Departure Lounge Hogmanay, The Caves, Edinburgh, 31 Dec

My mate's in this band called Orkestra Del Sol, right, and they're really good, so check them out. Actually, that's a hideous lie; he sells me fruit and veg and they're bloody brilliant. They're a (roughly) ten-piece group equipped with Balkan and Slavic brass instruments, decked out in red and black suits, and with beats that move parts you didn't know could shake. If you're stuck for a Hogmanay party, they'll be leading the charge at the Departure Lounge's NYE party, alongside Astroboy, The Trouble DJs and the mighty Mungo's Hi-Fi. Sounding like Beirut if he'd joined the Youngblood Brass Band, jumping like a class of ADHD kids hepped up on 'phet and venting more energy than Chernobyl on a bad day, Orkestra Del Sol are the perfect way to swing into 2008. And if all this jiving brass gets too much, go get your skank on with Mungo's Hifi till five in the morning. Jah sing me de mighty Auld Lang Syne. [Liam Arnold]