ON the surface there might seem little to link the political folk of Hamish Imlach and Josh MacRae in 1960s Glasgow and the 1980s bombast of Born In The USA. The thread that connects the Broomielaw and Bruce Springsteen is shorter than we might think, however, and celebrated tonight and tomorrow in two sold-out shows at Celtic Connections.
The Roaming Roots Revue is an increasingly popular part of the programme, offering audiences the chance to experience the work of new artists alongside their interpretations of the work of others, and in Born To Run: 70th Birthday Tribute to Bruce Springsteen, Roddy Hart brings the musical direction, curation, and The Lonesome Fire as house band to accompany an eclectic transatlantic line-up.
This marks the 10th year since Roddy Hart first pitched the idea of a disparate but complementary group of musicians coming together to pay tribute to an influential artist.
“For me it’s about the emerging artists,” says Hart. “To give them a stage as big as the Glasgow Royal Concert hall and let the audience hear what they are about. One part of the night is about playing their own songs, but I did understand that to get an audience through the door you have to dangle quite a tasty carrot, which is the theme of the night.”
Donald Shaw, artistic director of Celtic Connections, sees it as almost a new generation of the Transatlantic Sessions. “There was an incredible new music community that rose up about 15 or 20 years ago in the US – I’m thinking about bands like the Fleet Foxes and Californian bands that were clearly inspired by the likes of Fairport Convention and Bert Jansch.
“This wasn’t about Old Time Americana, this was about artists such as Anais Mitchell or Hiss Golden Messenger – and for Celtic Connections that combination of the Celtic and this new American underground works so well.”
For the first two years it had no official name, but in 2013 the event became known as the Roaming Roots Revue, a name inspired by the passing of The Band’s Levon Helm the previous year.
“We thought we would pay tribute to him that year,” says Hart. “We knew he had hosted sessions called Midnight Rambles where a huge bunch of people would turn up to his house to play. Our night felt like the same vibe, so we gave it a similar name in his honour.”
READ MORE: Celtic Connections: Why we are all blinded by the Springsteen light
Since then there have been Revues paying tribute to the music of Laurel Canyon, the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Abbey Road, women of song, and a night inspired by harmony.
The eighth will celebrate Bruce Springsteen and will feature singer-songwriters such as Lisa Hannigan from Ireland and Ryan Bingham from the US. Craig Finn, frontman of Brooklyn band The Hold Steady, is taking part, as is California-based producer Jonathan Wilson, known for his work with the likes of Father John Misty but also an impressive artist in his own right.
The Rails, a husband and wife duo made up of Kami Thompson (daughter of Richard and Linda) and James Walbourne (guitarist with The Pogues and The Pretenders) will also perform. Phil Campbell from The Temperance Movement returns after making an impact last year and Karine Polwart makes her first appearance in a Roaming Roots Revue.
It’s true to say that Karine isn’t an emerging artist, but as Hart says, “We’ve also had the likes of Rab Noakes and Ricky Ross, and Karine hasn’t been featured before. She’s really been having her moment over the past couple of years with A Pocket of Wind Resistance and her Scottish Songbook – Karine has really cemented herself as the talent we always knew she was.”
MY FAVOURITE SPRINGSTEEN SONG
Roddy Hart
“When I’m putting together a show like this my first task is to look at who I can bring in from outside of Scotland. Then I have to look at the songs. There needs to be a dynamic to the night, almost like sequencing an album – a really strong opener, the gentle, slightly downbeat moments and the bigger numbers.
“The thing about Springsteen is it’s not difficult to find all of that. He gives us such rich, fertile ground to walk on. This year the problem is what do we leave out?
“Then, when the songs are matched to the performers it becomes a dialogue. Sometimes people will come back to me and say ‘I’m not really feeling that song’ and we’ll try something else. We work on it collaboratively until we lock the set list in.
“Also, what should we give to the audience? There will be Springsteen devotees who will enjoy deeper but also the more surface-level fan who will be expecting a sprinkling of the greatest hits at least.
“The Roaming Roots Revue has its own fanbase, music fans who appreciate that these are one-off events, a combination of people that they probably won’t see together again – and definitely performing a choice of music that’s a one-off.
“For my own favourite Springsteen song I would choose The Promise (piano vocal demo). It’s a quiet, confessional moment of a song recorded live for the Tracks outtakes album, which references Thunder Road and almost dismantles the mythology he’d made so identifiably his. Heartbreaking, melancholic, but shot through with beauty and truth. The very essence of the man.
“When I was 14 I would trade bootleg CDs of Springsteen with friends. I’ve loved his music for such a long time and when it came to planning this year and thinking about Springsteen for Celtic Connections, I initially thought it wasn’t going to work.
“But the deeper Donald and I went the more we realised he was a perfect fit, particularly albums such as Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad.
“That’s not to say that the better-known hits won’t make an appearance. A few of these have been responsible for the surface level criticism of Springsteen as an American stadium rocker, particularly for those who first saw him Dancing in the Dark on stage with a camera firmly trained on the rear of his working man’s blue jeans.
