Transatlantic Sessions – Celtic Connections – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall – February 1, 2026

The Transatlantic Sessions’ band originated from the television series that started in 1995. That had six series. Off the back of that, the band began doing live performances and are now firmly ensconced as annual headliners at Celtic Connections. Every band member is either a headliner themselves or belongs to a headlining band.

This was my third Sessions concert and, based on previous years, I was expecting an amazing show. I was not disappointed.

Unfortunately, Aly Bain’s musical partner, band regular, and former Silly Wizard member Phil Cunningham was absent, for the second year running, with an undefined long-term illness. That said, a month ago, an online message from Phil apologising for his absence stated: “I’m well on the mend and will be back next year.” We all look forward to that, Phil. The keys, this year as last, were under the eminently capable hands of Capercaillie’s Donald Shaw.

The band started the night with a musical nod to Phil. Waiting For The Federals is a 19th century melody with the title believed to refer to the U.S. Army. It was the first track that Phil and Aly ever recorded.

The playing between the guest sets was typically enthusiastic (at one point I thought John McCusker was going to levitate) and of unsurpassable quality with airs, reels, straight and slip jigs frequently eliciting much hand-clapping and foot-stomping.

I’ve always thought the Transatlantic Sessions band had a very distinctive sound and just put that down to the incredible quality of the participants. The more I listen, however, the more I realise that one of the most distinctive aspects in addition to that is the presence of Jerry Douglas’s lap steel slide guitar. It’s an instrument and technique that no other band of this type and calibre features, to my knowledge, and one has to wonder why. It fits in so beautifully and adds an uplifting ethereal quality to the band sound. Jerry masterfully demonstrated its capabilities in his 2nd-half solo spot where he played his hauntingly beautiful composition, The Last Wild Moor.

The first guest up was American singer-songwriter Darrell Scott. Although he’s not so well-known this side of the Big Water, he’s written hits for the likes of Suzie Boggus, Travis Tritt, and the Dixie Chicks. He also has a strong, wide-ranging voice that he exhibited to perfection in his first half songs Great Day To Be Alive and one that was another nod to the absent Phil Cunningham: Wandering Johnny. Darrell set his lyric to one of Phil’s tunes, and the theme was inspired by Phil’s brother, Silly Wizard founder member and folk fiddle genius, the late Johnny Cunningham. Not a dry eye in the house.

The next guest was former Danú frontwoman Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh who has since built a solid solo career and has also recorded with Sessions’ regulars John Doyle and Julie Fowlis. I was very impressed by her rich contralto voice and warm assured stage presence. She’s from the Gaeltacht and is a strong advocate for the Irish language.

She certainly used it to advantage on the lilting Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór which she explained meant “big fairy, little fairy” and was written by legendary Irish harpist Turlough O’Carolan. It describes a battle between the queens of the Big Fairy Hill (Sí Mhór) and the Little Fairy Hill (Sí Bheag), and refers to a site in Co. Meath where the two hills are located. She followed that with a two-song medley starting with Nead Na Lachan – a lively Irish children’s song about a duck nesting in a moat – and then into a faster number (didn’t manage to catch the title, apologies!) that really got the toes tapping.

Karine Polwart was described in her introduction as “a national treasure” – a sentiment I’d agree with. She opened, in excellent voice, with her original song, featured with fellow Sessions’ alumnae Julie Fowlis and Mary Chapin Carpenter on their collaboration album Looking for the Thread. Rebecca relates to a century-old beech tree near Beechbrae, West Lothian which survived an attempted felling a couple of decades ago. Its wounds are visible, but it’s still standing. About 10 years ago, a young girl from the nearby village of Blackridge painted her name on the tree’s trunk. The tree has been known affectionately as Rebecca ever since. It’s a great song in itself, but also a metaphor for survival in a difficult world.

Then came Liberty Tree which Karine, relating its sentiments to the current political world, described as a song about “sticking it to The Man – whichever man you want to stick it to.” The audience lapped it up – helped along by a wee singalong bit.

Now we had a couple of feature spots for band members. John Doyle first stepped forward and introduced himself as “an Irishman from Asheville, North Carolina”. He’s been resident in the USA since 1991 and was a long-term member of bands Solas and Usher’s Island as well as being a well-respected solo artist. Little Bird, written for his 2016 Immigrant Band collaboration with Eamon O’Leary et al.) is an invitation for the lost little bird of the title to come back and rest in his arms – clearly a metaphor for a human rather than avian relationship. It’s a very pretty song and showed to advantage a side of John Doyle that was somewhat gentler than the driving guitar underpinning he provides for the Sessions band.

