2018: The Year in Folk & Jazz
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The year began with the overwhelming cornucopia of Celtic Connections, opening in triumphant form with its 25th anniversary concert. A crammed concert bill included celebrated names from Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, India and America, but also two strikingly different reactions to the blight of war, with Syrian Maya Youssef’s delicate plucking of her Arabic zither lamenting the destruction of her country, while Ian McCalman and the Far, Far from Ypres choir – of which more later –anticipated the Armistice Centenary to come – moments of solemn reflection in an otherwise upbeat evening.