It’s January, it’s Glasgow, the nights are long and cold. But with a jig here and a Scotch snap there, out of the darkness erupts the noisy winter carnival that is Celtic Connections, a riotous assembly of music and musicians drawn from five continents for an 18-day, 300-event, hoedown that truly brings the city to life.
Some of the Connections may at times seem a little tenuous — it must be a while since Buffy Sainte-Marie or Bobby McFerrin, both of whom are on this year’s bill, danced a Dashing White Sergeant — but the enthusiastic Glaswegian audiences have long since given the organisers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to bending the rules to include good artists.
Not that they need to bend anything for Carlos Nuñez. Nuñez is from Galicia, the genuine Celtic enclave in northern Spain where he grew up playing the gaita, the local two-drone bagpipe. His appearances at the early Celtic Connections festivals were crucial steps in his ascent to the worldwide recognition that he now enjoys and, although he has not been been since 2004, he knows it and Glasgow knows it.
So it was an emotional return for Nuñez to the festival’s main stage on Friday, backed not only by musicians from Brazil, Ireland and his own brother on a battery of percussion, but also by the drummers of Rhythm Wave and the National Youth Pipe Band, both from Scotland.
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Overflowing with natural charm, Nuñez has become quite the showman as well as the brilliant instrumentalist on just about every woodwind instrument you can imagine. And he is quite the storyteller too; this was a generous two-hour set, which took us from Galicia to Portugal to Brazil to Ireland and back again, mixing tunes and tales and rhythms from South America and Europe.
Nuñez also allowed his collaborators to show off their own prodigious talents as well; the amplified duelling tambourine and bodhran routine made all that “stomp” stuff look pretty tame.
Altogether this was a glorious masterclass not just in making music, but also in how to organise a concert. The Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow can feel a touch antiseptic at times, but Nuñez had it heaving like a sweaty beach-bar in Recife by the end.
A glorious occasion.
Celtic Connections continues until January 31; details at www.celticconnections.com 0141-353 8000