Jan 25, 2012

Liz Clark brings you up to date on the latest from the Danny Kyle Open Stage 2012.  The Danny Kyle Open Stage (DKOS) page is here.

The Danny Kyle Open Stage kicked off on Friday 20 January 2012 with two of the 2011 Finalists – Iona Marshall and Rura plus a guest appearance of Danny Coupar who was a long time friend of Danny Kyle’s and a staunch supporter of traditional music.

The other three could not perform on the day due to exams and other commitments, but we look forward to hearing them in their support gigs and at future events.

Any information required in regards to the Danny Kyle Open Stage should be made directly to Liz Clark at: dkos.info@yahoo.com Have a great festival!

Iona Marshall

Support Gig- The Big Dish Saturday 21 January at O2 ABC.

Iona Marshall is a singer-songwriter based in Glasgow, becoming recognised there for her original live fusing melodic folk with experimental synth parts, delicate harmonies, found samples and acoustic guitar hooks. Her beautiful songs are Celtic tinged and her solo performances are heartfelt and enigmatic. She sings about landscape, love, travel, spirituality and whatever sounds come out in a stream of consciousness. Mike Scott of The Waterboys says: “Iona Marshall sings and her crystal, angelic voice creates an immediate sense of connection to something mystical, other-worldly. One could easily be washed away by the lush, spell-binding sound. Iona’s ethereal qualities are clear – a strong connection to the spiritual west coast island of Iona. Her unique song-craft has been honed over many years, blending life-long influences with modern interpretations and experimentation, exploring her passions, emotions and philosophies through sublime, haunting sound-scapes.

Rura

Support Gig –Orchestra Baobab – Saturday 28 January – The Old Fruitmarket

Steven Blake (pipes, whistles)
Jack Smedley (fiddle)
Adam Holmes (guitar, vocals)New addition in 2011!
David Foley (bodhran, flute)
Chris Waite (guitars)

Rura consists of now five stunning Scottish Musicians, several of whom have been BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional  Musicians of the Year as well as going on the prestigious Traditional Music & Song Association of Scotland (TMSA) Young Trad Tour.  Rue have had an extremely  busy year from Stapfest to Hebridean Music Festival and Piping Live to name but a few!  Joining them since ther award is Adam Holmes bringing the voice to enhance the group even further. There debut album from Greentrax will be with you soon.

Tensheds

Support Gig – Paul Kelly Wednesday 1 February at Oran Mor

 

 

Tensheds is the piano bashing, guitar swinging, husky voiced hobo. An individual with a chameleon like personality. An artist who won’t conform to a stereotype but who lives his life in a time old tradition. A free spirit with humble charm with stunning songs and musicianship.

“For the past few years Tensheds has dedicated himself to his craft, even to the extent of living on the road in his campervan. And now, his hard working earnestness is now paying off. He won the Performing Rights Society UK Unsigned Award in 2008, the Northern Trax Making It Big Award in 2009, a Celtic Connections Danny Award in Jan 2011, Pure Rawk Best Blues Track Of The Year, and even found time to set the World Record for the Most Gigs Performed in 24 Hours – performing 8 shows in 8 different cities. Supporting the likes of Hazel O’Connor, 2011 tour”

Yuptae

 

Support Gig – The Allan Kelly Gang – Friday 4 February at Oran Mor

Members:
Liam Campbell (guitar)
Roisin Anne Hughes (button accordion)
Roisin McArdle (piano )
Colette Hunter (banjo)
Patricia McArdle (flute)
Matthew Turner (drums)
Daniel Hunter (fiddle)
Siobhan McArdle (fiddle)

Yuptae are a young band hailing from the vibrant music scene in Glasgow’s South Side. Coming through the ranks of St Rocks Ceilidh Band giving them the strong sense where their music has come from and where they taking it too with innovative arrangements of traditions, contemporary and self penned tunes.

Mostly coming from musical families they in turn become the tutors for the youngsters coming behind ensuring that the Irish/Scottish traditions in music are kept alive and kicking!  Playing at local gigs and sessions over the last few years, they have built up a firm following of fans and are looking to expand this with future recordings and gigs further afield and played at various festivals throughout Scotland and Ireland in 2011 and are hoping to expand on this in 2012.

Broken Strings

Support Gig – Four Men & A Dog – Thursday 2 February Old Fruitmarket

 

 

Magnus Bichan  (Fiddle/Banjo/Border Pipes)
Guille Lopez (Cajon)
Graham Low ( Fiddle)
Aidan Moodie (Guitar)
Chloe Peace (Fiddle)
Graham Rorie (Fiddle/Mandolin)
Robbie Stevenson ( Accordion)
Broken Strings first played together in February 2009 with just five members. (from Kirkwall Academy)Under the tutorage of Douglas Montgomery.

They played at the Orkney Folk Festival Open Stage where they were pronounced the winners in May 2010 which in turn brought them to The Danny Kyle Open Stage in January 2011 and became one of the six final award winners!

Since then they have been building on their success with numerous appearances at local concerts and fund raisers in Orkney as well as coming down to Edinburgh to perform at The Fiddle Festival in November.

On 10 December 2011 they launched their new CD ‘Halda’ in Kirkwall, Orkney and was greeted with much acclaim and was the BBC Radio nan Gael album of the week.

