Celtic Connections 2027: Dates, Lineup, Tickets and Travel Guide

Celtic Connections 2027 runs from Thursday 14 January to Sunday 31 January 2027, an 18-day stretch in Glasgow ^{1 7}. List magazine calls it the 34th edition, and the line-up draws artists from more than 20 countries ⁷. The planning window of mid January to early February only half applies: the 2027 run ends on the last day of January.

Celtic Connections 2027 opens with Scotland's GRIT Orchestra world premiere at 7:30pm on Thursday 14 January 2027 at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ^{1 6}. The last day is Sunday 31 January 2027 ¹. The festival site lists its dates as 14 to 31 January 2027, and Visit Glasgow gives the same window ^{1 20}.

The previous edition ran from 15 January to 1 February 2026 ⁸. It closed with about 114,000 attendances over 18 days, the highest ticket sales in the festival's history ⁹. Anyone searching for those dates is looking at a run that finished on the first Sunday of February.

The festival began in 1994, when Colin Hynd created it to fill a quiet gap in the Concert Hall's calendar after Christmas ¹⁰. The first year drew about 33,000 people, and every event was held in the Concert Hall ¹⁰. By 1996 it had spread to other rooms, including Adelaide's, the Barony Hall and Tramway ¹⁰. That habit of spreading across the city is why a modern programme runs to more than 300 events at more than 25 venues ⁸.

Key dates for the 2027 edition:

• Thursday 14 January 2027: opening night at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall ¹

• Friday 15 January 2027: Punch Brothers with Jesca Hoop, and The Saw Doctors ¹

• Saturday 16 January 2027: AR Rahman x Rushil Ranjan with the Celtic Connections Orchestra ¹

• Sunday 31 January 2027: final day ¹

Tip: Dates and line-up are on the festival's own site, so check the event page for the start time of each gig before you fix your travel dates.

There is no single festival ticket; each gig is booked on its own, and the price you see already includes a 12% booking fee that shows separately at checkout ². Online bookings add a 1.50 GBP transaction charge, and phone bookings add 1.75 GBP ². Tickets bought from outside outlets may carry extra charges ².

You can book three ways. The festival site is the main route. The phone line is +44 (0)141 353 8000, open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00 ². The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall box office is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00 ². Major debit and credit cards are accepted, but American Express, Diners Club and Visa Electron are not ².

Demand moves fast. The 2026 edition recorded over 200 sell-outs, up from 125 in 2025 ⁹. If one gig is the reason for the trip, book it before you book the flight or the hotel.

The festival also runs a Celtic Rover membership that gives a discount once you log in, and a new Under 26 membership ^{1 2}. In 2026, Celtic Rover memberships reached a record 684 and about 3,000 people signed up as under-26s ⁹. The Glasgow Life listing for the 2020 opening night started at 24.20 GBP including a 10% booking fee ⁶; for 2027 the price is set on each event page.

Going with children or older relatives needs a little checking. The 2020 opening night at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall required under-14s to be accompanied by an adult ⁶, and age limits are set per event, so read the event page before buying. Seated halls such as the City Halls Grand Hall, with 1,066 seats, suit older relatives better than a standing floor ¹⁶. Step-free and seating details for each venue are on the venue pages linked from the access information ³.

Prices on the night may vary ². The festival site does not label a free-entry strand, so read each event page before assuming a session costs nothing.

• Online: festival site, 1.50 GBP per transaction ²

• Phone: 1.75 GBP per transaction ²

• In person: Concert Hall box office, no transaction charge listed ²

Tip: Wheelchair seating at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Old Fruitmarket, City Halls and Tramway is booked through ticketsglasgow.com, by phone or in person, and free companion tickets are requested by phone or at the box office ³.

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, at 2 Sauchiehall Street, G2 3NY, stands on the junction of Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street, and Subway tracks run directly beneath the building ^{4 14}. Buchanan Street Subway station is next to Queen Street station, linked by a moving walkway ¹³. Arrivals from Edinburgh come into Queen Street High Level, which has about two trains an hour off-peak ¹³.

