Transatlantic Sessions Live at Celtic Connections, Feb 3, 2023

The Transatlantic Sessions Live kicks off with aplomb at Celtic Connections this year. Playing for a full house, they begin with ‘Waiting for the Federals,’ a classic from the original TV show. Fiddles (led by Aly Bain) and guitars play the first section before double bass, drums and the rest of the band (including pipes and keys) come crashing wonderfully in. It is a sure-fire testament to the musicianship and feeling that have enabled this group to thrive for the last 20 years.

Jerry Douglas MCs the night, introducing the old and new members of the team. Among the newer contingent are the likes of Tatiana Hargreaves, Allison de Groot, Amythyst Kiah and Liam Ó Maonlaí. Martha Wainwright is there too, alongside Karen Matheson. Wainwright’s family and Matheson feature heavily on the original programme, contributing to many of the best songs from it. These performers are joined by stalwarts of folk, including the likes of Phil Cunningham and John McCusker. The arrangements of the songs are good and the energy is wonderful; the music is, of course, of the highest calibre. The downfall of the evening is the quality of new songwriting. Most feel tired, self-indulgent and even lazy. The older tunes and their arrangements stand head and shoulders above, from Douglas’ take on ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ to a trio of traditional reels beginning with ‘The Teetotaller’ and ending with ‘The Highroad to London’.

The Transatlantic Sessions has always been about sharing music and this iteration is no different. Each instrument – from double bass to bagpipes – is given a chance to be heard by the room as a whole. Musicians who aren’t participating on certain numbers sit on a couch beside the stage to enjoy the performance. There seems to be no pretence that the older hands know it all, keen as they are to invite new kinds of music from the next generation into the fold, and learn new things through them. The joy in this approach spreads to the wide-eyed audience as we watch Bain following Hargreaves’ fiddle, or listen to Douglas’ dobro accompany Kiah’s striking voice. Perhaps it is this spirit of continuous sharing that has secured the long-lasting popularity of the Transatlantic Sessions. It certainly makes for an atmosphere full of possibility. May it go on for a while yet.

Transatlantic Sessions ©Gaelle Beri