If you live in Glasgow and you haven’t ‘done’ Celtic Connections yet that is frankly ridiculous: a pretty blunt but also completely necessary statement.
Take your hands out your pockets and go and learn to play the mandolin, get off your arse and get to one of the 300 events on the go, quit moaning about the charts and go to the Danny Kyle open stage (for free!) and finally, go and dance ‘till well past your stunted little bedtime at the Festival Club.
You could do all of these things in one day, that is what Celtic Connections does.
The climax of that little rant was the Festival Club, a Celtic Connections tradition that almost sums up the ethos of the entire festival; people from all walks of life coming together to appreciate great music and good craic.
Put it this way, where T in the Park has after dark mass drug use and the occasional campsite stabbing, Celtic Connections has it’s own style of legendary after party.
Part of the appeal of the Festival Club, which results in its continual sold-out status, is its reputation as a jamming session.
In just one dreich weekend night in Glasgow’s January, while the streets look sad and rain pelted (sick pelted if we’re talking Sauchiehall), dozens of venues will be buzzing with celebrations of Celtic culture; from French guitarists masterfully manipulating the Afghan Rubab to Admiral Fallow packing the 02 ABC.
When the encores are done, Festival Club is usually their destination.
Previously held at The Art School and the Grand Central Hotel, the Festival Club has always had a spontaneous house party atmosphere as opposed to a “club” feel (in the sense we think of “club” today – refer back to earlier Sauchiehall street sick comment).
The lineup is never revealed in advance and there are familiar faces to be found everywhere – from famous faces to your own fabulous friends.
This year, the club is being held at Apollo 23, a relatively new venue that finds itself sandwiched between Cineworld and Walkabout; very Celtic.
It’s interior is plain and unfussy; Black walls, black fake leather couches, white Apollo 23 logo here and there, clean loos, DULL.
The music is still fantastic and I still wholeheartedly recommend it being a drunk and delightful part of your festival experience – Donald Macdonald and the Islands are playing tonight after their sell-out Oran Mor affair and so are the storming Shooglenifty alongside many other surprises.
I don’t know… it just seems… for a festival that has such a strong ethos for highlighting and strengthening links between cultures, that they have picked up the party and dumped it in a “club”.
The Festival Club should feel like home and Apollo 23 is not home, I mean, it doesn’t even stock one single malt!
Words: Leonie Colmar
