Manran
Manran

Weekend highlights from Celtic Connections

Europe’s largest winter music festival, Celtic Connections, is continuing in Glasgow.

Running until 2 February, the festival sees over 2,000 musicians from all over the world sharing their love for music at one-off gigs and the unique collaborations the Festival is known for.

Some of this weekend’s highlights include:

Ana Moura and Moishe’s Bagel, 24 January, 7.30pm, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Back in 2009, a track from Ana Moura’s first platinum LP, Não É Um Fado Normal, served as both a triumphant and prophetic manifesto: ‘Não É Um Fado Normal’ (This is No Ordinary Fado).

Moura has since taken Portugal’s national music to stages shared with Prince, the Rolling Stones, Gilberto Gil and Herbie Hancock – meanwhile creating fado versions of such unlikely-seeming classics as ‘No Expectations’, ‘A Case of You’ and ‘Lilac Wine’. Few acts have claimed the world as their musical oyster so masterfully and joyously as Scotland’s Moishe’s Bagel, whose audacious, intoxicating mélange of klezmer, Balkan, Celtic, Latin, jazz, Middle Eastern and classical flavours is always at its finest live.

Mànran with Band of Burns, 24 January, 7.30pm, The Barrowland Ballroom.

Manran

Scotland’s finest contemporary folk-rockers, Mànran return to the Barrowlands to launch their 10th anniversary year, welcoming new vocalist Kim Carnie and Orkney guitarist Aidan Moodie into the line-up – along with surprise special guests – amid their rich signature mix of Gaelic and English songs, traditional instrumentation and rock-style rhythm section.

By turns raucous and reflective, the 12-strong Band of Burns take inspiration from both the songs and spirit of Scotland’s national bard, with 2019’s second album The Thread combining original material with reworked classics.

Les Amazones d’Afrique and special guests with Celtic Connections in the Community, 25 January, 7.30pm, Tramway.

Les Amazones d’Afrique

The truly awe-inspiring Les Amazones d’Afrique are an all-female supergroup of acclaimed West African singers dedicated to ending women’s inequality and oppression. Their founders include Mariam Doumbia (of Amadou & Mariam) and Angélique Kidjo.

As a showcase finale to the new Celtic Connections in the Community programme, festival artists and groups from five Glasgow communities will present specially-created performances, celebrating the city’s contemporary diversity of cultural traditions.

For full details visit www.celticconnections.com.

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