Top flight hoe down at the Click

TRANSATLANTIC Sessions, the fastest annual sell-out at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, will make a much anticipated appearance at the Clickimin, in Lerwick, on 3 February.

Tickets for the Celtic and Americana extravaganza will go on sale for £24 each on a strictly face-to-face basis at High Level Music from 10am on Friday 25 November. They will also become available at the same time online at the Celtic Connections website at www.celticconnections.com

The 2012 show premieres at Celtic Connections in Glasgow before heading north to Shetland and then touring London, Dublin, Birmingham and Gateshead.

With Shetland fiddle icon Aly Bain and dobro deity Jerry Douglas as joint musical directors, this year’s stellar line-up also features lead singer of The Mavericks Raul Malo, founding member of Wailin’ Jennys Ruth Moody, Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke, Scottish singer-songwriter Eddi Reader and Gaelic songstress Karen Matheson.

From the USA, this year’s Transatlantic Sessions features US roots doyens Tim O’Brien and American multi-instrumentalist Bruce Molsky.

The ensemble will be flanked as ever by a crème-de-la-crème ‘house band’ including Russ Barenberg, Danny Thompson, John Doyle, John McCusker, Mike McGoldrick, James Mackintosh and Donald Shaw.

The visit of the sessions to Shetland is part of the year-long Scotland’s Islands celebrations.