BEMIS Celebrates BURNS: A Toast Tae the Lassies

After 2016’s inaugural success, the BEMIS Burns Night is back, celebrating Rabbie’s iconically internationalist outlook and egalitarian spirit. BEMIS is the national umbrella body supporting development of Scotland’s ethnic minority voluntary sector, and the communities it represents. Echoing Celtic Connections’ 2017 emphasis on female musicians, and women’s central role within cultural traditions, tonight’s programme is very much after the lasses’ fashion – a focus of which Burns would doubtless wholeheartedly approve.

Jamaican roots-reggae artist Brina, performing with members of her high-energy Tribal Global Collective, creates a dynamic dialogue between her homeland’s signature music and its African kindred styles, together with funk, gospel, rock, and Latin elements, all underpinned by her message of justice, equality, liberation, oneness and love.

A similar spirit inspires young Pakistani singer Sanam Marvi. One of eight siblings, she started singing at the age of seven and made her debut at 2010’s Jahan-e-Khusrau, the Sufi music festival. She combines Sufi devotional songs and her native Sindhi folk traditions with classical virtuosity and sings compositions of Allama Iqbal, Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Sheikh Farid, Alam Lohar, Sachal Sarmast and the Sufi mystic from Sindh, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.