Martin Jones / Ruach / Willow Trio / Brad Reid / Mary Jennings / Elanor Reid

Martin Jones Mon 18th Jan 2021

Martin Jones is a singer songwriter from Greenock who writes songs in English and Spanish. His music style is a range of soul, blues, country, folk and Spanishand Latin American. In 2020 he took part in songwriting courses in Spanish language which was a big challenge and a lot of fun. The courses helped and inspired him to write new songs one of which is included in his video called Jump for Joy.  Hissong Jump for Joy was inspired by his 2 year old cousin Maya and was hisfirst ever bilingual song written in both English and Spanish. Over the years, Martin have supported various artists including Kim Richey, Gaberlunzie, Raging Twilight, Jenn Butterworth and Laura Beth Salter to name a few.  He has also taken part in local songwriting projects over the years led by Findlay Napier, James Grant and Yvonne Lyon.

My set in my video is:  Jump for Joy (original) Sure Love (Hal Ketchum/Gary Burr) You Asked Me To (Billy Joe Shaver) The Good Life (Justin Townes Earle)

Ruach  Mon 18th Jan 2021

Ruach are a four-piece band playing original and contemporary Scottish traditional music. We play our own tunes with vibrant and energetic arrangements. Based in Aberdeenshire.

Finn O’Neill: Banjo, Bodhran, Guitar, Mandolin & Vocals
Euan Reid: Accordion & Piano
Craig Dyke : Mandolin & Mandola
Kenn Clark: Guitar, Banjo, Whistle & Vocals

Willow Trio Mon 18th Jan. 2021

Based in Glasgow, ‘The Willow Trio’ are a clarsach trio focussed on playing their own compositions and arrangements of both classical and traditional music. Having recently received funding from GCAN (Glasgow Connected Arts Network) and the UKHA, the trio have been working on an exciting new project arranging Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake for three clarsachs. This month, the trio are super excited to be playing on the Danny Kyle Stage at Celtic Connections!
Out-with the trio, each member follows a diverse career – multi-instrumentalist Sam MacAdam performs with The Sleekit Beasties, composer Romy Wymer is preparing for her performance in the final of the Dutch Harp Festival and Sophie Rocks tours her award winning solo show ‘From Shetland to Shanghai’ across the UK.
In their spare time, the trio enjoys everything from rock climbing and running to nights in with board games and hanging out with the cats!

Brad Reid Mon 18th Jan 2021

Brad Reid’s boot stomps as his fiddle sounds its Cape Breton heritage. It’s a high-top leather boot he bought touring Russia with Cirque de Soleil playing clarinet, sax, and guitar — while ska5ng. Reid thought he’d landed his dream job — good pay, challenging music, travelling the world. Yet shows, he searched every town for fiddle jam sessions. Despite language, cultural, and stylis5c differences, Reid always found a sense of “home” when playing the fiddle — connec5ng deeply with other musicians, audiences, and his own crea5vity in ways other instruments didn’t allow. And so Brad Reid decided to tell his own musical stories, built on a founda5on of Cape Breton fiddle and a suitcase full of musical influences from across the world

Mary Jennings Mon 18th Jan. 2021

It takes a lot of life experience to craft engaging, universal song lyrics—and singer, songwriter and musician Mary Jennings has had more than a lion’s share. How’s this for a start: career stops as a teacher, aerobics instructor, clothing retailer, bartender, luggage saleswoman and paranormal researcher. Add to that the early loss of her mom , and there are plenty stories to share. Jennings states that music has kept her sane.  Not surprisingly, her songs often possess a modicum of sadness and darkness, about which she says, “I share these emotions with others because I know so many have felt the same things. If I can create melodies and deliver words that express their feelings, I’ve done my job.”

With an enormous singing voice that transcends her small frame, an extraordinary rock sound full of robust piano hooks, and a one-of-a-kind storytelling ability drawn from a remarkable and emotional history, Mary has carved out her own unique niche in the industry by doing things her way.

Born into a family with strong musical roots, she began playing piano at five and has fond memories of her paternal grandparents teaching her vocal harmonies at a young age – a skill that is very evident in her work today. Mary’s adolescent and teenage years were marked by her development on piano and the cultivation of her vocal ability through many school plays and musicals, but it was the sudden death of her mother in 2001 that prompted a seismic surge in her musical expression.

Mary’s strong work ethic and commitment to her craft has paid off handsomely in recent years. A Casio-sponsored artist, she was featured in an online advertising campaign for the company’s new line of keyboards in 2011 and her song “The Darkness” was placed in the Lionsgate motion picture “Devil Seed” (ironically, a horror film).   In 2014, her song “Move” was featured during a final dance on Lifetime’s tv show “Dance Moms.” Since then, she has had more placements on “Dance Moms”, a WWE documentary, “Roadtrip”, and many other shows, trailers, and movies.

Mary has organized a number of extensive tours as well, opening for artists such as Jeffrey Gaines, Mike Doughty, Teddy Geiger, Ryan Cabrera, and Rachel Yamagata, and she has appeared at several major festivals including CMJ and South by Southwest. She often treats fans to a unique stage set-up when performing on her own, prominently featuring a loop pedal that she uses to effortlessly layer rhythmic beats and beautiful background harmonies over her unmistakably unique piano playing and vocals.

Whether you experience Mary Jennings on stage or on one of the handful of albums she has released, you’re witnessing a very special artist who has confidently found her voice over the course of a long, and at time, heartbreaking journey.

Elanor Reid Mon 18thJan 2021

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Having returned to University (ROYAL CONSERVATOIRE of SCOTLAND) at age 45, I graduated last year with a BA (Hons) in MUSIC and finally set upon collecting the songs I have written over the years for my debut album LIVING ROOM to celebrate being 50 years young. This has been one of the greatest joys of my life and my next long-held ambition is to perform at the Celtic Connections Festival with this material. The title of the album derives from the song IN MY MOTHER’S LIVING ROOM, a tribute to my Mother’s Celtic heritage. The songwriting spans 3 decades from student to teacher to mother to student to grieving daughter. Recorded on the Isle of Lewis , it features guest musicians Neil Johnstone (Cello), Louisa Barron (Violin) and my son Anton Reid (Drums/Guitar) I’m a multi-instrumentalist ( Piano, Guitar, Woodwind, Brass) and am delighted to have gathered all these strands of my life into this album which deals with grief, depression, hope and joy and comprises different musical genres (country celtic folk pop jazz) I’ve performed live music in many contexts over the years: (Jazz Big Bands, Event Bands, Classical Competitions ) and set up a regular open mic night at Avante Garde Bar in Glasgow which was building up a nice wee following before Covid arrived and has been on pause since then. For the open stage, I would love to offer a set of semi-acoustic versions of these songs on piano, guitar, flute, cello and cajon.

While unable to go and see the artists live during lockdown they are still able to bring you their music via all their social media so please go and check out how busy they have been writing and performing their music during this difficult time for all artists
All enquiries to Liz Clark dkos.info@yahoo.com