The Subway is a single circle of 15 stations with two directions, Inner and Outer, and a full circuit takes 24 minutes ^{11 12}. Trains run every four minutes at peak times ¹¹. Hours are 06:30 to 23:40 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 18:12 on Sundays ¹¹. An adult single costs from 1.80 GBP as of October 2026 ¹¹, and contactless payment arrived in early 2026 ¹².

The other main rooms are scattered. Old Fruitmarket and City Halls share Candleriggs, G1 1NQ, in the Merchant City ^{4 16}. The Barrowland Ballroom is at 244 Gallowgate, G4 0TS, east of the centre and away from the Subway circle ^{4 15}. Oran Mor is at the top of Byres Road, G12 8QX, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is at 695 Argyle Street, G3 8AG ⁴. SWG3 is at 100 Eastvale Place, G3 8QG, and Tramway is at 25 Albert Drive, G41 2PE ⁴. Glasgow Airport Express service 500 links the airport with the city centre.

• Concert Hall: Subway to Buchanan Street, then walk up the street ^{13 14}

• Old Fruitmarket and City Halls: a walk from Queen Street station through the Merchant City ⁴

• Barrowland: a taxi or a walk east along Gallowgate ⁴

• West End venues: Subway to Hillhead for Byres Road

Note: Sundays on the festival calendar fall on 17, 24 and 31 January 2027 ¹. The Subway stops running after 18:12 on those days, so book a taxi for evening gigs ¹¹.

The programme opens with Scotland's GRIT Orchestra premiering a suite of Scottish traditional music at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 14 January 2027 ^{1 7}. The orchestra is expanding beyond Martyn Bennett's work for this edition ⁷. After that, the festival fans out into rooms of every size.

The first weekend is packed. Punch Brothers and Jesca Hoop are listed for 15 January 2027, as are The Saw Doctors ¹. AR Rahman x Rushil Ranjan with Abi Sampa and the Celtic Connections Orchestra is listed for 16 January 2027, and The Milk Carton Kids for 17 January 2027 ¹. Later in the run, Admiral Fallow play on 22 January 2027, Gnoss on 23 January 2027 and Jose Gonzalez on 27 January 2027 ¹.

The 2027 programme also includes King Creosote with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Ye Vagabonds with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra ⁷. Karine Polwart performs at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and George Monbiot hosts a climate night ⁷.

Two strands run alongside the concerts. The late-night Festival Club runs every night after the concerts end and carries on into the small hours, with no programme announced in advance and one-off collaborations between visiting musicians ¹⁰. The Danny Kyle Open Stage, founded in 1999, gives each successful act a 20-minute slot alongside five other acts ⁵. Applications for 2027 close on 31 December 2026, and acts are told by 10 January 2027 ⁵.

Where you stand matters. The Barrowland has a sprung dance floor and holds 1,900 standing ¹⁵. The City Halls Grand Hall seats 1,066 in a shoebox-shaped room with fine acoustics, and the Old Fruitmarket has a flexible capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 ¹⁶.

• Seated and orchestral: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls ^{14 16}

• Standing and loud: Barrowland Ballroom ¹⁵

• Late and unscripted: the Festival Club ¹⁰

Tip: Mix one orchestral night at the Concert Hall with one standing night at the Barrowland, so you hear both ends of what the programme offers.

January in Glasgow is cold and wet, and Met Office normals for 1991 to 2020 give an average high of 6.3C and a low of 1.3C, with 112 mm of rain ¹⁷. February is slightly milder, with a high of 7.0C, a low of 1.4C and 98 mm of rain ¹⁷. January averages only about 39 hours of sunshine ¹⁷.

