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00:57 This will be the 31st version of Celtic Connections.
01:02 I believe the first year was round about 12 concerts,
01:05 and this year is about 160.
01:07 So the artists are coming from all over the world.
01:10 Obviously, the backbone of the festival
01:11 is folk, traditional roots music from Scotland,
01:15 and then artists from around the UK and Ireland,
01:18 and then from all over the world, including India,
01:21 Australia, West Africa, Ukraine on Saturday night.
01:25 So yeah, pretty much all over.
01:27 The group Daka Braka, who are a Ukrainian all-girl band who
01:31 are based in Paris now playing.
01:33 And yeah, I think what you find generally
01:37 is that the unique shows that have never happened before
01:41 are collaborative shows.
01:42 So we put together a lot of musicians
01:44 that have not played before.
01:45 So kicking off tomorrow night, for example,
01:49 tribute to John McLean, the great Glaswegian socialist
01:52 and revolutionary, has a unique bill
01:56 with artists like Siobhan Miller and Billy Bragg and Eddie
02:00 Reader, Paul McKenna, artists like that.
02:03 So you'll find that right across the festival
02:06 where there's a unique meeting of minds and music minds here.
02:10 Yeah, right across the city, well, here,
02:12 the concert hall, of course, is the main venue
02:14 for the festival.
02:16 But up to 25 venues, other theaters,
02:19 including the Pavilion and Theatre Royal.
02:22 And clubs like Oran War and St. Luke's and Drygate.
02:26 Yeah, you can find music in venues from 100 to 2,500.
02:32 Glasgow is an extraordinarily supportive city for music,
02:36 generally.
02:36 So we have great audiences from the city itself.
02:39 But then audiences coming from all over the country
02:41 and worldwide.
02:42 It's exciting, the current state of folk music in this country.
02:47 And I think that that's beginning
02:49 to have an effect worldwide.
02:50 I think that Scotland, the brand, if you like,
02:53 is growing every year.
02:57 And culturally, we're holding our own
02:59 and showing some great music.
03:00 Tickets are going very fast.
03:01 And it's selling very fast.
03:03 So I think, yeah, get in there quick
03:05 if you want your tickets.
03:05 You can get them online, CelticConnections.com.
03:07 So my name's Donald Grant.
03:09 I live here in Glasgow.
03:10 And I'm a musician playing at Celtic Connections this year.
03:13 I'm here under a few different projects this year.
03:17 Beginning on Saturday night, I'll
03:20 be one of the musicians playing with the Scottish Ensemble.
03:22 I've put together some Gaelic songs
03:24 with Gaelic singer Misha Macpherson.
03:26 And we have a band.
03:28 And I've written some arrangements for the ensemble
03:30 to play with us.
03:31 I have played at the festival before, yes.
03:33 I've played numerous times.
03:34 Always love it.
03:35 And it's also a festival that I came to.
03:38 You know, I came as a teenager.
03:40 I was here at the very first Celtic Connections.
03:42 And it's kind of part of the routine of my year
03:46 is to be here.
03:47 And it has been for a long time.
03:49 It's something that all Scottish musicians look forward to
03:52 hugely.
03:54 It's not only a chance to kind of catch up
03:57 with friends and loved ones every year,
04:01 but it's also a chance to meet new people.
04:04 There's possibly a way of collaborating.
04:05 You hear new music that you might not have heard otherwise.
04:10 And it kind of opens your ears and your mind.
04:12 And I don't know.
04:14 I just love that that happens here in Glasgow,
04:16 in my home city, that we welcome all these amazing musicians
04:19 from all over the world to make music in our city.
04:22 It's amazing.
04:23 The audiences are amazing.
04:24 Yeah, I mean, it's incredible how big they are
04:28 and how enthusiastic they are.
04:31 And Glasgow gets flooded with people coming
04:34 to see all these amazing shows.
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