THURSDAY LINE-UP – Celtic Connections On Campus

The Celtic Connections on Campus week-long series of live gigs continues on Celtic Music Radio today.

Back for its eighth year it is hosted by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in association with Celtic Music Radio and TRADtv.

The lunchtime concerts are staged in the Re-union bar and grill in the GCU Students’ Association building.

Today’s line-up is:

CATHERINE AND CAELIN

Catherine and Caelin are a newly formed duo of fiddle and guitar, playing music greatly influenced by the Scottish traditional style featuring Catherine Speight on Fiddle and Caelin Forshaw on guitar. Both musicians have had a variety of individual influences throughout their lives and together they combine these to create a dynamic and uplifting sound including but not limited to Scottish Trad, Irish Trad and more contemporary styles as well as own compositions. Catherine takes influence from the dance band styles of Jimmy Shand, giving the tunes a driving and upbeat tempo which complements the Donegal and Scottish highland influences to create an energetic and strong melody line. This mixed in with Caelin’s extensive musical palette ranging from classical, jazz and the intricate stylings of Tony McManus as well as John Doyle results in a fresh take on the traditional guitar and fiddle sound. Catherine and Caelin like to give tunes a fresh voice through their unique style, linking both traditional and contemporary pieces together through their own interpretations in order to showcase the diversity of what they love about this music throughout all aspects of these traditions.

https://www.instagram.com/catherineandcaelin/

BELLZA

Bellza is a singer-songwriter who writes, records and produces alternative folk from the isolation of their home in Hastings. The resultant fragmented yet confessional work was released on August 23rd, the day of their 18th birthday, as ‘Goldfish’ which has been praised as ‘a tender, intimate, lullaby that affects from the first spin’ (TUTV). The full-length debut album explores alienation at a fundamental and philosophical level, as well as the emotional turmoil of gender identity and social alienation. Such lyrical focuses are reflected in the production of the album which was done largely independently. Having performed with indie greats such as Weyes Blood and The Big Moon earlier this year, Bellza’s live performance remains confidently quiet, whilst introspecting upon worlds of overwhelming angst and existentialism.

https://www.bellzawowza.com/bellza/

SCOTCH AND SAWDUST

This Glasgow-based band formed in 2023 with the mission of bringing the sounds of progressive bluegrass to Scotland. The group consists of Fiddler Claudia Edwards from Florida, Mandolinist Heather MacAslan from Glasgow, and Josiah Duhlstine from Arizona, and define their collective sound with thoroughly arranged, modern takes on classic American tunes and songs, as well as original melodies inspired by traditional sounds.

TAYLOR MADE MUSIC

Taylor Buntain is a Kilmarnock-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Formerly playing mandolin/banjo in folk-punk band The Stumblers, and later co-fronting jam band Aw Naw, Taylor has heaps of musical experience under his belt and no genre is a stranger. His solo performances pull together various strands of influences and styles, and weave them into a guitar-slapping, genre-hopping musical journey.

https://www.facebook.com/TaylorMadeMusicUK

• Celtic Connections On Campus – live – 12.30 to 2 pm.