THE 20th annual Celtic Connections musical extravaganza began last night with Julie Fowlis among performers at a celebratory gig in Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall.

The cornerstone of Scotland's cultural calendar will feature some of biggest names in folk, roots, world, traditional, indie, blues and jazz.

Earlier, Vicente Amigo, the Spanish flamenco guitarist, gave fans a sneak preview of his show tonight in a performance with the rest of his band outside the hall.

Donald Shaw, artistic director, said: "Many artists performing over the next 18 days have been involved in the festival for a number of years but there is also an array of fresh new talent being showcased." Picture: Marc Turner