Celtic Connections 2020 A longtime linchpin of Scottish folk song – as a singer, teacher, choir director, folklorist and animateur – Christine Kydd ended a 20-year solo recording hiatus with her much-lauded 2019 album Shift & Change, interweaving traditional songs, contemporary covers and original compositions. She’s accompanied here by Andy Shanks, Innes Watson, Gillian Frame, Fraser Speirs and Angus Lyon. “A voice as strong and compelling as ever. . . one of Scotland’s timeless treasures” (Living Tradition)

A member of the Furrow Collective, Emily Portman Trio and Eliza Carthy’s Wayward Band, singer-songwriter and viola player Lucy Farrell launches her new album with Dallahan accordionist Andrew Waite, rooted in the venerable traditional ballads that first inspired her.