Scottish Gig Highlights – July 2016

July is a traditionally rather fallow month for gigs as tours take a backseat to festivals, but there aren’t many gems that shine brighter than Beyoncé. The biggest pop star on the planet brings her Jay-Z-baiting, globe-slaying Formation tour to Hampden Park in support of her surprise masterpiece Lemonade on 7 July.

In stark contrast to the super slick sheen of Bey comes the scuzzy power pop thrills of London’s Virgin Kids. They’re the sound of punk rock, pin badges, denim and drinking. Lots of drinking. It’s no wonder they’ve been picked up by the world famous Burger Records, and the sweaty underground environs of Broadcast provide the perfect location for their riotous charms (8 Jul) .

Across the road at ABC on the same night is a legend in an altogether different genre. Old school hip-hop heads in Glasgow and beyond will rejoice at the former Boogie Down Productions main man KRS-One, who makes a rare live outing in Scotland to run through a back catalogue of hits and hard-hitting rap sermons that could go toe-to-toe with anyone else in the game.

13 Jul offers a tantalising yet tricky dilemma for fans of classic songwriting, alt country and brooding folk, as three distinct artists that share similarly like-minded DNA perform in Glasgow. The heavyweight headliner is the legendary Elvis Costello – he pays a visit to the Barrowlands to perform a selection of songs from his massive repertoire while surely regaling the audience with tales and anecdotes from his long career. Costello is also a man who knows quite a bit about country, so he will surely be aware of Sturgill Simpson, perhaps the most significant country songwriter to emerge in the last few years. Simpson’s dark hearted, psych-tinged wordplay is intoxicating in the extreme and his third album A Sailor’s Guide To Earth is one of this year’s minor treasures. Pay close attention to his stunning cover of Nirvana’s In Bloom when he rolls into the ABC. Completing this Wednesday night hat-trick are Providence’s The Low Anthem who illuminate Broadcast with songs from Eyeland, their first album in five years.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that every band in the history of recorded music has reformed and hit the touring trail over the last decade. The return of early 90s indie troupe Belly, led by Tanya Donelly, is one of the more surprising yet welcome reunions though. They’re one of those bands who have somehow slipped from memory, but now re-emerge like a long-lost friend blinking into the bright lights of the stage once more. Catch them getting back into their stride at The Garage (15 Jul).

Old bands from the 90s trying to recapture former glories aren’t the only returns this month. The intense, ferocious power of grime is a sound that was slowly diluted for years by grime-lite commercial pop, yet it’s roared back into the ascendancy over the last year and is now stronger and more prominent than ever, led by the chart topping Skepta. Cut from the same cloth is his Boy Better Know brethren Frisco, who promises to bring the noise to the Vic Café bar (15 Jul).

Weaves’ idiosyncratic art-pop charms are the sort of sound that thrives in small spaces so Nice 'N' Sleazy’s intimate atmosphere is a good location for frenzied buzz-seekers to get an up-close-and-personal acquaintance with the Toronto band’s oddball pop (17 Jul).

In a quieter month for those of a more electronic taste, the return of DJ Shadow after five years is an instant must-see. He brings his brand of beats and breaks to the O2 ABC (20 Jul).

Continuing this months theme of artists with a folk/country bent are Scottish siblings JR Green, from all the way up in the Highland village of Strontian. They provide heartfelt traditional laments and rousing sea shanties at King Tut's as part of their annual Summer Nights series (20 Jul) .

Rod Thomas, who performs as Bright Light Bright Light, is a man who can frankly do it all. Insanely well connected and multi-talented, Thomas has cultivated his own little niche as Wales’ best kept pop secret, catching the eye of and sharing a stage with the likes of Elton John and the Scissor Sisters. His show at the Hug and Pint (25 Jul) should be among the more colourful and exuberant of the month.

Exuberance of a different, more in your face nature will be on offer when the hard rocking duo of Deap Vally barrel into Broadcast (25 Jul). Be sure to take in the carnage and see what’s left.

Less likely to cause chaos, more likely to provoke tears of joy, laughter and sadness are Edinburgh’s The Spook School who play The Glad Café with Happy Accidents in tow (26 Jul).

Finally for Glasgow's July schedule comes a gig where you can genuinely say without exaggeration that anything can happen. Notorious post-punk antagonist Mark E Smith brings his 150^th (approx) iteration of The Fall to Òran Mór (30 July) – depending on his mood it will be either the best gig of your life or the worst thing you’ve ever seen. Either way it will be compelling. You might need a refreshing palette-cleanser after The Fall experience, so the pop-punk thrills of The Wonder Years at Stereo (31 Jul) should do the trick.

Over in Edinburgh things are fairly quiet in July as the city readies itself for the frenzy of the Fringe; however a highlight can be found right at the end of the month as Lost Map's indie-pop champs Kid Canaveral launch their third album Faulty Inner Dialogue at Summerhall (31 Jul).

Do Not Miss: Dirty Three, Summerhall, Edinburgh, Tue 5 Jul 

Australian music has been enjoying the purplest of purple patches over the last few years, spearheaded by Tame Impala's psych rock excursions and a burgeoning punk scene. All of these Aussie luminaries fall in line behind Dirty Three. At the forefront of their homeland's avant-garde for over two decades, visually striking and musically bewitching, they are a group with an uncanny ability to whip any crowd into a frenzy.

No gimmicks are required. The focus of their entirely instrumental live show is often on the imposing, flailing violinist Warren Ellis, who combines with drummer Jim White and guitarist Mick Turner to provide an unshakeable force of nature. Their last record – the bewitching Toward the Low Sun – was released in 2012, so on this rare date with Edinburgh, they don’t have anything in particular to promote but their own general bad-assery. No one can do it better.