8 reasons why Celtic Connections will be top of your 2024 festival list
Glasgow’s annual folk, roots and world music festival returns to the city to celebrate its connections to cultures across the globe for the 31st year.
How to get there
Take a train through some of the UK’s most glorious scenery and arrive at Glasgow Central Station.
Accessibility
Many of the venues are fully accessible. The Celtic Connections website has more details.
Where to eat
Bilson Eleven A wee tasting menu of Scottish seafood and locally source game in an eyewateringly hip little eatery in Dennistoun, Glasgow’s up and coming neighbourhood.
More information
It’s so much more than folk music
For sure, folk is the mainstay, but you’ll also hear some of the world’s best artists from genres which include traditional, world, indie, Americana, jazz and soul, orchestral and blues at this staggeringly varied festival. Anything that can lay claim to being influenced even in a small way by trad Scottish music gets a look in.
And it’s also more than just the music
Alongside the brilliant concert line up there are ceilidh gatherings, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops to make this festival so brilliant.
It’s on for nearly three weeks of brilliant music
None of your meagre weekend events here. Celtic Connections is 10 days solid between 18 Jan – 4 Feb of live music, spread across the city.
There are a whopping 28 different locations with over 300 events
It really is a Glasgow wide event with venues scattered from Wyndford on the north side of the Clyde to Govanhill on the south bank.
There’s something for all budgets
Each event is ticketed separately, and many are free. That means you can build your own itinerary, adding as much or as little as you want.
It's a great excuse to drink whisky
Celtic Connection encompasses the Scottish National Whisky Festival so what’s better than music than a wee dram on the side? There are exhibitors from across the whisky industry, with hundreds of tipples to sample alongside the live music.
It doesn’t get bigger than the opening event
If you go to just one thing, make it the opening event – the glamour, glitz and brilliant bands set the pace for the rest of the event. Names who’ve been involved in the past include Billy Bragg, Shane MacGowan, Snow Patrol, Malinky, Alison Krauss and the late (great) Sinéad O’Connor.
It’s like taking a tour of Glasgow but with a banging soundtrack
Iconic venues like City Halls, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, King Tut’s and Mackintosh Willow Tea Rooms mean Celtic Connections is a treat for your eyes as well as your ears.
