Scottish Music Festivals Calendar 2024

Here's some of our picks for great music festivals to see across Scotland this year – don't forget to check out our other article for recommendations outwith Scotland.

Stag & Dagger
Various, Edinburgh & Glasgow, 4 & 5 May
Established in 2009, this year’s multi-venue festival sees local talent Hamish Hawk top the bill at both ends of the M8, with Teesside's political punks Benefits, Glasgow indie-rockers Lucia and the Best Boys and London-based electro post-punks Snapped Ankles helping prop up the rest of the top line. A great way to kick off festival season. @staganddagfest

Houses Festival
SWG3, Glasgow, 11 May
A collaboration between SWG3 and new music champions Tenement TV, this May sees the inaugural Houses festival take over the full SWG3 complex for an all-day indoor and outdoor festival with a focus on local indie, hip-hop and electronic artists. Alice Faye, EYVE, JusHarry, Pearling, Psweatpants, Queen of Harps and loads more are set to play. @housesfestival 

Knockengorroch. Image credit: Douglas Robertson.

Knockengorroch
Galloway, S.W. Scotland, 23-26 May
Set in the beautiful surrounds of the Carsphairn Hills in the south west of Scotland, Knockengorroch is Scotland’s longest running greenhills festival, and its first big camping festival of the season. Known for its community ethos and celebration of roots music, this year's lineup includes Peatbog Faeries, N’famady Kouyaté, Both Hands and Nightwave. knockengorroch.org.uk

Eden Festival
Raehills Meadows, nr Moffat, Dumfries & Galloway, 13-16 Jun
Shortlisted for Best Family Festival in the 2023 UK Festival Awards, Eden Festival is another beaut with community at the core of everything it does. From its sustainability practices to wellness workshops, and with a focus on diversity in its lineup there’s lots to like. Amadou & Mariam top this year’s bill, with Mr Scruff, Jamz Supernova and corto.alto also playing. edenfestival.co.uk

Belle and Sebastian @ A Bowlie Event. Image: Will Byington.

Big City
Queen’s Park, Glasgow, 29 Jun
Curated by Glasgow post-rockers Mogwai, this brand new all-dayer takes over Queen’s Park in the Glasgow Southside at the end of June, with a stacked lineup featuring Slowdive, Nadine Shah, Beak> and Michael Rother, alongside a gaggle of Rock Action-signed acts like Kathryn Joseph, Cloth, Sacred Paws, bdrmm and, of course, Mogwai themselves. bigcity.scot

Kelburn Garden Party
Kelburn Castle, nr. Fairlie, 4-8 Jul
Hosted on the grounds of Kelburn Castle, Kelburn Garden Party is a family friendly, community focused festival on the west coast of Scotland near Largs. Genre-agnostic when it comes to its lineup, this is a highlight of the year for us, and we’re honoured to be back curating The Pyramid Stage with Bikini Body, LVRA and rEDOLENT topping the bill. kelburngardenparty.com

Deafhaven @ core. Image courtesy of core.

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival
Belladrum Estate, by Beauly, Inverness-shire, 25-27 Jul
What do Deacon Blue, Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Bill Bailey, King Creosote and The Futureheads all have in common? They’re all performing at this year’s Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, with the rest of this family friendly festival in the Highlands similarly varied for what is set to be one heck of an eclectic 20th anniversary celebration. tartanheartfestival.com

A Bowlie Event, Belle and Sebastian present ‘The Glasgow Weekender’
SWG3 Galvanizers Yard, Glasgow, 2-3 Aug
Another newbie for 2024 comes to you courtesy of everyone’s favourite indie-pop brigade Belle and Sebastian who are bringing one of their famed Bowlie events to SWG3’s Galvanizers Yard this August. With B&S playing both days, you can also catch CMAT, Camera Obscura, BIS and The Joy Hotel over the course of the weekend. belleandsebastian.com

core.
Woodside Hall & The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, 2-4 Aug
After the success of last year’s first ever festival of noise in Glasgow, core. returns this August for a weekender split between two beautifully walkable West End locations, The Hug & Pint and Woodside Hall. Show Me the Body, Gilla Band and Empire State Bastard top the bill. Earplugs at the ready. corethefestival.com

Edinburgh Psych Fest. Image courtesy of Edinburgh Psych Fest.

Edinburgh Psych Fest
The Queen’s Hall & Summerhall, Edinburgh, 1 Sep
Back for a second stab after the sell-out success of its first outing last year, Edinburgh Psych Fest returns to the capital’s southside taking over Summerhall once again as well as The Queen’s Hall, just around the corner. The first wave of this year’s lineup includes Pigs x7, NewDad, Temples, The Bug Club, Holly Macve and Juniore. edinburghpsychfest.com

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Some more dates closer to home
Rise Up, Aberdeen, 2-4 May; Pavilion Festival, Ayr, 4-5 May; Fly Summer of Love ‘92, Secret Edinburgh Location, 18 May; