Admiral Fallow, James Grant, Blue Rose Code and Elephant Sessions are among the acts who will livestream across the world as Celtic Connections goes ahead in online form for the first time ever in its 28-year history.

Running from January 15th – February 2nd 2021, the festival will be delivered digitally due to the pandemic, with more than 100 musicians streamed around the world screens as they perform 19 days of exclusive concerts, plus workshops, and free events.

An early bird festival pass is available, giving unlimited access to the full 19 nights of the festival for only £30, available to purchase via celticconnections.vhx.tv.

These early bird ticket will be available for a limited time only (until around one week before Celtic Connections begins), before increasing to £40. Tickets to individual concerts will also be available.

Also on the bill for the three-week event are local acts such as Kris Drever, Aidan O’Rourke, and Zoe Bestel, while Karine Polwart will perform with Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Other international stars taking part in the virtual event include Argentinian-Swedish singer-songwriter José González, Sona Jobarteh a multi-instrumentalist and composer from the Gambia – and Malian Bassekou Kouyate (an exponent of the ngoni, an ancient traditional West African lute) who teams up with Amy Sacko (described as the Tina Turner of Mali), and Sudanese singer songwriter Amira Kheir.

BBC ALBA has been installed as a broadcast partner and will showcase exclusive performances in a new series of Seirm@Celtic Connections.

Donald Shaw – a member of Gaelic act Capercaillie as well as Creative Producer for Celtic Connections – said: “It has been a challenging but exciting process pulling this year’s digital festival together. I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the musicians who have contributed both at home and abroad, it has been brilliant to see them all get behind the concept and support our vision. We can’t wait to bring all of this great music into people’s homes this January!”

The recording of concerts fully adheres to social distancing guidelines, and
Celtic Connections ask that those watching at home similarly follow government guidance.

Full lineup and more info can be found at www.celticconnections.com.