The day will run from 12pm - 6pm – find the schedule here.

Celtic Connections presents ‘Coastal Connections’ – a spectacular a one-off festival within a festival – a one day single-ticket event across multiple spaces and stages of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. In keeping with the festival’s strong commitment to roots music from and inspired by the edge of the Atlantic, Glasgow’s iconic venue will host some of Scotland’s greatest ‘Coastal’ bands and emerging artists along with a few International surprises. Throughout the day there will be a packed programme of talks, film, story-telling and workshops in a unique opportunity to celebrate the rich heritage and diverse culture of the coasts and waters of Scotland. 

Coastal Connections will present musicians from over 20 Islands, coasts and peninsulas including Tiree-based Skerryvore, Oban-founded Capercaillie, Hebridean super-group Daimh,  North Uist's Julie Fowlis, Orkney roots groups Gnoss and Fara, Fiddler Gillian Frame from Arran, and Ceol Nan Eilean from Benbecula. Cape Breton neighbours Miller | MacDonald | Cormier appear, along with John Somerville's Voyage of the Hector with Feis Rois, Esther Swift's The Flood, Lochaber based Ingrid Henderson and award winning duo Anna & Mairearad from The Black Isle/ Wester Ross.

The shore-to-shore journeys made by Scotland’s residents and visitors will be celebrated with a musical contribution from Ferry Tales, a forthcoming production from the National Theatre of Scotland, supported by Clyde and Hebridean Ferries operator, Caledonian MacBrayne. Scotland’s waters can be treacherous, of course, and Coastal Connections will also present Launch!: an immersive performance combining footage from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s film archive with live music. The event, created by award-winning film curator Shona Thomson and sound artist/beatboxer Jason Singh, will also feature a guest performance by singer-songwriter Jenny Sturgeon of acclaimed alt-folk band, Salt House. Discover Storm, an outdoor spectacle on an epic scale. From Edinburgh’s Vision Mechanics comes a 10m folklore giant made-real, carrying the weight of the world and the oceans on her shoulders.

Funded through EventScotland’s International Programme supporting Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020. 

Image Courtesy of Sean Purser.