Yes you’ll have to remortgage the house to see all the things that you would want to, but there are some things worth going into debt for.

These include Natalie Merchant, The Low Anthem, The Swell Season, Joe Pernice, Cara Dillon… I could go on and on. The legendary Bobby McFerrin is also in attendance. If you get the chance I would advise going to see him. The man is incredible, and if you want some proof check this clip of him performing with The Motion Trio from The Warsaw Summer Jazz Festival in 2002. He is a stunning performer:

Terrible choices have to be made, and the three definites that I’ll be going to see are the lovely Laura Veirs, the Chemikal Underground night at the ABC and someone who I always try and catch when he’s in town, the beautiful Boo Hewerdine. Here’s just a few clips that will hopefully explain my choices.

The first is Laura Veirs with Wandering Star:

Next up is Emma Pollock, who will be appearing at the ABC, with Paper and Glue:

And I round off with Boo who is appearing at the Tron theatre. Boo Hewerdine, for those who are not familiar, once fronted a band called The Bible. As with many of the bands I loved they were not as successful as any right minded person would have expected, despite making some unspeakably moving music. He has written for other artists, perhaps most successfully for Eddie Reader, but his songs make sense to me when he performs them. I was going to post an old Bible clip, then thought it would be a better advert for his gigs to show something more recent. I then realised I could do what I liked, so here’s a bit of both.

First off here’s Boo singing Patience of Angels:

And here’s my nostalgic indulgence. This is The Bible on The Tube with Mahalia. It’s joyous:

Celtic Connections has something for everyone who loves music and should be supported, if possible, as we often don’t realise what we’ve got until it’s gone. Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a marvelous wee festival called Mayfest…