
January 2025
Top for Fantastic Folk Music
January really wouldn’t be the same without Celtic Connections. The annual festival kicks off on January the 6th and is running for the next 17 days. Did you know that our fair city was in fact a UNESCO City of Music? And rightly so. For across the festival’s run, there will be artists from 20 countries (around 1200 of them) taking part in 300 events.
There’s a real sense this year of celebrating and caring for our environment in several of the performances. There’s an incredible live performance from the Scottish folk and roots scene, multi-talented Laura-Beth Salter – singer and mandolin player – and piper, guitarist and whistle player, Ali Hutton. The duo will perform their Scottish sound scaping piece ‘From the Ground’. The piece blends their incredible music with natural sounds of the Hebrides – the winds, the crashing waves and is ‘an ode to Mother Nature and her power to heal.’
Another unique performance is the RSNO’s orchestral performance of the film ‘When Fish Begin to Crawl’. This immersive performance celebrates the recognition of Caithness’ Flow Country as a World Heritage Unesco Site. The performance is a co-presentation with Glasgow Film Festival.
There are many Hebridean artists performing at the festival, but some musicians may have come from a little further afield. Celtic Connections continues to celebrate acoustic and world folk music with musicians from Iran, East Africa and Bulgaria to name a few.
The programme for the event is immense so check it out below. It’s right in our city, it’s our native music and it’s worth being proud of.
Celtic Connections
Various Venues City-wide
16th Jan – 2nd Feb
w:celticconnections.com
Top for Supporting Local Film
As a life-long film buff, the rise of Scottish film fills me with pride. When I was little, the only Scottish voice heard in cinema was Sean Connery. Yet now, not only do we have a myriad of Scottish actors, Scottish productions companies, a whole host of people employed by the Scottish film and television industry – and many a film festival celebrating this fact.
To that end, in January look out for the Partick Film Festival. Now in its second year, the festival showcases film from Scotland and beyond. A non-profit organisation, the PFF is an opportunity for the whole community to connect to the beauty of film. There are screenings in unique places across the West End, masterclasses and talks by Industry Professionals. It’s a festival that goes beyond the screen and invites those of us who love film a peek beyond the fourth wall. Look out for Glasgow Film Festival in March/April Top Things.
Partick Film Festival
Various Venues across Partick and the West End
Monday Jan 27th – Sat 1st Feb
w:partickfilmfestival.com
Top for Wellbeing
It’s a bit cliché, a bit conformist, but we do look to this time of year to get ourselves in shape: physically, mentally or both. It’s good to have a goal, right? Well, if the half Marathon on 5th January is just a little too soon after the excesses of the festive period, how about The Glasgow 5K, 10K and Half Marathon Winter Warmer Run on Sunday 2nd February? The run is in support of the charity Shelter, so if it’s a little brisk out there, all the good you are doing should keep you warm. Me? I ‘heal thyself’ in a much gentler manner. Take the breathtakingly gorgeous-sounding Loch Lomond Sunrise Goose Walks RSPB. You can’t tell me that even reading that sentence hasn’t made you feel better! This activity does what it says on the proverbial tin. Geese roost overnight and at sunrise watch thousands take to flight by the light of the rising sun.
You’re welcome.
Winter Warmer Run in aid of Shelter
Glasgow City Centre
Sun 2nd Feb
w:findarace.com/events/the-glasgow-5k-and-10k-winter-warmer-run
RSPB Geese Walk
Gartocharn, Loch Lomond
11th Jan, 1st and 16th February
w:events.rspb.org
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