Celtic Connections
City Halls, Recital room, Glasgow
23 Jan, 2026
Glasgow’s plush venue, City Halls, located in its Merchant city, was alive and awash last night for another Celtic Connections gig, momentum is starting to gather with every performance it is hosting. The order of the evening at the Venues Recital room, incredibly high ceiling coupled with the most lit up room of the festival, had a very well working due who go by their own names, Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell.
Their music was fast, loud and we took it in with a certain pride as to what this guy Coates could do. He sat with Cotterell, holding a fiddle and had a mic in front of him, the foot tapping began (creating percussion on a pad on the floor) and a ruckus ensued of fiery energy, beautiful songs.
Coates stunned us with his self-confessed Asian training with 3 skills that normally wouldn’t go together or be played by there separate musicians, it was astonishing. I liked their music and songs, it was different and seemed to me to blend the evenings traditional sounds with heavy metal like vocals and, a certain musical grooling with originality.
When it was time for Sarah to come onto the nicely proportioned stage (as to room) she announced that one of her performers wasn’t going to make the gig and we were introduced to Rubin, a musician from Spain who played a string instrument that looked like a guitar and played gorgeously.
So, by enjoyable means their wonderful music began, Flute and magical ceremonial strings. Sarah hailed from Coatbridge and in her youth has released the album ‘Leaving Lurgengreen’ in 2019 to certify a sense of leaving things behind to form a new life for herself.
The written flourishes, sped through a great many heightened topics. The music poured out in reflection and inspiring resonance. This kind of music is always amazing not least because of its timeless appeal, something that has made the same musical waves since time immemorial, yet its freshness increases for their audience an excitement and a sense of being thoroughly involved.
Rubin brought all the styles of northern Spain and its cultural heritage, welcoming us to enjoy some world stage cider. His playing included playing at karaoke, that must be quite the thing considering his mastery of instrument, his electric demeanour and his close relationship with Sarah.
There is always that edge at the Connections, that hot wave that guides the gigs that comes from an electrical power to play and overwhelm. This gives its experience a very beautiful podium for the music to affect us, as things come together. It happens with a more informed entertainment, we can just leave it in their hands and marvel at what we see or hear.
And they easily wove traditions and traditional story telling into the songs by pleasantness if appropriate, and sorrow because it is a cultural Festival where things must be said and repeated. But beauty was at the main door, magical, disciplined, loving, fun making music into a special place that lifts us at our core and Transends into our grateful ears and hopeful sights.
Daniel Donnelly
themumble.uk 