Songs of Conscience with Peggy Seeger and Thea Gilmore, Royal Concert Hall

WHEN she first took the stage at the Royal Concert Hall on Sunday, the 71-year-old Peggy Seeger appeared as a revolutionary matriarch conducting her small band of younger female rebels.

But as the evening wore on the ageing singer - who has espoused every cause from Vietnam to Iraq - seemed content to accept a role as guest at the young guns' party.

She was the headline act but there was a richness of musical talent on display, all of which contributed to an evening of collective, rather than individual, excellence.

Seeger, half-sister of Pete Seeger and widow of the late singer/songwriter Ewan MacColl, flew to Glasgow for the Songs of Conscience concert as a last-minute replacement for the ill Odetta.

Her best days may be behind her but she is still a formidable stage presence and her anti-war protest songs are, thanks to Iraq, more relevant today than they have been for years.

She sang with a mixture of passion, anger and poignancy at the continuing futility of war and the way the world is ruled - or misruled - by men.

The "sisterhood" which warmed up the stage for Seeger consisted of excellent artists, notably the outstanding Thea Gilmore, once described as Britain's answer to Joni Mitchell.

She has stunning vocal clarity and deserves far greater public recognition than she currently enjoys. Festival organisers should make sure she has her own show next year.

Laura Boosinger brought the bluegrass music of America's Appalachian Mountains, Karan Casey a touch of Irish soul and Sara Watkins, of Nickel Creek, her fine voice and fiddle. Luka Bloom & Dervish, ABC

IT is tough for any musician living in the shadow of a successful older sibling - and when the shadow is cast by the legendary Irish singer/songwriter Christy Moore, the task verges on awesome.

But "follow that" is exactly what Luka Bloom has done - and in the course of a typically Irish nomadic lifestyle has forged his own musical identity.

His performance at the ABC included songs inspired by subjects as diverse as Nelson Mandela, the coming of spring, the Iraq invasion, his first visit to Australia and his home in Ireland.

Even his name marks his individuality. Born Kevin Barry Moore he left for the US in the 80s and decided to reinvent himself.

Luka is from the song "My Name is Luka" by Suzanne Vega and his surname is taken from Leopold Bloom, hero of James Joyce's Ulysses.

The opening number, I'm Not at War With Anyone was written in protest at the invasion of Iraq but the biggest applause was reserved for I'm a Bogman, reflecting his roots in the south of Ireland.

Bloom was followed on stage by Celtic Connections veterans Dervish, a six-piece folk band from County Sligo and this year's Irish representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest.

They upped the ante with some good old-fashioned foot-stomping, dancing in the aisles numbers.