Music makes a good companion in times of change. Songs and tunes and symphonies, lullabyes and string quartets, music of the griot and the sean nos singer, the classical violinist and the street corner busker all have ways of connecting us to one another, of giving space for reflection, of lifting spirits, offering hope, adding perspective and building courage. 

Scotland in winter is known for short days and cold weather. That's all the more reason to come inside and be warmed by the sharing of music. Through eighteen days in mid January to early February, that's what going on in Glasgow, at Celtic Connections.

As autumn turns to winter, it becomes a time for reflection, for connection, for celebration. Music makes a good companion for the questions, connections and celebrations this season invites.

Aoife Scott's debut album, Carry the Day, shows a songwriter and singer with a voice of distinctive character, an ear for good story, and the ability to bring these together in ways that draw the listener in, and invite repeated listenings.

The landscape of the United States is as varied as a patchwork quilt. Just like that patch work there are common connections, threads and lines and colors that pull through. The same is true of the work of musicians inspired by living and working in these varied American landscapes, too.

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, is a place in the far north of Atlantic Canada where mountain meets forest meets sea. Over the centuries, it has also become a place where cultures meet and mix and respect each other. The Mi'kmaq people came first, to fish the waters and live in the forests.

Well traveled roads, new horizons, unexpected bridges connecting across cultures and places: connection, whether new or old, to place, person, or idea is a thread that runs through the work of musicians on seven very different albums. 

From the Adirondacks to the Cascades, from the Wind River Range to the Catskills, from the Sangre de Cristos to the Wasatch, mountain landscapes across the United States offer views and vistas that hold ideas of change and of what is lasting. For musicians Amy White and Al Petteway, the southern Appalachians and the Blue Ridge in North Carolina form both inspiration and backdrop for what they create.

Growing up in Connecticut, eight year old Alison Brown was learning to play guitar when she heard a recording by bluegrass musicians Flatt and Scruggs. She fell in love with the banjo. "I knew I wanted to make *that* sound," she recalls.

Music from contemporary songwriters, from traditional sources, from his own composing: this is what you will find on Archie Fisher's recording A Silent Song. That is a mix he has been stirring across his career. Now in his mid seventies, Fisher finds that music still draws him on. "It has only occurred to me relatively recently that the incentive to keep doing it is hearing that new song," he says.