{"id":57044,"date":"2025-04-28T09:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T09:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/57044\/"},"modified":"2025-04-28T09:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T09:03:13","slug":"scotlands-biggest-night-of-traditional-music-to-celebrate-billy-connolly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/57044\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland\u2019s biggest night of traditional music to celebrate Billy Connolly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scotland\u2019s biggest night of traditional music will celebrate Sir Billy Connolly<\/a>\u00a0in larger-than-life style later this year, it has been announced.<\/p>\n

Hoolie in the Hydro: The Big Yin\u00a0will take place at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow<\/a>\u00a0in December, as a cast of musicians pay tribute to Billy, his humour and his love and affinity for folk music.<\/p>\n

The Billy Connolly Tribute will form the finale of the night and audiences can expect Glasgow and Scottish talent to share their favourite Big Yin songs like I Wish I Was in Glasgow\u00a0and\u00a0Glasgow Central.<\/p>\n

With a star-studded bill for the Billy tribute to be announced, the line-up of singers will play their part in marking 60 years since Sir Billy formed the beloved Humblebums and pay tribute to one of Glasgow\u2019s most iconic sons as the city celebrates its 850th birthday.<\/p>\n

Sir Billy was entrenched in the Glasgow folk scene in the 1960s, regularly playing sessions in the Scotia Bar and releasing music as one half of the Humblebums. His folk roots and beloved banjo have remained close to his heart throughout his remarkable career, which has taken him to stages, screens and award ceremonies the world over.<\/p>\n

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Once Hoolie in the Hydro organiser, broadcaster and musician Gary Innes\u00a0got the green light from the man himself, with the help of his family, it was full steam ahead with plans to honour one of Glasgow\u2019s greats.<\/p>\n

Mr Innes, said:\u00a0\u201cBilly Connolly is a true Glasgow and Scottish hero and his big personality, love for folk music and the joy of people coming together to have a great time, really made him the perfect inspiration for this year\u2019s Hoolie in the Hydro.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s 60 years since Billy formed the Humblebums and 2025 is Glasgow\u2019s 850th birthday \u2013 as one of the city\u2019s great success stories and most famous sons, we just had to tip our hat to the Big Yin.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019ll have some fabulous names to announce in the coming months who will join us for the tribute and share their most treasured Billy songs \u2013 I can\u2019t wait to see the Hydro all singing and laughing along this December.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m also delighted to have some of the brightest names on the Scottish traditional music scene join the bill and showcase the energy, ambition and fun to be found on the folk scene today so come join us for a good bit of nonsense and the ultimate celebration of Glasgow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renowned supergroup M\u00e0nran will bring their electrifying live performance to Hoolie in the Hydro once again (Image: Hoolie in the Hydro) Renowned Scottish fiddler\u00a0Aly Bain, who played alongside Sir Billy for years, will be part of the tribute.\u00a0He said:\u00a0\u201cBilly and I started our careers on a motorbike with a sidecar, and things only got better from there. Since then, Billy and I have shared over 50 years of friendship and countless great memories.<\/p>\n

“He\u2019s a very special man and friend, and I\u2019m really looking forward to celebrating the incredible life and times of my old pal at the Hydro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now in its fourth year,\u00a0Hoolie in the Hydro\u00a0will once again also feature a stellar line-up from across Scotland\u2019s vibrant folk and traditional music scene.<\/p>\n

Elephant Sessions\u00a0will bring their high-octane live show to the OVO Hydro for the first time. Creating a progressive blend of intricate tunes, engulfing guitars, with a bass and drum heavy backline, their music combines the very best of trad, funk and electronica resulting in a new and exciting sound that has earned them a plethora of awards and a reputation for the best live set around.<\/p>\n

Six-piece\u00a0Trail West\u00a0will also take to the stage, having played the event\u2019s debut edition in 2022.With strong links to the Western Highlands and Islands, Trail West are a band who continue to rise in popularity from their modest roots as a four-piece West Coast Ceilidh Band to a formidable, award-winning live act. Their performance at Hoolie in the Hydro will follow two sold-out shows at the Barrowland Ballroom in September.<\/p>\n

Renowned supergroup\u00a0M\u00e0nran\u00a0will also bring their electrifying live performance to Hoolie in the Hydro once again. Their innovative blend of traditional and modern instruments and outstanding Gaelic<\/a> and English songs have won them international acclaim and fans worldwide.<\/p>\n

Finally, one of the most\u00a0original and compelling acts in the Scottish music scene,\u00a0Beluga Lagoon\u00a0has also been announced as part of the bill. The musical project of\u00a0Andrew O’Donnell, a wildlife cameraman and filmmaker,\u00a0Beluga Lagoon\u2019s\u00a0music encapsulates the beauty of the Scottish landscape and expresses the essence of Scotland’s natural wonders.<\/p>\n

Hoolie in the Hydro\u00a0was born out of an ambition to bring Scotland\u2019s own music to its biggest stage, and share the genre-bending diversity and electric atmosphere of live contemporary traditional music with the world.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, the concept travelled across the Atlantic with the inaugural and hugely successful\u00a0Hoolie in New York, which saw M\u00e0nran, Julie Fowlis, Dougie MacLean and other Scottish stars take over one of the most prestigious music venues in the world, Carnegie Hall.<\/p>\n

Hoolie in the Hydro: The Big Yin\u00a0will take place on\u00a0Saturday December 13, 2025.\u00a0Tickets are on sale now at\u00a0www.ovohydro.com\/events\/detail\/hoolie-in-the-hydro-2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scotland\u2019s biggest night of traditional music will celebrate Sir Billy Connolly\u00a0in larger-than-life style later this year, it has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[29834,748,30036,918,23475,4884,30034,712,30035,30032,30033,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-57044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-billy-connolly","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-gary-innes","11":"tag-glasgow","12":"tag-glasgow-central","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-hoolie","15":"tag-scotland","16":"tag-sir-billy","17":"tag-the-big-yin","18":"tag-traditional-music","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114414787131925465","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}