The Celtic Connections festival will return in the new year with musicians from as far away as Pakistan and Sri Lanka performing at Glasgow venues including the Barrowland Ballroom.
Performers from more than 20 countries will perform across a range of genres in 25 venues across the city, including Americana and orchestral music as well as indie, jazz, and blues.
The opening concert will mark Glasgow’s 850th anniversary as a city, where traditional music can still be heard in pubs.
Musicians will travel from Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, France, Italy, Nigeria, Spain, Wales, Ireland and the Republic of the Congo, to perform in venues including the Old Fruitmarket, Barrowland Ballroom, SWG3, Saint Luke’s and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Peat and Diesel, an act from the Western Isles, will become the first band to play at the Emirates Arena in the city’s east end.
The festival runs from January 16 to February 2 and 11,000 visitors are expected, with an estimated 1,200 musicians and artists taking part in 300 events – which organisers said reinforced Glasgow’s status as a Unesco music city.
The festival has quadrupled in size since it began in 1994 and was described as continuing “to push the envelope of artistic programming and ambition”.
A discounted entry for under-26s has been introduced for the 2025 festival which showcases music, spoken-word, dance and film.
KT Tunstall has already sold out a show at the Barrowland Ballroom; and will reflect on 20 years since her major album, Eye to the Telescope, with a night at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, amid efforts to ensure a gender balance.
Grammy-award-winning Americana singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett will make his debut at the festival when he headlines in January at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with his acoustic group.
Another Grammy award-winning American artist, Madison Cunningham, will also perform, while Scots Singer of the Year Beth Malcolm will showcase her forthcoming new album with a headline show at Barony Hall.
Folk singer and storyteller Karine Polwart will have a headline show at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall for the first time in her 25-year career.
Ibibio Sound Machine, fronted by London-born Nigerian singer Eno Williams, will play the Tramway, inspired by West-African funk and disco and modern post-punk and electro.
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force – the eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti – will also bring his live show to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall audience.
Folk band Breabach will perform a specially commissioned show with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra featuring new arrangements by big band arrangers from around Europe.
Donald Shaw, creative producer for Celtic Connections, said: “We are incredibly proud of Celtic Connections’ place as an ecosystem for new music. We are bringing together international icons with emerging acts to create never-seen-before collaborations, not to mention great nights out for our audiences.
“Celtic Connections went from being primarily a Glasgow festival, to a national festival, to an international flagship event. Like many acts on our line-up, we have expanded over the years, drawing inspiration from tradition and the boundless possibilities of contemporary music. Through it all, Glasgow remains at our heart, so to open the festival in celebration of our city’s artistic clout is incredibly special.
“In the last 20 years, traditional music has entered the mainstream, it’s embraced in our pubs and biggest venues, and we will once again drive the genre’s profile forward in our artistic commissions. If you think Glasgow in January isn’t the place to be – you just haven’t ever been to Celtic Connections.”
Bailie Annette Christie, chair of Glasgow Life, said: “Celtic Connections is always an outstanding part of Scotland’s cultural calendar. Spectacular performances warm up the winter nights at many of Glasgow’s most loved, and sometimes surprising, music venues. The festival helps enhance Glasgow’s status as a Unesco City of Music and the city’s reputation as a world-class cultural destination.
“Celtic Connections will have something for everyone, from intimate performances and exciting one-off collaborations to impressive large-scale shows. None more so than the opening concert, which will kick off Glasgow’s 850th birthday celebrations in style.”
Creative Scotland head of music, Alan Morrison, said: “A peek at the highlights of the 2025 edition is enough to prove why this has become one of the world’s largest and most important winter music festivals.
“Local talent stands tall alongside incredible international artists, as a global beat crosses over our own traditional tunes. Creative Scotland is proud to support such a heady mix of wonderful music.”
Culture secretary Angus Robertson said: “Celtic Connections continues to grow its global reputation as one of Scotland’s foremost festivals and an event we are proud to support, bringing together world-class talent and showcasing the very best in folk, roots, and international music.
“This year’s programme unites artists, traditions, and audiences from around the globe in a truly unique celebration.”
General tickets go on sale at 10am on Wednesday at www.celticconnections.com
