Broadcaster Ralph McLean has just returned from Glasgow's winter music festival Celtic Connections. Here's his festival highlights diary
NO SINGLE event encapsulates the pure musical magic of Glasgow's sprawling, roots-music extravaganza Celtic Connections better than the Transatlantic Sessions.
If you've seen the popular TV series on which the concept was founded or caught the collective in concert, you'll know what I mean. A vast, boundary-free celebration of Scottish, Irish and American folk forms, it's got wit, warmth and musical thrills in abundance.
That's why, as a first-time Celtic connector, I'm delighted to be seated in the plush Scottish Concert Hall for a performance from this super group of roots music.
Somehow, despite hearing nothing but glowing reports from it for years, I've only now got round to experiencing the festival for myself. Now, in this its 21st year and also the year of Homecoming Scotland, I decided to take the plunge and the atmosphere is tangible enough to send a genuine shiver up the spine.
In keeping with the feel-good musical vibe that seeps through the city at festival time, there's not a spare seat to be had in the house. A quick glance around suggests that the local tartan merchants have made a killing - a man in the row beside me is proudly displaying his full highland attire right down to his Tam O'Shanter - but such colour only adds to the sense of occasion. Indeed I feel a little underdressed without my own McLean clan kilt.
Don't think for a moment that this is some shortbread-tin exercise in the twee or sentimental, however. This is a gathering that prides itself on being both inclusive and edgy. Any programme that includes Mary Chapin Carpenter and Mogwai and cherishes both Bobby Womack and Breton music is all right in my book.
There's also a genuine creative spark here that has fuelled the festival through two hugely successful years and it's certainly in evidence tonight.
From the very moment that tonight's collective take to the stage - the sessions are very much a floating feast, with a rotating band of 17 members - the magic begins.
With Scottish folk stalwarts Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham as its founding core and American dobro maestro Jerry Douglas as a kind of casual MC, we're treated to wonderful performances from vocalists as wide-ranging as Shawn Colvin, Julie Fowlis and Sarah Jarosz.
Fluid players like Michael McGoldrick and Nashville honcho Tim O'Brien rub shoulders in the shifting house band with talent like old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky and bass player supreme Danny Thompson. The result is a sublime musical mix that rolls on for almost two hours but still leaves you shouting for more.
Like all good festivals, the music rolls woozily on into the night with the Festival Club, located in the unlikely but welcoming environs of an upstairs room of the nearby Walkabout pub, providing some nocturnal jams that embrace both familiar faces and some rising stars of the local and international trad scene. Flitting between that and the late-night sessions at the National Piping Centre make for some great memories but a cloudy head come early Saturday morning. After a little recuperation at the hotel we venture out again late afternoon to sample the Take The Floor live BBC broadcast from the Pearse Institute before spending two glorious hours in the company of Nashville singer songwriter Gretchen Peters who holds the packed hall at the Mitchell Library in the palm of her hand the way only truly great artists can.
On Sunday there's just time to check out the finalists of Young Traditional Musician of the year before a quick rendezvous with LA folk rock duo The Milk Carton Kids and a lively sprint to the airport to catch the last flight back home. Exhausted but enraptured by the experience, I'll certainly be back - and next time I might even bring my kilt.
FactFile
* Ralph stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, Glasgow City Centre hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com
n Find out all about forthcoming Celtic Connections events at celticonnections.com
* For more information on holidaying in Scotland see visitscotland.com.
* FESTIVE AIRS: Scottish Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis performs with Transatlantic Sessions