridget’s je ne sais quoi.