Celtic Connections, the UK’s premier winter festival, returns January 15–February 1, 2026, with Québec taking centre stage at Showcase Scotland (January 21–25), the festival’s five-day industry event in Glasgow. Six groups have been chosen to highlight the vibrancy of traditional music from Canada’s only majority-Francophone province.

Québécois musicians have long found a warm welcome at Celtic Connections. In the 1990s, seasoned folk group La Bottine Souriante set the tone with a performance that Celtic Connection’s creative director Donald Shaw still recalls to this day: “[it] completely tore the place apart.” He sees a natural affinity between Scotland and Québec, where French (notably Breton), Scottish and Irish influences intertwine, very much in keeping with the festival’s ethos of transcultural exchange and synthesis.

The acts selected for Showcase Scotland embody a new wave of talent, shaped by jam sessions and traditional Québécois dance styles: the irresistible pulse of podorythmie (foot-tapping) and gigue (step dancing). For Shaw, shining a light on these artists celebrates both Québec’s cultural vitality and Celtic Connections’ ever-evolving spirit, offering audiences a joyful glimpse of a living and constantly evolving tradition. Words by Jo Frost

Guillaume Morin (Bon Débarras)

Bon Débarras

are three multi-instrumentalists and tradition bearers whose music is steeped in Québec’s oral customs, poetry and folklore while seamlessly weaving in a kaleidoscope of other musical influences. Véronique Plasse, Dominic Desrochers and Jean-François Dumas move effortlessly between guitar, banjo, ukulele, violin and harmonica, as well as body percussion and gigue, creating performances that are richly textured and rhythmic. Their concerts are renowned for their theatrical flair, infectious energy and, above all, joy. Indeed, their name translates as ‘good riddance’, a hint to their mission of banishing gloom and filling audiences with joie de vivre. Since forming in 2006, the trio have released over half a dozen albums, including their award-winning children’s show, J’m’en viens chez vous! (2024), which demystifies traditional music with humour and warmth. Their forthcoming project, La Veillance, is due for release next autumn. Part musical balm, part adventure, a Bon Débarras performance is one that Celtic Connections’ audiences are sure to appreciate. bondebarras.ca

Jess Rhoades (Cécilia)

Cécilia

the patron saint of music, lends her name to a trio whose sound celebrates both virtuosity and tradition. It’s also the middle name of pianist and violinist Erin Leahy, who acts as the bridge between accordionist Timi Turmel and fiddle master Louis Schryer. Originally from Lakefield, Ontario, Leahy is an acclaimed composer, arranger and member of her family’s award-winning folk band, Leahy. After moving to Montréal in 2010, she met Turmel (also a member of La Bottine Souriante) at a veillée de danse (square dance). Despite the initial language barrier, with Leahy not speaking much French and Turmel only a little English, their musical connection was instant, and so together with Schryer, an eight-time Canadian Fiddle Champion, they formed Cécilia and released their debut album Accent in 2020. Blending technical precision with virtuosic flair, the trio honour their shared cultural roots, while combining thundering podorythmie with Celtic influences from Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton (where Leahy’s mother was born). Turmel and Leahy will be joined by acclaimed Ontario fiddler, Tom Fitzgerald, for their inaugural trip to the UK. ceciliamusic.ca

Simon Clark (La Déferlance)

La Déferlance 

a quartet from Québec City, take their name from the French word ‘déferlente’ (meaning a crashing wave), capturing the unique energy and elemental force this band deliver onstage. Featuring Mathieu Baillargeon (piano, podorythmie and jaw harp), Marie-Desneiges Hamel (accordion), Grégoire Painchaud (violin, guitar and gigue) and Renaud Labelle (double bass), the group have been gaining recognition since forming in 2018 when Baillargeon, a classically trained pianist, discovered his local trad jam session and met Hamel. While being very much inspired by traditional Québécois repertoire, La Déferlance’s music also draws on the members’ backgrounds in classical, jazz and folk. Their second album Âmes des Bois (Souls of the Wood), released in May 2025, explores the history and folklore of Québec with songs honouring the ‘coureurs des bois’ (French-Canadian fur traders) and other unsung heroes, particularly women, from the province’s past. With their inventive arrangements of old and new repertoire, La Déferlance are at the forefront of Québec’s burgeoning trad revival and make their European debut in Glasgow. ladeferlance.com 

Camille Gladu-Drouin (É.T.É.)

É.T.É

named after members Élisabeth Moquin, Thierry Clouette and Élisabeth Giroux – marked their tenth anniversary this year. Cellist Giroux originally comes from a jazz background but found a natural home in the city’s inclusive trad scene. It was during a Montréal trad jam that she first met Moquin, with the pair quickly forming a musical bond. Completing the line-up is Clouette, a guitarist and bouzouki player, who was also a regular at these sessions while studying music at college. É.T.É merge trad repertoire with original compositions, creating what they call ‘Power Chamber Trad’ – a striking fusion of their diverse influences. Rhythmic precision and virtuosic interplay define their sound, with Moquin, an acclaimed gigueuse (step-dancer), adding another dynamic physical element to their live shows. Their third album, Sur ces eaux (2022), was widely praised, and in 2025, they received a Prix Aldor at Festival Trad Montréal. É.T.É are no strangers to international showcases, having performed at WOMEX in Manchester in 2024, and this will be their third visit to Celtic Connections. etemusiquetrad.ca 

Myriam Quenneville (Germaine)

Germaine

“Féminiser la tradition” is the rallying cry of Germaine, an all-female collective of singers, fiddlers and gigueuses who will make their international debut at Celtic Connections. Their band name proudly reclaims the word ‘germaine’, historically a pejorative term used to describe strong-willed, powerful women. Many of Germaine’s songs may sound familiar, as they are largely drawn from historical archives, but their versions bring the female perspective to the fore and put them in the driving seat. They’re unafraid to change lyrics or the pronouns of protagonists in order to make the songs more relevant to their own experiences. Germaine’s full-length debut album, Chansons honnêtes, was released in November 2024 – the title referring to their desire to sing songs that reflect their own lives as young women living in Montréal today. Besides the gutsy call-and-response singing, a Germaine performance is a lively affair with plenty of podorythmie, gigue, fiddles, jaw harp and bodhrán. They’re a welcome breath of fresh air in the heavily male-dominated Québécois trad scene and a group which Glaswegian audiences are sure to appreciate. germainetrad.ca

Ariane Labrèche (Paruline)

Paruline

The newest of the six acts is Paruline, the debut project of Drummondville-born pianist Charles Labrèche. Classically trained, he began writing songs during the pandemic on a borrowed octave mandolin in his mother’s basement. Labrèche describes their style as “indie-folk-trad”, with dreamy Fleet Foxes-like harmonies alongside electric guitars, drums and keys. While the instrumental line-up doesn’t appear very ‘trad’, Paruline’s sound is very much rooted in Québécois tradition. Paruline means ‘warbler’ in French, a nod to the many birds like the ‘hirondelle’ (swallow) and ‘rossignol’ (nightingale) that feature in folk music, rather than a reflection of Labrèche’s singing style. Their latest single, ‘Chiendent’, originally written as the walk-on tune for stand-up comedian Mégan Brouillard, has become a hit in Canada. It features the distinctive foot tapping of É.T.É’s Thierry Clouette, who also co-produced Paruline’s recently released album, À ceux qui veillent. The title refers to ‘la veillée de danse’, so it’s a gift to those who like to stay up all night dancing. Already winners at Montréal’s Francouvertes festival, Paruline have got a bright future ahead. parulinemusique.com

Find out more about the Québec artists playing Showcase Scotland at bit.ly/QuebecScotland