Q: Is there a ‘One Stop Shop’ where I can find Shetland reels, Gaelic ballads, bluegrass, gospel, funky blues and biting satire all under the same roof?

A: Yes – it’s called a Transatlantic Sessions show.

Transatlantic Sessions – Birmingham Symphony Hall – Thursday 6th February

AN EVENT NOT TO BE MISSED

Whether individually or collectively, the members and guests that constitute Transatlantic sessions are no strangers to the pages of At The Barrier. Most recently, the all-star ensemble boiled our blood and left us breathless with a rumbustious set at last year’s Cambridge Folk Festival and news of the antics of members/associates like Julie Fowlis, John McCusker and Loudon Wainwright III are frequent features amongst our pages.

A Transatlantic Sessions concert is an event that isn’t to be missed and, thanks to the work ethic of band coordinators Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas, those concerts are a regular event up, down and across this archipelago of ours – their national tour is an annual event and their performances are a central feature of the Celtic Connections festival. This year’s tour celebrates the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of the Transatlantic Sessions BBC television series and the format of the project remains unchanged.

LEADING EXPONENTS AND STELLAR GUESTS

For the uninitiated (and, if you fall into that category, I heartily recommend that you get yourself ‘initiated’ PDQ…). Transatlantic Sessions is the brainchild of the aforementioned Messrs Bain and Douglas – Aly Bain MBE, Shetland fiddler supreme and Jerry Douglas – master of all things dobro and lap steel – and their mission is to explore and celebrate the rich musical traditions that connect Scotland, Ireland and North America. Aly and Jerry are the supporting pillars of the Transatlantic Sessions house band (itself a veritable who’s-who of the leading exponents of Celtic and American music) and, for any given performance, the ensemble is augmented by an array of stellar guests which, over the years has included such names as Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Teddy Thompson and many, many more.

THE BAND

For this year’s tour, the Transatlantic Sessions house band comprises – alongside Aly and Jerry – John Doyle on guitar, bouzouki and vocals, Michael McGoldrick on flutes and pipes, Tatiana Hargreaves on fiddle, Allison De Groot on banjo, John McCusker on fiddle, Donald Shaw on piano and accordion, James Mckintosh on drums and Daniel Kimbro on bass. How’s that for starters? Sadly, and due to unexpected circumstances, regular participant Phil Cunningham has been unable to join the house band this year but he’ll be back, be in no doubt.

AN INTOXICATING BLEND OF SHETLAND AND APPALACHIA

“We’ve played here every year – and you never let us down…” remarked Jerry as the house band filtered onto the Symphony Hall Stage, “…and you’re all sat in the same places that you were in last year,” he wryly observed, as the band launched into a vibrant version of Aly’s Waiting for the Federals, to get the show up and running. An intoxicating blend of Shetland and Appalachia, with dobro, banjo, fiddle, pipes and mandolin all taking a turn in the spotlight, it’s the perfect way to remind us all exactly what Transatlantic Sessions is all about.

And this year’s guests?

NIALL McCABE

Transatlantic Sessions don’t waste time. First guest, from Clare Island, Co. Mayo singer/songwriter Niall McCabe, the evening’s “Ireland Representative,” was called forward to deliver a couple of numbers. I detected a hint of shyness as he made his first introduction but, shyness or not, his voice raised the roof as he delivered the heart-rending November Swell – his ballad recounting the hazards of pursuing a living fishing the perilous Atlantic off Ireland’s west coast. Guitar and horn wove seamlessly together and I was reminded of Moving Hearts at their early 80s peak, before the pace, but not the intensity, was dialed back slightly for the wonderful Stonemason.

LARRY CAMPBELL & TERESA WILLIAMS

“These songs will never sound as good as they when these guys play them,” said Teresa Williams, as she and hubby Larry Campbell stepped into the spotlight. Proud Tennessean Teresa (she’s from the community of Peckerwood Point) and New Yorker Larry are veteran and hugely acclaimed Americana exponents who have performed, separately or together, with such names as Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, kd lang, Sheryl Crow, Keith Richards, Emmylou Harris and Little Feat.

Aly’s fiddle was right behind the duo and Donald’s piano licks lent a sleazy bar-room feel to the country blues of The Way You Make Me Feel, before Teresa – sporting the flounciest pink dress that you’ll EVER see – dedicated weepy country ballad Did You Love Me At All to “All the girls [in Larry’s life] who came before me who screwed up.” Jerry’s lap steel was soaring and the duo’s vocal harmonies were enough to bring tears to a stone statue.

JULIE FOWLIS

The house band returned for a set of tunes – part traditional, part band-composed – that brought the intimacy and vitality of a Galway pub session to the lush surroundings of the Symphony Hall, before Julie Fowlis was called to the centre of the stage for a turn at mic. Julie, of course, needs little introduction to At The Barrier readers. We’re avid followers of her music; indeed, it was just a few days ago that we waxed rapturously over Looking for the Thread, the album she’s just released in partnership with fellow songbirds, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Karine Polwart. But – what the heck – she’s worth a few words…

STUNNING

Born and raised on the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides and now resident in Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands, Julie Fowlis is an accomplished singer, dancer and piper, known – and widely heralded – for championing the music and language of the Gaelic tradition. Following the rise of Bonny Prince Charlie in the 18th century, the playing of traditional Scottish musical instruments was banned by the English authorities and a vocal musical tradition emerged in the Highlands and Islands. Julie is, quite possibly, the foremost current exponent of that tradition. Gaelic is a truly beautiful language, even to those of us with no means of understanding it, and Julie’s songs – a warming ballad that developed into a rousing Celtic reel and a lady’s lament for her lost brother, sung to an accompaniment of Donald’s piano and a consort of strings, were stunning.

