Our Celtic Connections columnist Anni Donaldson reviews one show looking at the life and music of Margaret Barry

THE gulf separating the lived experience of singers Margaret Barry and Karine Polwart could hardly be wider. 

Margaret, born into a family of street musicians in Cork in 1917, and Karine, a 40-something from Edinburgh, show the distance women have travelled in the world of traditional music and song. 

Our Celtic Connections columnist Anni Donaldson goes on a musical journey with Dirt Road author James Kelman

JAMES KELMAN in conversation with Alan Bisset at a packed 'meet the author' session at this year’s Celtic Connections festival was full of surprises. 

The 'connection' celtic-wise between Kelman’s latest novel, Dirt Road, and Glasgow’s annual music festival is stronger than you might expect from Scotland’s renowned Booker prize winner, known mainly for his dark and gritty urban tales. 

Our Celtic Connections columnist, Anni Donaldson, explores the politics of gender in Scottish traditional music

WITH the chants of a women’s anti-Trump demonstration booming outside Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, it was an auspicious moment to start a new conversation about gender and Scottish traditional music. 

Anni Donaldson, a member of the a Strathclyde University project team which has just secured the backing of the Scottish Government, explains how the team's work aims to tackle gender-based violence on campuses