Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections 2023

Stornoway force of nature, Peat & Diesel are back onstage with their bonkersly brilliant blend of stomping instrumentals and lyrical craic. The trio – singer/banjo-player Calum ‘Boydie’ Macleod, accordionist Innes Scott and drummer Uilly Macleod – became a viral sensation thanks to the popularity of their live shows, selling out the 7000-capacity Barrowlands in one day during Celtic Connections 2020. Their second album, Light My Byre, flew up the charts faster than ‘Calum Dan’s Transit Van’ and Peatlemania spread way beyond the Scottish border – making this show one of the festival’s hottest tickets.

Moonlight Benjamin performs her trademark blend of American blues-rock with what she calls “voodoo melodies”. The Haiti-born singer-songwriter has been compared to “a Caribbean Patti Smith” but her powerful voice and thoughtful lyrics are all her own. This astonishing musician learned to sing in church before migrating from gospel music to a more personal artistic framework, as demonstrated by her acclaimed current album, Simido.