Celtic Connections breezes back as artists prepare to blow fans away
Celebration gets back on track after Storm Éowyn red weather alert saw Scotland shut down for safety reasons
Organisers of the world famous Celtic Connections festival have confirmed they are back in action today after storms caused Scotland to shutdown on Friday.
And the music community has rallied together.
Croft No. Five who will play a blistering world-folk headline show with Rumba de Bodas at the Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow tonight will now welcome electro-trad trailblazers The East Pointers onto their bill. The East Pointers came all the way from Canada and have been given an opportunity to still play the legendary festival.
Paul Jennings of Croft No. Five said: “When news broke that sadly the Friday gigs had to be postponed due to the storm we were talking about how many bands had travelled across the world to play the festival and that it would be such a disappointment to come all this way and not be able to play. Duncan in our band highlighted that The East Pointers were missing out on their gig with the mighty Elephant Sessions at the O2.
“We felt they would fit perfectly on our gig with Rumba De Bodas and it would give them the opportunity to play their amazing music to a Celtic Connections crowd. There is such a strong community that surrounds the festival so it felt only right that we banded together to ensure as much music as possible reaches people.”
All but a handful remaining shows across the weekend are now expected to go ahead as planned as normal operations resume. Customers are advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time as necessary.
Among them the music students of Plockton Music Hall who have been unable to make the journey to join the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for their Trad Showcase show today, but are already making plans to join forces later in the year; and due to damage sustained at the venue the Scottish National Whisky Festival is no longer able to go ahead as planned.
Donald Shaw, Creative Producer for Celtic Connections, said: “The safety of our artists, staff and volunteers was the number one priority on Friday and I would like to thank everyone involved for their support and understanding.
“Our thoughts go out to impacted artists and audiences and we’re working hard on rescheduled dates for those shows. We’ve seen a wonderful demonstration of camaraderie and community between musicians and today the music strikes up again.
“We have artists from all over the world putting on incredible shows between now and next Sunday and would encourage anyone who missed out on Friday to come and experience all that’s still to be staged.”
Among upcoming events are Scottish-Palestinian show Bethlehem Calling at Tramway this evening, the 25th Anniversary of folk greats Malinky, a Burns Celebration at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and much more.
Audiences who had tickets for shows on Friday will be contacted with more information as soon as possible. The festival runs until Sunday 2 February. www.celticconnections.com.