Virtuoso guitarist Tony McManus made a long awaited return to his home town, Paisley, after a fourteen year absence to a warm reception from a sold out audience in the Wynd Venue. In what was a very intimate concert McManus enthralled the audience with his exquisite guitar playing. Now living in Elora in Ontario, this superb musician entertained from the outset showing … [Read more...] about Tony McManus at the Wynd Centre, Paisley 10/7/16
Scottish rock star James Grant had not one but two sell out gigs in this Celtic Connections Festival. It was a case of rock music meets orchestral music with the introduction of the Hallelujah String Ensemble. An inspired combination. Seasoned campaigner James Grant was on top form as he delivered a top notch performance ably accompanied by his own band and the string … [Read more...] about James Grant At Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 31/1/16
This wonderful brother and sister duo made a very welcome return to Glasgow on what was possibly their biggest audience to date. Playing to a capacity crowd in this brand new RSNO auditorium they made many new admirers with a stunning performance. Just a few days before this concert Heather Leigh was in her sick bed suffering from a bad chest and throat infection but you … [Read more...] about Taylor & Leigh At Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 31/1/16
The traditional finale of the wonderful Celtic Connections Festival is the all star Transatlantic Session. A capacity audience were enthralled with over two and a half hours of music that ranged from spine chilling to heart thumping. This was a quite outstanding array of musical talent rarely seen on a stage at the same time. From the opening track led by musical directors … [Read more...] about Transatlantic Sessions At Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 31/1/16
Having seen Blazin Fiddles a few times before I never thought they could surpass previous performances - I was wrong!! Bruce MacGregor on announcing the band said "Blazin Fiddles play music fast, then they play faster and anything else is monumental - He was not wrong!! This gig was quite extraordinary. If you came to this concert expecting a nice sedate evening you were in … [Read more...] about Blazin’ Fiddles At O2 ABC 30/1/16
The relatively unknown highlanders came to town and left with their reputation enhanced and many more admirers. Rarely before have a support act rocked a venue as much as The Elephant Sessions did on this evening. They were immense! Like many other people my entry into this gig was needlessly delayed by poor stewarding which left many ticket holders queuing for a very … [Read more...] about The Elephant Sessions At O2 ABC 30/1/16
Fresh from gigging in Norway and just before flying out again on another Scandinavian tour via Denmark and Sweden the Rachel Hair Trio Showed why they are in such demand. A marvellous Celtic Connections concert in this bands home city to a sell out audience. The intricacies of Rachel Hair's Celtic Harp and the subtlety of the double bass played by Cameron Maxwell combined … [Read more...] about Rachel Hair Trio At The Art Club (Glasgow) 29/1/16
Fresh from appearing the previous night with his band Four Winds this singer songwriter from Dublin took to the stage with bouzouki in hand and proceeded to enthral this sell out audience with some wonderful Irish folk songs. Daoiri Farrell is a very accomplished entertainer with his mix of music and humour. In this very intimate venue he was in his element. Clearly … [Read more...] about Daoiri Farrell At The Art Club 29/1/16