Whistle-player supreme Mike McGoldrick came next with an instrumental piece dedicated to the memory of bass-player Danny Thompson who left us last year. Tune For Danny had a lovely rising melody which briefly and pointedly led into a fine bass solo by Daniel Kimbro.

Then we heard someone who really was in at the start of the project. American country music and bluegrass singer Kathy Mattea was in the very first broadcast of the television version and duetted with Dougie MacLean on five of the seven shows in that first series. She set a warm, relaxed mood with her take on the Nanci Griffith classic Love At The Five And Dime and encouraged the audience to gently sing along with the “Dance a little closer” chorus. That was followed by another catchy chorus song: Come From the Heart, from her 1989 release Willow In The Wind.

The band closed with a Shetland reel, and we all practised our queuing technique at the bars and “leisure” facilities.

Refreshed and relieved, we enjoyed Jerry Douglas’s above-mentioned solo spot, which was followed by Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison de Groot performing what Jerry called “Old-time Country playing” – a breakneck set of barn-dance numbers full of wailing double stops and the kind of tunes and rhythms that always recall to me The Soggy Bottom Boys doing their “chicken dance” in the Coen Brothers’ Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou movie. Hugely enjoyable.

The next band member to step forward was Daniel Kimbro forsaking the bass for an acoustic guitar. He’s a well-respected and much sought-after side-man from East Tennessee who, it turns out, plays frequently with my friend RB Morris, Poet Laureate of Knoxville, Tennessee and a fine songwriter (recommendation: look him up). Daniel’s been with the Sessions’ band since 2013 as well as having a thriving solo career. In addition to his sure touch on the bass, he can come up with songs that, contrary to the cliched image of Americans in general, simply drip with sarcasm and ironic humour. I’ve heard a few and consider him a kind of Lehrer-esque genius. He didn’t disappoint in this concert with a piece that had more than a hint of current events-driven inspiration: My Common-Law Mexican Stepdad (A True Story) elicited many chuckles and had a perfect chorus to join in on. Bravo, Daniel.

Muireann then returned to the stage for her last number: An Rabhais ar an gCarraig (Have you been at Carrick?). It’s a very pretty love-song, given a stunningly dramatic delivery by Muireann, about a lover who is given grounds to doubt her love, but, upon seeing his lady, starts to woo her again with even greater fervour. Like the Song of Solomon, it’s also sometimes seen as a metaphor for love of the Church. Whichever view you take, it was a moving performance by an impressive singer.

Kathy Mattea returned with a solo version of the song she did with Dougie MacLean on that long-ago, first-ever Sessions’ programme: Dougie’s own Ready For The Storm. A real crowd-pleaser.

She came back on stage to join Darrell Scott in a duet version of what is probably his biggest hit: You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive. Darrell performed it in the 3rd Sessions’ television series back in 2007 and, more recently, it was the theme song for the backwoods crime series Justified set in Harlan and the Kentucky hills. It’s one of my favourite songs and, it appeared, my approval was shared by the audience.

The performance proper finished with a rousing version of Wild Mountain Thyme by Karine which had the entire auditorium lustily singing along. Later, outside, I was asked by a group of visitors from San Francisco “Does everyone in Scotland know that song?”. I was happy to assure them that was indeed very probably the case.

The evening would not have been complete without an encore. This was provided by the band with a set of reels announced by Aly as Far From Home, Jenny’s Chickens, and The Reconciliation. Standing ovation, and we all filed wearily but warmly home. Another great night.

The Band: Aly Bain (fiddle), Jerry Douglas (lap steel), John Doyle (gtr), Michael McGoldrick (whistles, uillean pipes), Tatiana Hargreaves (fiddle), Allison de Groot (banjo), John McCusker (fiddle), Donald Shaw (accordion, piano, harmonium), James Mackintosh (drums), and Daniel Kimbro (stand-up and electric bass, gtr).

The Guests (in order of appearance): Darrell Scott, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Karine Polwart, Kathy Mattea.

Bob Leslie

https://www.transatlanticsessions.com/