Daylight is short and the weather changes by the hour. For a gig that finishes at 22:30, the walk back to a hotel is a dark, damp one, and a Sunday night leaves you without the Subway after 18:12 ¹¹. Plan gigs in the same part of town on the same night, rather than crossing the city twice, and keep a spare layer in your bag for the queue outside, where the wind off the street cuts through thin jackets.

The festival fills with people. In 2026 attendance was about 114,000 across 18 days ⁹. Doors and start times differ by venue, so check each event page and arrive before doors for standing shows at the Barrowland.

• A waterproof jacket with a hood; umbrellas are awkward in a queue

• Warm layers, because venue cloakrooms are not guaranteed

• Shoes with grip for wet pavements on Sauchiehall Street and Gallowgate

• A small bag, since big bags slow every entrance

• A charged phone and a spare cable

Tip: The Barrowland dance floor is sprung and standing only for many shows ¹⁵; wear shoes you can stand in for three hours, and leave heavy coats at the hotel.

Merchant City is the most convenient base, because the City Halls and Old Fruitmarket sit on Candleriggs, G1 1NQ ⁴, and Queen Street station is a short walk from them ¹³. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Buchanan Street and the Tron Theatre at 63 Trongate are within walking distance ^{4 14}.

The West End suits a quieter stay. It is the home of Oran Mor at the top of Byres Road, and the Hillhead Subway stop puts you on the circle ^{4 12}. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is at 695 Argyle Street ⁴. Finnieston, near SWG3 at 100 Eastvale Place, G3 8QG, is a good option for bars and restaurants ⁴.

For the Barrowland Ballroom at 244 Gallowgate, G4 0TS, the East End is the cheaper choice, but the walk home after a standing gig is long and the Subway is not close ^{4 15}.

The festival is also a good excuse to eat. Scotland's traditional dishes include haggis, which has a vegetarian version invented by John MacSween in 1984, along with Cullen skink, Scotch broth, cock-a-leekie soup and cranachan for dessert ¹⁹. Drygate Brewery, at 85 Drygate, G4 0UT, is itself a festival venue ⁴, and Innis & Gunn pours tens of thousands of pints across the festival, as it did in 2026 ⁹.

If you plan to see gigs on several nights, pick the base that suits your most expensive ticket. A visitor with a Barrowland standing ticket and a Concert Hall seat on the same weekend is better off in the city centre, where both are a short taxi or walk away, than in the West End.

• Merchant City: walking distance to Candleriggs and the Concert Hall

• West End: Oran Mor, Kelvingrove and Hillhead Subway

• Finnieston: SWG3 and restaurants

• East End: the Barrowland and cheaper rooms

Tip: Book the hotel once the gig list is fixed. A refundable rate gives you room to change a night if a gig sells out.

Set the phone up before you leave the hotel. Save your booking email as a screenshot, download an offline map of Glasgow city centre, and put the Subway timetable and your hotel address where you can reach them in two taps. Phone signal can fade in a crowded foyer, and a screenshot opens even without data.

Mobile data helps when plans move. A venue change, a late set or a missed Subway can all be solved by a live map and a taxi app, while group chats let a party that splits at the Barrowland door meet again. Contactless payment on the Subway means the card in your phone wallet covers fares as well ¹².

If your home plan charges for roaming, a UK data eSIM installed before the flight lets you land connected. The United Kingdom eSIM page explains the options. Install it at home on Wi-Fi and switch it on after you land.

Emergency numbers matter more in a crowded winter city. In the UK, call 999 for a life-threatening emergency, and call 111 for urgent advice when you are not sure ¹⁸. Keep your phone in an inside pocket in queues and on the Subway, and agree a meeting point outside each venue in case the group is separated in a crowded foyer or at the Barrowland doors. Before a late walk, check your route on the map rather than relying on memory.

• Screenshot every booking confirmation

• Download an offline map of Glasgow

• Charge the phone before 18:00 and carry a cable

• Save 999 and 111 as contacts ¹⁸

Tip: Share a live location pin with your group before you split between the Concert Hall and Barrowland.