Celtic Connections: BEATrio to play much anticipated Glasgow show
BEATrio will play a much-anticipated show on January 31st in Glasgow's Pavillion Theatre, during the famed Celtic Connections Festival.
Article Source: BEATrio
Last Updated: 16 January 2026 13:45
BEATrio - the new project from banjo great Béla Fleck, renowned harpist Edmar Castañeda, and groundbreaking drummer Antonio Sánchez - will play a much-anticipated show on January 31 in Glasgow’s Pavillion Theatre, during the famed Celtic Connections Festival. The Scottish concert will be part of a 10 date European tour. Full dates below.
The trio’s eponymous debut album, released in May 2025 via Béla Fleck Productions / Thirty Tigers has earned a 2026 Grammy nomination in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category.
Formed in 2024, BEATrio found its sound during a special twelve-show run at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village, where the band fearlessly explored new, original music, most of it collaboratively written. “Each night felt like an adventure,” says Castañeda, “and it was special to see the audience experience the music’s evolution.”
Or as Fleck puts it, “We were hanging on for dear life. Things were going right, things were going wrong — everything was happening.”
“This project kind of reminds me of the early days of the Flecktones, when audiences would go, ‘How is this supposed to work?'” says Béla Fleck.
“After playing a duo concert with Edmar, it became clear that we needed to write together, in order to accommodate the needs of harp and banjo,” says Fleck. “This is our first attempt—sometimes you get lucky, before you think too much about it!”
By the end of the Blue Note run, BEATrio had locked into a sort of telepathy, as well as a system for covering all the necessary musical ground. “I play the groove with my left hand with Antonio,” says Castañeda, “while at the same time I play melodies and harmonies with my right hand and with Béla — a very fun challenge that makes a unique and powerful trio.”
“Edmar has quite a bit of responsibility in this particular case,” Sánchez adds, “because he functions as the harmony and the bass.” Indeed, Castañeda sends the bottom frequencies of his harp through a proper bass rig onstage, so the low end is always present. The drummer goes on to call Castañeda “the glue between the banjo and the drums.”
About Béla Fleck
19-time Grammy winner Béla Fleck—the world's premier banjo virtuoso and a celebrated musical adventurer—has both explored his instrument's complex global history and unlocked the breadth of its possibilities, from his bluegrass beginnings through his otherworldly Flecktones, his duo with Chick Corea, and his reimagining of Rhapsody in Blue (2024). He has written and performed three banjo concertos and traced the African origins of the banjo with the award-winning documentary Throw Down Your Heart. His Grammy-winning album My Bluegrass Heart, is named in honor of his friend and hero Chick Corea (My Spanish Heart). In 2025, Béla and Chick earned a Grammy for their final duo album, Remembrance.
About Edmar Castañeda
The renowned harpist hails from Bogotá, Colombia, and has led his own bands in addition to sharing projects with such masters as Hiromi, Paquito D’Rivera and Grégoire Maret. Ushered into the jazz community by Paquito D’Rivera, Castañeda brings forth a brilliance that beautifully merges the jazz tradition and beyond. “His technique is the real astonishment,” describes NPR Fresh Air.
About Antonio Sánchez
Five-time Grammy winner Antonio Sánchez grew up in Mexico City and built a reputation as one of the great jazz drummers through his work with guitarist Pat Metheny. He’s also a visionary bandleader, helming progressive groups like Bad Hombre, and collaborated with Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker and other giants. His Golden Globe-nominated drum-set score for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2014 film Birdman earned him renown far outside the jazz world.
Tickets are on sale now at www.belafleck.com
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