I enjoy many genres. In my twenties I dated a folk guitarist in Edinburgh and visited Sandy Bells and Arran folk festivals. The immediacy and passion of live traditional reels and folk songs were infectious and I was hooked. Celtic started in 1994 when Aly Bain was the only professional fiddle player in Scotland and he wondered would they sell 100,000 tickets in January in Glasgow.....?
Celtic is one of the largest gatherings of folk music worldwide. One of the main aspects I enjoy at Celtic are the very interesting and sometimes usual collaborations. I met Jerry Douglas last year at the Fruitmarket. I've also met Eddi Reader, John McCusker, Donald Shaw, Karen Matheson, Inge Thompson, Mat Martin, Kirsty McGee, Dick Gaughan, Phil Cunningham, Alistair Oglivie, Rab Noakes, Michael Marra, Karine Polwart at various folk music events. Transatlantic now goes on tour after the festival, check for dates. http://www.celticconnections.com/
CELTIC IMAGES - http://pkimage.co.uk/CELTIC