LEGENDARY folk-rock bands, tributes to Scottish musical greats and the Glasgow man who soundtracked Hollywood blockbusters Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby will all feature in next year's Celtic Connections.

The 22nd installment of the winter festival will run from January 15 to February 1, and a host of big names from home and abroad are lined up to play.

It will kick off with an opening concert paying tribute to Martyn Bennett, the Scottish musician known for fusing traditional songs with electronica, who passed away from cancer in 2005.

His last album, Grit, will be brought to life on January 15 at the Royal Concert Hall by a orchestra made up of musicians from both the classical and folk worlds, with vocals provided by special guests and some of the people that had been sampled on the original record.

"It's a full orchestration of the work, but with singers that Martyn took recordings of for the record, like Sheila Stewart," explains Donald Shaw, the festival's director.

"She'll be 80 in January but is one of the great tradition bearers of song and will be performing on the night. There's quite a few special guests for it and it's an indication of how far the traditional music scene has gone, in that something that was created as a dance record is now being performed in an orchestrated form with live musicians."

The theme of reinterpretation and songs being brought to life in a different way will run through the many gigs slated for January.

Among the acts lined up are the veteran folk-rock band Fairport Convention (the Royal Concert Hall, January 16) Americana aces Lambchop ( performing their classic album Nixon in full at the Old Fruitmarket on January 31) and homegrown talent like Eddi Reader, who stops by the Concert Hall on January 20.

Scottish indie folkster King Creosote will also bring his From Scotland With Love project, first performed as part of this year's Commonwealth Games, to the Concert Hall on January 22.

One of the hottest tickets will be the appearance of Glasgow-born film composer Craig Armstrong, who's scored a host of Hollywood hits, in particular the Baz Luhrmann films Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge and last year's The Great Gatsby.

The BAFTA and Golden Globe winner is at the Royal Concert Hall on January 27.

"Craig's reached that status as one of the great Hollywood composers and his soundtracks are real A-list stuff," enthuses Donald.

"Craig's obviously Glasgow born but he's done a new commission with the Lewis Psalm Singers, so it's not just about Hollywood scores, he's been experimenting with different stuff and the concert will celebrate both sides.

"I feel like it's a natural thing for Celtic to embrace that."

As always, new talent will get a chance to thrive at the festival, with the Danny Kyle Open Stage - of which the Evening Times is media partner, returning for the duration of the festival, letting fresh faces showcase their ability.

There will be familiar favourites at the bash too, like the ever-popular Transatlantic Sessions on Friday January 30 and the event's closing night, Sunday February 1. This year the sessions will feature Grammy Award winner Patty Griffin among the acts.

"I think there'd be a riot if we didn't put Transatlantic Sessions on, because it is a special show," says Donald.

"It's new every year, it's fresh, there's new stars on it and it really encapsulates what we try and do every year, which is create connections."

Among the other artists heading this way are legendary Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, retro rocker JD McPherson, bluegrass band Hayseed Dixie and a special concert highlighting music from the Elizabethan Age. More than 300 gigs, events, and workshops are planned.

Last year saw over 100,000 people descend on Glasgow for the festival, and Donald's delighted at how the city has always backed the event.

"It's always a little bit squeaky bum time just before the tickets go onsale, but we have been fortunate that the public do come out and support the festival," adds Donald.

"Glasgow's very good at that and as long as there's top quality acts onstage then we'll have support. It does have added challenges just now though, particularly with travel and hotels certainly aren't getting cheaper.

"We do feel the festival is more than just music, it's about bringing an event to the city."

Full details on this year's programme can be found at www.celticconnections.com.