We spoke to Paul McKenna, frontman of the Paul McKenna Band, on playing Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall as part of this year’s Celtic Connections programme and releasing their latest single a rendition of Dougie MacLean’s Solid Ground.
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00:00 So we're a band from Glasgow, we're all based here, I'm from here, and we've been a band
00:07 since 2006.
00:08 And yeah, we play our original songs and traditional music as well.
00:15 Celtic Connections is coming up.
00:17 Tell me a wee bit about that and tell me what you're involved in.
00:21 So, yeah, it's always a good way to start the year.
00:25 It's always been a big part of our year.
00:27 Yeah, I think I've played at every Celtic Connections for the last probably 15 years
00:33 or something like that, unless I've not been here.
00:36 The band, we've got our own show in the new auditorium in the concert hall on the 25th
00:44 of January, and I'm also playing in a concert on the 19th of January, and it's a celebration
00:51 of John McLean.
00:52 So I'm looking forward to both.
00:55 It's one of the biggest festivals of folk or world music in the whole world, I guess.
01:04 Definitely the biggest winter festival at this time of year as well.
01:08 So I think it's hugely important for Glasgow, it's a big part of the year, and it's always
01:16 great to be involved.
01:17 We've got a new single coming out on the 26th of January, and it's a song that was written
01:21 by Dougie McLean, who's a wonderful singer and songwriter from Scotland, and the song's
01:27 called Solid Ground.
01:28 And it's just a song that we've always loved, and we decided to put it on our new EP, which
01:35 is going to be coming out in the spring.
01:38 I think this is the first single that we're releasing that isn't an original song.
01:41 Usually if it's an older song or if it's a newer song, I'll bring the song to the band.
01:47 I'm from an Irish background, so Irish music was always part of life growing up, and it
01:53 just seemed like a natural progression to go into that as a musician.
01:58 The traditional music, folk music is important to us, although we like to push the boundaries
02:06 where we can.
02:07 Playing in the Royal Concert Hall is always pretty special, being from Glasgow, and growing
02:12 up and going to lots of different things in the Concert Hall, it's always pretty special
02:15 when you're on that stage.
02:19 So that's a pretty special place for me.