Django Django help celebrate Assembly Rooms' history

Do you like music, tartan and have an ambivalent attitude towards Scotland’s subservience to our southern neighbours? Then you might be interested in the inaugural Alternative Peers Ball. The event is a modern riff on the 1822 Peers Ball, a lavish party held at Assembly Rooms by Walter Scott in honour of King George IV’s visit to Edinburgh, who was the first UK monarch to visit Scotland in two centuries. The night is said to mark the moment where tartan became mainstream – previously the national dress had been banned by the UK government, and only military personnel were allowed to wear it.

The night’s slightly dodgy history aside, Assembly Rooms and Vic Galloway will present an alternative version of the Peers Ball to celebrate Assembly Rooms’ 230th anniversary with a line-up of top-notch Scottish musicians as well as live drawing from some of the country’s top visual and contemporary artists.

Headlining the night are Django Django, who’ll be supported by the likes of Pictish Trail, Meursault, Man of Moon, Siobhan Wilson, and SKJØR as well as a DJ set from Edinburgh’s LuckyMe Records. The artistic talent comes in the form of Ursula Cheng, Too Much Fun Club, Donald Watson and Projector Club. We’re told to “expect part festival, part art installation and one of the year’s best parties.”

The Alternative Peers' Ball is at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh on 25 Nov; tickets on sale on 5 Oct, more details on Facebook here.