³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Never mind 66 shopping days till Christmas.

There are only 86 days till the start of the , and a fair amount of excitement at the launch this morning in Glasgow of the new programme.

Since his appointment three years ago, the artistic director Donald Shaw has pushed the world music element of the festival and he admits himself it is an important strand of this year's programme.

One of his biggest coups is reuniting Ry Cooder with The Chieftains - who'll perform a concert exploring Celtic and Mexican musical connections.

"I didn't know there was a connection between Celtic music and Mexican music," he admits, "but if The Chieftains say there's a connection, there's a connection."

Negotiations to confirm the gig were only finalised in the wee small hours of this morning, with Ry Cooder, who toured Europe in his own right earlier this year, not keen to travel to Glasgow in the middle of January.

And although Donald Shaw admits the concert - which will also feature Cara Butler from the original Riverdance show and Mexican band Los Cenzontles - is something of a coup for the festival, he hands most of the credit to Chieftains founder and leader Paddy Moloney.

"Paddy has a real affection for the Scottish audience and he was keen to see this city host the concert. He thought if any city, if any festival, should stage a concert like this, it was this one," says Donald Shaw.

Celtic Connections has grown dramatically since it was first dreamed up 17 years ago as an answer to the black hole in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall's winter programme.

But the festival now has the clout that allows up to 1,500 performers to consider travelling to Glasgow in the middle of a winter for a festival appearance.

And despite his own experiences as a jobbing musician with Capercaillie, Donald Shaw admits he's still surprised by how long it can take to persuade a musician to appear and fix a date in the diary.

Two of his latest conquests - Bobby McFerrin and Natalie Merchant - took months of persuading.

Merchant, the former front-woman of American indie band 10,000 Maniacs, was a particular achievement.

"I'm a big fan and she hasn't performed for so long," he says.

"I knew she was working with Lunasa, the Irish band, so I knew she was interested in traditional music. So I started talking to her management about persuading her to come.

"And then a few months ago, she decided she couldn't do it, the album wouldn't be ready. I said come anyway, and just appear at the festival.

"So I was delighted to be the one to drag her out of hibernation."

And indie/americana/traditional isn't the only mix you'll hear.

For real crossover, check out Dick Gaughan who's gone all out reggae with a special dub show featuring Jason Wilson, Brinsley Forde, The Fab Five and Dave Swarbrick.

There are two tribute concerts too for songwriters Nick Drake and John Martyn.

Drake's record producer Joe Boyd will lead the Drake concert with contriubutions from Vashti Bunyan, Green Gartside and Danny Thompson.

And it's Thompson, who'll also lead the tribute to John Martyn, who died during last year's festival and was the subject of many informal tributes at the time.

As a close friend for two decades, he's been asked on several occasions since then to stage a tribute concert but believes this event - with contributions from Martin Simpson, Luka Bloom and Eddie Reader is the one.

And of course, there are connections too - celtic or otherwise - between John Martyn and Nick Drake, with Martyn writing the title song of his 1973 album Solid Air for Drake.

And for those who're after sociable connections rather than musical ones, there's good news about the festival club, which will be held nightly at Glasgow School of Art.

Will it ever return to its spiritual home in the Central Hotel? Only time and a multi-million pound hotel makeover stand in the way.