Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections is in full swing and last week I wandered along to the Mitchell Library to see Irish troubadour James Vincent McMorrow.

His debut album, Early in the Morning, was released in 2010 and has drawn comparisons to the likes of Bon Iver's For Emma. Interestingly both chaps opted for total seclusion when recording their debut's - Justin Vernon escaped to a Wisconsin log cabin while McMorrow opted for an Irish beach house. Their isolation is very much apparent in their respective sounds.

The Mitchell Theatre proved the perfect venue, accompanied by only a guitar (and a bottle of red - a man after my own heart) McMorrow gave a beautiful stripped back performance. Good honest song writing, lyrics scattered with personal sorrow and an endearing sense of humour made McMorrow instantly likeable. Certainly the kind of guy you could quite happily enjoy a couple of pints with.

His set largely consisted of the carefully crafted songs off his first album. We Don't Eat was a particular highlight and we were also treated to an absolutely haunting rendition of Chris Issac's Wicked Game - you can check it out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxn0-KNyAZU

I also purchased tickets for Madison Violet at the O2 ABC. Very good indeed! Madison Violet are a Canadian duo made up of of singer songwriters - Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac. Really great harmonies, delicate and touching lyrics and a friendly banter with the crowd proved a winning combination.

Celtic Connections is getting bigger and bigger each year, and rightly so, roll on 2013!