BOTHY Culture, the second album by Martyn Bennett, is to have the GRIT treatment as a major part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of Celtic Connections in January of next year. Following 2015's orchestration of the late musician's final album by violinist Greg Lawson in 2015 – subsequently also a highlight of the Edinburgh International Festival in 2016 – the GRIT Orchestra will re-convene at Glasgow's SSE Hydro on Saturday January 27 to play Lawson's new arrangement of the earlier collection by the piper, fiddler and studio mixer. The epic production will also feature a performance by professional street trails bike rider Danny MacAskill, inspired by his ride along the Cuillin Ridge on Skye, an online film hit, with a soundtrack of Bennett's Blackbird.

Celtic Connections 2018 will run from January 14 to February 4, 2018 and include 300 events featuring more than 2000 artists.

celticconnections.com

MUSIC promoters Soundhouse launch a new series of their popular Monday concerts in Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre bar on September 4 with highly acclaimed young traditional band Imar. Bassist Roy Percy’s Society Syncopators present dance music from the 1920s on September 11, with Utah-based desert blues band 3hattrio following on September 18 and Breabach bassist James Lindsay playing music from his recently released solo album, Strand, on September 25.

traverse.co.uk

GLASGOW'S Star Folk Club has announced its programme for September. The Quiggs, featuring former McCalmans singer-guitarist Stephen Quigg and his wife, Pernille, are the club’s guests on Tuesday, September 5, with long-established Scottish band the Tannahill Weavers following on the 12th. Singing and multi-instrumental partnership Emily Smith & Jamie McClennan showcase new songs and favourites from their fifteen years together on September 19 and Canadian singer, songwriter and interpretator of the Scottish and Irish traditions, Eileen McGann appears on the 26th. All concerts are held in the Admiral Bar in Waterloo Street and begin at 8.00pm.

starfolkclub.com

EDINBURGH Folk Club reconvenes after the summer break with an appearance by popular Scottish band the Tannahill Weavers on Wednesday, September 6. Young Aberdeenshire traditional singer Iona Fyfe, who was a finalist in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2018 competition, follows with her band on September 13 and singer Emily Smith, who won the same competition in 2002, appears with multi-instrumentalist Jamie McLennan on September 20. American traditional music specialist Jeff Warner returns to the club on September 27. All concerts take place at the Summerhall arts complex and begin at 8:00pm.

efc1973.com