Accordion virtuoso Sharon Shannon leads an all-star ensemble in a vibrant mix of Irish trad, folk, rock and storytelling, with special guests Bob Geldof, Mundy, Camille O'Sullivan and Liam O Maonlai.
The Sharon Shannon Big Band play the O2 Academy Glasgow on Wednesday 27 January, part of a short UK run that takes them to London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on 28 January and Manchester's O2 Ritz on 29 January. The Glasgow date is presented as part of Celtic Connections.
Accordion virtuoso Sharon Shannon leads the ensemble, and the guest list is a heavy one: Bob Geldof, Mundy, Camille O'Sullivan and Liam O Maonlai. It's a big band in more than just name, with a full line-up of musicians and singers on stage. The set is a celebration of Ireland's musical tradition and its influence both at home and abroad, and it pulls from a few different places: folk, rock, ballads and storytelling, running from spirited dance tunes to slower, more powerful songs. It's a broad enough spread that you'll likely find something to hold onto, whether you're there for the trad side of things or the songs.
This comes after the success of the Shane MacGowan tribute, so it's a new production rather than a repeat of that run. Shannon's accordion is the thread that ties the whole thing together, and with Geldof, Mundy, O'Sullivan and O Maonlai on vocals, the night is as much about the voices as it is about the instruments. Between the dance tunes and the ballads, there's storytelling woven in too, so it's not just a sequence of songs.
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Doors open at 19:00 and the curfew is 23:00, so it's a mid-week night that doesn't run too late. Tickets are £42.27, which includes a 12% booking fee. The O2 Academy admits over-14s only, and under-16s need to be accompanied by an adult.
