Ross Ainslie and The Sanctuary Band | Talisk | Mànran| Siobhan Miller | Beth Malcolm

7.30pm GMT*

Ross Ainslie is one of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians and composers, playing pipes, whistles and cittern. He is renowned for his highly acclaimed solo material, and as a skilled performer and prolific collaborator who performs regularly with bands Treacherous Orchestra – of which he is a founding member – Salsa Celtica, Dougie Maclean, Ali Hutton, Jarlath Henderson, Charlie Mckerron, Tim Edey, Hamish Napier, India Alba and has performed with Kate Rusby, Blue Rose Code, Zakir Hussain, Trilok Gurtu, Capercaillie, Shooglenifty, Carl Barat, Papon, Karsh Kale, Flook, Breabach, Soumik Datta and Patsy Reid. Ross released his latest album Vana in 2020.

It’s been just five years since Talisk was founded, but in that time the Scottish trio - Mohsen Amini (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of the Year 2018) Hayley Keenan and Graeme Armstrong – have stacked up major awards and an impressive list of appearances at world-leading festivals. Besides five successive outings at Celtic Connections, they’ve also brought their seamless blend of concertina, fiddle and guitar to the Cambridge Folk Festival, Denmark’s Tønder, WOMAD UK and Las Palmas, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Celtic Colours and Milwaukee Irish Festival. Along the way, their explosively energetic yet artfully woven sound has won them 2018’s Belhaven Bursary for Innovation and 2017’s Folk Band of the Year, both at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award.

Multi award-winning Scottish supergroup Mànran celebrated 10 years at the heart of the Scottish traditional music scene in 2020. Internationally recognised as one of the most iconic and respected Scottish bands on the road today, the seven-piece show no signs of slowing down as they continue to push boundaries and explore new musical and geographical territory each year, bringing their uplifting and unique live performances to stages across the world. With three hugely successful studio albums under their belt, Mànran are currently back in the studio working on their fourth that will be launched to mark their decade celebratory year. Unique to this new piece of work will be the inimitable vocals of Gaelic songstress Kim Carnie who joined the ranks in 2019.

Siobhan Miller returns to Celtic Connections to perform songs from her fourth album All is Not Forgotten. A richly celebrated Scottish folk singer and songwriter, Siobhan has been a regular performer at the festival, where she was Artistic Director for the 2016 opening concert. Her soulful and stirring renewal of traditional song has won her the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Traditional Track, and the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards’ Scots Singer of the Year an unprecedented three times. Siobhan’s latest album sees a return to her acoustic roots, and combines her love of traditional songs with original material, developing many of the themes and ideas from previous releases Mercury (2018), Strata (2017) and Flight of Time (2015). 

*This performance will be available to watch for one week after the live date to accommodate different time zones.

This performance is included in the Celtic Connections 2021 festival pass, so you will not need to purchase this event if you have already purchased a pass.