“Hardly anyone in my group was interested in him. At first he was this blend of Dylan and Elvis, which melted into the 80s and the uncool years. Later people started to get into him in a big way and realised that he was performing these incredibly entertaining live shows that were about three and a half hours long. They could enjoy the showmanship alongside a greater appreciation of his back catalogue.
“The reappraisal of him in the early 2000s cemented him in the history of American music as a one-off. Even music fans who wouldn’t immediately place him in their top five can recognise that Springsteen has always been a performer with integrity, who can speak to truth but doesn’t mind doing it with a proper dose of showmanship.
“One thing I really connect with is his phenomenal writing. The way in which he connects with his audience as the everyman. Telling these big, narrative stories of being trapped in a small place and feeling that you’re a victim of your own circumstances. You want to break out into the world. He tells that so beautifully time after time. Those are the bonds that people who connect with his records have for a lifetime.
“Despite the fact that he released his autobiography, Born to Run, in 2017 he comes from a generation who still hold some mystery. Along with Dylan and the late Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, you wouldn’t see them tweet about Trump or Instagram an ice-cream. These are treasured enigmas and that’s how we like them. They can say what they need to say through the songs.
“That’s what was so exciting when I first heard of him. All I had to get to known about the man were these CDs of incredible songs. Now I know and many other people recognise that musicians like Springsteen are few and far between.”
Donald Shaw
“It’s a tough choice, but I’d go with The River. I was 14 and at a schoolboys’ camp. There were long summer days, walking and canoeing, but in the evenings someone played a tape of Springsteen.
“This song was the first time I began to think that maybe all music was folk music. It’s just poetry about real life with a good tune and some cool chords. It stuck with me all my life.
“When you look at what Springsteen did with We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions and The Ghost of Tom Joad, you can see how it all connects with Scots and Irish music. The Seeger Sessions owe their existence to the changing folk scene in Glasgow in the 1960s. “You had a scenario where Pete Seeger was receiving recordings from the Broomielaw, from places like The Clutha and The Victoria bar, where there was a big community of political singers, including Hamish Imlach and Josh MacRae, through to Billy Connolly and Danny Kyle.
“Josh MacRae would send the tapes to Seeger, who would incorporate songs into his repertoire. Then that was passed on to Dylan. Then it goes to Springsteen, who says that the connection between old-time Scots and American and Irish songs makes perfect sense to him. The songs from the Broomielaw made their way to the stadiums in America.
“Springsteen has always been a spokesman for the people. I think he’s essentially a folk singer and would be as at home in a folk club as in a stadium.”
Jonathan Wilson
“I would have to say Bruce’s constant exploration is inspiring. From his writing styles to his production trailblazing from the dustbowl balladeer to the 1980s arena god – he always did it with stellar songs. My favourite tune may well be Brilliant Disguise, it changes though! I just love that sad minor key, the snare side stick, the definitive Springsteen dark synth pad ... He’s a huge influence on so many of us.”
Craig Finn
“My favourite Springsteen song changes pretty much daily but right now it’s Racing in the Streets. It’s got a wisdom and a weariness to it that I admire, alongside a nod to American traditions. Bruce’s songs often put the concepts of duty and escape together, and this song is one of his best at that.”
Karine Polwart
“I’ll get pelters for this maybe but the triumphal, machismo side of Springsteen’s work totally glances off me. I am, however, a total sucker for his many broken, hollowed-out, underdog songs.
“I’ll be singing The Ghost Of Tom Joad but if I could pick a favourite right now, I’d go for Streets of Philadelphia. I love the whole atmosphere of this song – its shuffling restraint, the distant, muffled vocal riff, the hymnal, reedy warmth, and the dull, hopeless ache. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful.
“It’s the intimacy and raw vulnerability of the stories that gets me with Springsteen, and the way he sings those more sorrowful songs almost as he speaks. “He is to American music what John Steinbeck or Cormac McCarthy are to its literature. His narratives embody pain and disenfranchisement, and a sort of dogged resilience. And I think he performs that magic trick of enabling people who don’t matter to feel like they really do. So much of his music is incredibly dignifying.”
Ryan Bingham
“There are so many incredible songs by Bruce Springsteen, but one of my favourites has to be My Hometown. Every time I hear that song I feel like he’s talking about where I’m from. To me that’s what great songs do. They enable a listener to connect and interpret the story in their own way. It’s an incredible example of how expressing empathy and compassion in a story can heal wounded hearts and souls. Bruce Springsteen is a master of this.”
Phil Campbell
“Springsteen proves that it’s possible to be a rock star without being an asshole. Most rock stars are self-obsessed, narcissistic, drug addicts, pretending to be teenagers into their 40s. Bruce is passionate, strong-willed and in control. His songs are filled with fire and joy, written for the real people he’s encountered on his journey, the unsung heroes, and the withered flowers and sung for the fans to connect with. He’s a true legend.”
Roaming Roots Revue presents Born To Run: 70th Birthday Tribute to Bruce Springsteen takes place at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall tonight and tomorrow. The shows are sold out but call 0141 353 8000 to check for returns. Celtic Connections runs until Monday, February 2. www.celticconnections.com
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