***** (5 Stars)

One of the successes of Celtic Connections has been to both highlight the wide and varied nature of traditional music and challenge its stereotypical image. This show was a case in point.

Three blokes – Kris Drever on guitar, Martin Green on accordion and Aidan O’Rourke on fiddle – played some of the finest jigs and reels you are ever likely to hear, the sheer intensity of which peeled the paint from the walls.

The crowd took a while to get going, but  after Green stood and implored them to move, they set to with a vengeance. Lau pushed the boundaries and some of their arrangements, on tunes like Unquiet Grave, called for an amazing range of sounds from three supremely talented instrumentalists.