Scottish Live Music Highlights: September 2023

The first ever Edinburgh Psych Fest takes place at Summerhall this month (3 Sep) with BODEGA, Sorry, bdrmm, Ulrika Spacek, Bikini Body and No Windows all set to play, while Outwith Festival returns to Dunfermline (6-10 Sep), with their live music all-dayer on the 9th featuring sets from The Joy Formidable, Steve Mason, Echo Machine, Nani, Sixpeace and more. At the end of the month, in Glasgow Sonica Surge heads for Tramway. Taking place over two days (29 & 30 Sep), expect a unique mix of contemporary pop and audiovisual experimentation, with everyone from Sonia Killmann, Eyve, Be Charlotte and GABO to German computer music artist Robert Henke (co-creator of Ableton) set to perform.

Outwith the festivals, September is jam-packed with gigs, reflecting the number of new releases landing this month. When it comes to local acts, at the top of the month scrappy Dundee lads The View celebrate their latest record Exorcism of Youth with a run of intimate shows that includes dates in Dundee (1 Sep), Glasgow (2 Sep), and Edinburgh (6 Sep). On 2 September, Glasgow alt-pop trio neverfine launch their debut EP Do Everything, Feel Nothing at Sneaky Pete’s, and the following week, on 9 September Finn Brodie officially launches his debut EP Home Run at Glasgow’s The Hug & Pint, while back at Sneaky’s Kohla launches her debut album Romance, with support from philomenah.

Ruby Gaines. Credit: Marieke Macklon.

Occasional local Taiwanese-American poet and electronic artist sarya releases their latest single ‘only girl’ via Bandcamp on 10 September (streaming everywhere else from the 14th), doubling up with a launch show at the Settlement Project on Leith Walk on the same night. If you're in Glasgow, catch sarya the night before playing as part of Queer Theory: Gender Outlaws at Stereo. Towards the end of the month, singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni brings her latest album Dreamer Awake to Aberdeen’s Lemon Tree (28 Sep) and The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh (29 Sep), while Glasgow’s Ruby Gaines celebrates her debut EP Heavy Good with a launch show at Mono (30 Sep). And relaunching this month, We Are Here Scotland’s AMPLIFI night returns to The Queen’s Hall (20 Sep) with an impressive bill featuring India Blue, Fiza and Wenge.

Elsewhere, in Edinburgh catch Wilco at Usher Hall (2 Sep), Sweet Baboo at Voodoo Rooms (6 Sep), Christine and the Queens at Usher Hall (8 Sep), Do Nothing with support from Humour at Sneaky’s (24 Sep) and Coach Party at The Caves (28 Sep), while in Glasgow you'll find Laura Jean at The Glad Cafe (8 Sep), Alice Faye at Mono (8 Sep), Free Love at The Rum Shack (15 Sep), Nabihah Iqbal at King Tut’s (21 Sep) and PJ Harvey at Barrowlands (25 & 26 Sep). Finally, on 20 September head to Glasgow's Old Fruitmarket for National Playlist Day to help raise funds for music and dementia charity Playlist for Life with sets from The Twilight Sad, The Bluebells, Theo Bleak and more.