JOHN DOYLE

Next up – John Doyle, for a shuffling, dramatic run through Clear the Way, his violent tale of the Irish Brigade’s participation and fate at the American Civil War Battle of Fredricksburg, with Julie and Niall providing some glorious backing vocals.

And then – along came Loudon…

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III

I’ve been a fan of Loudon Wainwright III since my school days, and that’s a long, long time. I’ve seen him perform many, many times and I’ve loved every single show but, until now, the only time I’d ever seen him perform with a band behind him was when he joined Fairport on the Cropredy stage back in 1998 for full bore version of Swimming Song. We were in for a special treat tonight…

Arriving centre-stage at the Symphony Hall, he couldn’t resist mentioning Brummie luminary (and his former boss, let’s not forget…) Jasper Carrott, before launching into a revelatory version of old favourite Primrose Hill, Loudon’s story of the tribulations of being out of luck and money (but not Tennent’s Lager…) in London. It sounded great, embellished with fiddles, dobro and everything else that the house band could serve up, and that lavish accompaniment seemed to raise Loudon to a new height of passion.

REFLECTIONS

Reflecting on affairs in Washington, Gaza, Kiev and, yes, here in the good ol’ ‘stable’ UK, Loudon observed that “Things are weird, right now. Weirder that they were before – and not just in America either…” before going on to infer that, the previous evening in Gateshead, half of the audience were deported back to Newcastle during the show’s interval. His observations – a state-of-the-nation address – were the lead-in to Middle Of The Night, a song to suit the current international mood and to offer hope, with lyrics like: “No, it’s not the end of the world as we know it – it’s just the middle of the night.” As always, I’m sure he’s right.

And, to take us up to The News, the house band ran us through another set of tunes – Stoney Point/ Far From Home/ Bonnie Isle of Whalsay/ The High Road To Linton – yet another exhilarating blend of bluegrass and Shetland high jinks – to send us bar-wards and washroom-wards in wonderfully high spirits.

PART TWO

It was Jerry, once more, who led the charge into Part Two of the show, going hell-for-leather on his dobro for Choctaw Hayride, before inviting Teresa and Larry back up front to deliver a highlight of the evening – a bluesy gospel interpretation of the Rev. Gary Davis song, Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning. Teresa’s vocal was oozing with gospel passion and Michael McGoldrick completed the picture with some stunning sax licks.

Things were getting lively and the house band decided that it was time to shift the gears up another notch with another set of trans-Celtic tunes – Trowie Burn/ Farewell to Limerick/ Sophie’s Reel. Aly’s introduction – explaining the belief that Trolls were responsible for switching changelings for babies and questioning how many of the former were present this evening – was hilarious, and my mate probably wasn’t the only member of the audience wishing he could escape the confines of the Symphony Hall’s seats to knock out a few shapes.

THE HIGHLIGHTS KEEP ON COMING

Niall McCabe’s rendition of Your Letter was, quite simply, gorgeous. Julie’s and Teresa’s backing vocals were heavenly and the solos – Donald on piano and Jerry on lap steel – were sublime. It reminded me, probably more than any other song of the evening, that music can forge bonds across the Atlantic that politicians could never hope to emulate. An observation that was driven even further home when bassist Daniel Kimbro joined the front line for Loyston, his story of the Tennessee town of that name that was submerged by the Clinch River when the nearby Norris Dam was built in 1936. Remarking on the layout of the Symphony Hall, he suggested that it “Feels like we’re playing in a spaceship from Close Encounters,” before taking us through his song of misery, heartbreak and despair.

ANOTHER LEVEL

Kate McGarrigle, the former Mrs Wainwright and mother to high-achieving children Rufus and Martha was remembered as Loudon returned to the stage – 6th February, the date of the concert, was her birthday. In Loudon’s words – “If wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have Rufus and Martha to be pissed off at!”

I’ve seen Loudon perform Swimming Song on innumerable occasions and tonight’s version could well have been his best yet. And, Loudon even managed to sound just a little Scottish as he delivered his final number, Hermless, a bittersweet song from the canon of Michael Marra, the fondly remembered Bard Of Dundee.’ Julie and Teresa were back on backing vocals and, as ever, their contribution lifted the song to another level.

It was left to Julie to bring the show to a climatic ending with another pair of Gaelic songs, which she delivered with heart, soul and being – and she even enhanced her Highland credentials still further as she left, then returned to the stage sporting an impressive set of bagpipes.

FOLLOW THAT!

And, of course, they did. A final set of tunes from the whole band saw the evening end as vibrantly and excitingly as it had started. There were standing ovations all around!

Sadly, the 2025 Transatlantic Sessions is almost at its end. If you didn’t manage to get along to a show this year, then I’m sorry to say, you missed a life-changing and life-affirming experience. But, don’t worry – they’ll be back. Don’t miss them next year – I won’t.

From the original BBC Transatlantic Sessions series: Get a feel for what it’s all about, here:

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