Charlotte Church & Irvine Welsh headline Neu! Reekie!'s Xmas Snowblinder

Edinburgh-based poetry and music impresarios Neu! Reekie! know how to throw a party, and their annual Xmas Snowblinder has become one of the highlights of the city’s festive season. Their third Christmas shindig, which takes place 15 December, once again returns to Edinburgh’s Central Hall, and they’ve wrangled a typically eclectic night of spoken word and music performences.

Former “voice of an angel” and current kickarse political activist Charlotte Church headlines, and we’re told by Neu! Reekie! that she and her band will be debuting “a new thing”; colour us intrigued. There’ll be some deadpan Christmas cheer provided by Arab Strap's Aidan Moffat, and Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison will also be contributing to the festivities with his tribute to the late and very great Tom Petty. Artist and one half of the KLF Bill Drummond is involved in the line-up too, although we hear he may simply be on shoe shine duty.

If it’s spoken word you’re after, Neu! Reekie! have some mouthwateringly fine wordsmiths on the menu. Trainspotting scribe Irvine Welsh will be returning to Neu! Reekie!'s Snowblinder stage, and he'll be joined by a festive gaggle of poets including William Letford, Iona Lee and Skinny fave Hollie McNish. Also performing is Young Fathers' Kayus Bankole, who’s going solo for the night with his poetry. She-Bang Rave Unit will get folks dancing, and oh my you’ll want to, as Neu! Reekie! will be serving up some delicious mulled Buckfast.

Neu! Reekie!'s Snowblinder, 15 Dec, Central Hall, Edinburgh. Tickets are £20/25 and can be purchased at snowblinder.bpt.me

Neu! Reekie!'s Snowblinder line-up in full:

Charlotte Church
Irvine Welsh
Bill Drummond
Scott Hutchison (does Tom Petty)
Emme Woods
Aidan Moffat
Xmas Poetry Squad (Hollie McNish, Billy Letford, Kayus Bankole, Leyla Josephine, Kevin Cadwallener, Alan GIllis, Iona Lee)
She-Bang DJs & mare.