Transatlantic Sessions returns for 2025, marking 30 years since the original TV series first aired and continuing to explore and celebrate the rich musical traditions that connect Scotland, Ireland and the US. An annual focal point of Celtic Connections, the exclusive line-up combines guest singers and the celebrated house band, inviting them to interweave original material with age-old tunes and songs as they explore shared roots and find new common ground. For the past fifty-four years, Loudon Wainwright III has carved out a distinguished career as one of our most original singer-songwriters, releasing over thirty albums, winning a Grammy, acting in films and TV shows (including MASH), and has had his songs recorded by artists including Johnny Cash, Mose Allison, Bonnie Raitt, and his own son, Rufus Wainwright. Hailing from the Outer Hebrides and now based in the Highlands, Julie Fowlis (perhaps best known for her work with the Disney Pixar movie Brave) is widely heralded for …

Celebrating the rich traditions connecting Scotland, Ireland and the US, and a regular Celtic Connections highlight, our Transatlantic Sessions feature an outstanding line-up of artists, as great guest musicians and a celebrated house band explore shared roots through original material and age-old songs. For 2024’s unmissable event, we welcome Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Carlene Carter – daughter of music legends June Carter and Carl Smith, and Johnny Cash’s stepdaughter – whose incredible career includes collaborations with artists including Emmylou Harris and Nick Lowe. Named among NPR’s “12 Best Live Performances” in 2015, and celebrated as a “Can’t Miss Act” at AmericanaFest, Lindsay Lou’s molasses-sweet voice intertwines bluegrass roots with progressive Americana on new album Queen of Time. Belfast-based progressive Irish folk singer-songwriter Joshua Burnside takes influence from alternative electronica and Irish traditional song heritages, evoking lush landscapes, bad …

“A phenomenal group of musicians. . . The synchronicity and tightness of the band was incredible. . . an evening of spectacular traditional music-making from both sides of the great ocean.” (The Arts Desk) One of Celtic Connections’ most enduring and beloved institutions, Transatlantic Sessions celebrates its 20th edition, once again drawing deep on the kindred traditions of Scotland, Ireland and the US, while continuing to break new ground. First-time guest singers line up alongside returning favourites; centuries-old songs and tunes interweave with original material, and the time-honoured session-style format consistently delivers fresh collaborative magic. Among the vocal cast, Martha Wainwright puts a unique, fearlessly cathartic stamp on her family’s tradition of chronicling life through song. 2021’s fifth album, Love Will Be Reborn, eloquently charts her journey through loss and divorce towards hope and healing. “What an extraordinary artist Martha Wainwright is.” (Independent) …

Transatlantic Sessions is back live in the UK in 2022! The back-porch session to beat all others begins on the Celtic Connections stage once again, reaching hands across the water between Scotland, Ireland and the USA with the customary lavish all-star cast of singers, songwriters and instrumentalists. At once a masterful interpreter of traditional material and a superb original songsmith, Irish legend Paul Brady makes a welcome return to the fold, having first appeared in one of the show’s early TV versions. Also featured is US multi-instrumentalist and singer Dirk Powell, a revered exponent of Appalachian and Cajun traditions, whose latest album, 2020’s When I Wait For You, is almost a mini-Transatlantic Sessions in itself, being part-recorded in Glasgow and featuring guest appearances from several house-band regulars.  From Stateside, too, come multi-Grammy winner Sarah Jarosz, whose singing, songwriting and prodigious  instrumental prowess – on mandolin, guitar and banjo – …

We’re joining Celtic Connections online this year! Join us for a Transatlantic Sessions like any other;  while oceans apart we are still managing to come together to celebrate Celtic Connections 2021, and the power of music draws us together even as we are far apart. From Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, long-time comrades and linchpins of the Transatlantic Sessions, Aly Bain, Phil Cunningham, John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, James Mackintosh and Donald Shaw take the stage with guests Euan Burton, Julie Fowlis & Kris Drever, with remote recording and appearance from Jerry Douglas. Irish guitarist & singer John Doyle leads the Nashville contingent with previous guests and friends of the festival Molly Tuttle, Tim O’Brien, Alison Brown and Stuart Duncan. Taking advantage of this unique setup, Transatlantic Sessions 2021 will also feature special performances from previous Transatlantic Sessions BBC series. We’re looking forward to when we can see you all again but in …

Recording has started at the Lodge On The Loch Hotel, Loch Lomond. A truly inspirational location with stunning views across the loch.…

We have now completed recording on The Transatlantic Sessions Series 6. Recorded at the Lodge On The Loch Hotel whose panoramic views out from the famously bonnie banks of Loch Lomond made it a truly inspirational location where top vocal and instrumental exponents of the Americana and Celtic traditions came together to rehearse and play with no audience except themselves and an all-star house band. As with previous series, music co-directors were Nashville’s Jerry Douglas and Shetland’s Aly Bain.…