subject: Celtic Connections Glasgow Gears Up For 2010 [print this page] This will be the seventeenth year that the Celtic Connections festival has brought a host of Celtic influenced acts from around the globe to converge in Glasgow. The line up for this years festival will feature about 1500 artists, with headline acts including The Chieftains, 10-time Grammy Award winner Bobby McFerrin, and Natalie Merchant. The festival will also feature a couple of huge tribute concerts for influential singer-songwriters John Martyn and Nick Drake.
The event has distinguished itself as a premier festival event on the cultural calendar, having won Best Cultural Event at the Scottish Event Awards 2009. This years festival will kick off on the 14th of January with a Torchlight Parade led by the ScottishPower Pipe Band. The parade starts at 4:45PM in George Square and will proceed through Glasgows city centre to the Concert Hall steps.
The Celtic Connections festival will run from the 14th through to the 31st of January and span over 14 venues across the city. Ticket prices for events vary from free to about 30.
Highlights in this years program include a BBC Scotland TV Special from the Festival including a surprise selection of some of the top performers from the festival, and the Transatlantic Sessions, which has proved the fastest annual sell out event, even when extended over two nights.
For more information on the Celtic Connections 2010, have a look at the festival website at www.celticconnections.com. Tickets are available from the Box Office on 0141 353 8000, and www.visitbritain.tv hosts a video highlighting performances from past Celtic Connections Festivals.
