Gimme Shelter III, 14-16 Dec

Whatever your suspicions about those who perform in not-for-profit-but-great-for-publicity charity gigs like Live8, you can't deny the c-word's power to attract a stellar line-up. And it would appear this notion extends to more local events such as Gimme Shelter, now in its third instalment and again attracting the cream of Scottish music talent. The mini-fest aims to raise awareness and funds for homeless charity Shelter, a cause that's both close to home (for those lucky enough to have one) and always worth supporting. The gigs are programmed over the weekend of 14-16 December, jumping from Glasgow to Edinburgh and back. On the Friday, Glasgow's Classic Grand plays host to Fence Collective troubadour James Yorkston with his band The Athletes, Colin MacIntyre (aka Mull Historical Society) and Edinburgh indie-pop favourites Aberfeldy. Saturday sees the event shimmy along the M8 to the capital with Beanscene staging an afternoon show of local bands before a trio of Skinny favourites, Foxface, Frightened Rabbit and Broken Records, play an evening show at The Bongo Club. The finale takes place at Glasgow's Mono on Sunday with the superbly-dour Malcolm Middleton headlining a free-entry night. No egos, just quality music. [Nick Mitchell]