Hot Ticket of the Month: Celtic Connections

Beginning on 19 Jan, Glasgow's annual folk, roots and world music festival isn't just about forcing school kids into concert halls and bigging-up fiddle music; it's actually a pretty great excuse for gathering together some top-drawer homegrown and international talent for collaborations, gigs and good times aplenty. Cornershop make a rare appearance at Platform on 20 Jan (with support from indie tykes the 1990s) to remind everyone they have a lot more strings to their bow than just 'that tune', followed by honey-voiced Irish folk singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow at the Mitchell Library on 21 Jan and Spanish indie-folk ingenue Russian Red (featuring Belle & Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson and Bob Kildea) at the same venue on 22 Jan.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins will provide what promises to be one of the festival's high points as they revisit cuts from their quietly spectacular Mercury Prize-nominated album, Diamond Mine, at ABC1 on 26 Jan, whilst the talented triple-bill of Admiral Fallow, FOUND and Chasing Owls play at the same venue on 27 Jan. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy makes an appearance at the Old Fruitmarket on 29 Jan plus there's a couple of label nights that you won't want to miss: Chemikal Underground at Brel on 24 and 31 Jan (line-ups tbc) as well as Rock Action (featuring Remember Remember and Adam Stearns & The Glass Animals) at Brel on 29 Jan. Others to look out for include the resurgent Mull Historical Society with support from Washington Irving (3 Feb). Celtic Connections has evolved way beyond its folk and global roots, and there’s plenty more on offer beyond this selection. See celticconnections.com for full festival listings.