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A tale filters through of rumours circulating last week that Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) had been booked into the Holiday Inn, on the night of his Celtic Connections 100th birthday concert – a tale that turns out to contain more truth than might seem possible. Checking into the hotel ahead of the show was a senior executive from the main US record label involved in the Guthrie centenary – only the receptionist couldn’t find her reservation. When it was eventually traced through the system, it turned out that the room had been booked and its key-card printed in the name of Woody Guthrie – presumably by a non-music fan of relatively tender years.

It was unanimously agreed that the Festival Club was on dangerously good form as it opened for its second four-day weekend, with incandescent, roof-raising performances from KAN – Aidan O’Rourke and Brian Finnegan’s thrilling new band, who launch their debut album at the Arches tonight – Mairearad & Anna, and finally the monstrous Babelfish, returning to the scene of the Celtic Connections crime that spawned them in the first place. Spotted dancing to Mairearad & Anna was no less authentic a celebrity than KT Tunstall – who plays the festival next weekend, as part of the Floating Palace line-up at the ABC, and publically tweeted Anna Massie during Friday with the somewhat treasurable plaudit, “You guys totally KILLED it – amazing playing.”

Numerous longtime regulars among the Showcase Scotland delegates were also spotted between the club, the Late Night Sessions and the Holiday Inn settling in like ducks to water – being wise to the fact that if you arrive with jet lag, your body-clock is thus already ideally prepared for the rigours of the weekend to come, so don’t bother trying to sleep it off. This approach did lead to a lot of somewhat bleary eyes at the event’s Trade Fair today, starting as it did at 10am.

You know how by this stage you sometimes start seeing everything through a Celtic prism? Thus it was the other day, while ascending or descending in the Holiday Inn lift, that we happened to notice a wee sign above the door advertising something called “Emergenzamatic: Automatic Rescue Device”, and found ourselves thinking that if they could invent a portable pocket version, we could really do with one of those…

Lastly, a little bird tells us that tomorrow’s Scotsman newspaper will be running a preview feature about Scottish harp legend Savourna Stevenson 50th birthday concert, at the City Halls on Tuesday with the likewise legendary Danny Thompson and the Edinburgh Quartet. By way of a wee gift from us to you to help celebrate the occasion, anyone who presents a copy of the paper containing the feature – ie Saturday 28th’s edition – at either main Celtic Connections box office (Concert Hall or City Halls) on the day or evening of the gig (Tuesday 31st) can claim two tickets for the price of one.