The JPTrio

 

 

Support Gig – Sligo Sessions – Wednesday 25 January – St Andrews in The Square

Jos Kelly (Button Accordion and Piano)
Paddy Hazleton (Percussion)
Ted Kelly (Banjo and Tenor Guitar)
Niamh Farrell (Vocals)

Sligo based group The JP Trio was described by Martin O’Connor as ‘the new cutting edge of fused traditional music’, the JPTrio are an inventive and fresh new trio. All three musicians are founding members of Spraoi. Heavily influenced by jazz along with Irish music, the group is unique and exciting, fusing both genres and creating a brand new sound”.

Recently winning a Danny Kyle award at Celtic Connections and getting a few Scots on there feet the wonderfully entertaining JPTrio will have the audience swinging!

Joining the band last year in time for the Stonehaven Folk Festival with her stunning voice is Niamh Farrell.

Danny Kyle Open Stage, every day 5.00-7.00pm live on Celtic Music Radio.

 

 

Jan 20, 2012

As part of Celtic Connections, The BIG Breakthrough takes place at the Mitchell Library Auditorium on Monday 23 January at 7.00pm.

It is a family friendly singalong show featuring: The BIG Project children’s choir, Cappella Nova (Alan Tavener), Inverness Gaelic Choir (Mary Ann Kennedy), Sangstream (Mairi Campbell), Karine Polwart and band, and a brass quartet!

Celtic Music Radio has a special offer to get £5 adult ticket (instead of £13) just telephone the Box Office on 0141 353 8000 and give the code word “choirs”.

Two children under 14 free with every adult ticket purchased.

Welcoming, in the UK’s Olympic year, this celebration of Olympic and Paralympic values – excellence, friendship, respect, courage, determination, inspiration and equality – features children and young people from The BIG Project in Broomhouse, Edinburgh with several choirs and 10 leading professional musicians, including Karine Polwart, in an interactive singalong show. The centrepiece of the evening programme is a newly-commissioned work by singer-songwriter and pianist Kim Edgar, Breakthrough, featuring all of the evening’s performers en masse with a series of overlapping themes representing the Olympic rings.

Remember, to get £5 adult tickets (instead of £13) telephone the Box Office on 0141 353 8000 and give the code word “choirs”.

Two children under 14 free with every adult ticket purchased.

Jan 16, 2012

Celtic Music Radio 1530AM is back on DAB digital radio for the duration of Celtic Connections 2012.

Celtic Music Radio will be available to digital radio users across much of England and in Cardiff and Newport in South Wales plus here at home in Ayrshire and parts of Glasgow.

This ground breaking agreement means that around 5m digital radio users will have access to a flavour of Glasgow and the world famous Celtic Connections festival thanks to Now Digital. Celtic Music Radio will be ‘live’ from The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, the hub of the Celtic Connections festival.

Users of a DAB digital radio just need to tune into ‘Pop Up’ radio on their display and press ‘select’ when they see ‘Pop Up’ and Celtic Music Radio will ‘pop-up’.

The service launched on the Now Digital multiplexes from Monday 16 January until Monday 5 February 2012 and will also act as a showcase for a potential full-time DAB digital radio service for Celtic Music Radio from Glasgow.

These are the areas of UK where you can hear Celtic Music Radio in digital sound quality on DAB digital radio:

The Pop Up service covers Ayrshire, Berkshire & North Hants, Bristol, Cambridge, Cornwall, Coventry and Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Essex, Herts., Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Norwich, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Peterborough, Plymouth, South East Devon, Cardiff & South East Wales, South Hampshire, Sussex Coast, Swindon, West Wiltshire and Wolverhampton & Shropshire.

Jan 14, 2012

Mike Cullison is currently doing a tour of Scotland from Dingwall to Fife and he will visit the Celtic Music Radio studio on Sunday evening to chat to Mary K Burke.

D.R. Nashville review says: “Mike Cullison’s music is muscular, visceral and not for sissies. There’s not an ounce of pretty-boy fluff anywhere in his catalogue. His vocals reflect the spirit of an American poet whose roots extend from the raw Country of the Hank Williams/Carl Smith era to the Sun sound of Memphis to the sweet, sweat-soaked Soul of the Stax studio and is always encased in a deep agreeable groove.”

Mary K. Burke Show, Sunday 15 January 7.00-9.00pm.

Jan 7, 2012

Stupendous, scintillating, scandalsingly and brilliant, that is how to describe Bablefish who have an alternative Burns Concert at Celtic Connections in the Oran Mor at the top of Byres Road, Glasgow on Wednesday 25 January at 7.30pm with a whisky tasting from Bruichladdich Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky plus special guests.

On the Festival Fling programme today, Saturday 7 January presented by Liz Clark, Bablefish are featured with a recording of their Lomond Folk Festival concert in July 2011.  Bablefish are Adam Sutherland, John Somerville, Andy Thorburn, Iain Copeland and words by Jock Urquhart.

“Book your tickets for the January gig at www.celticconnections.com soon as it will be mobbed” says Liz

Festival Fling 2-4.00pm Saturday 7 January.  Repeat 1-3.00am also on Catch Up.

Dec 28, 2011

Sona le Seonaidh (Happy with John) is John Joe MacNeil with our weekly Gaelic programme of music, guests and chat.

This week, Sona le Seonaidh comes live from John’s home area in Castlebay on the Isle of Barra as he is on Barra keeping in touch with family and friends during the  New Year holiday season.

As always there will be a guest or two on the ‘Island Parish’ island!

Listen in on Thursday 5 January 2012 at 7.00pm live from Barra at the studios of siar.fm here on Celtic Music Radio.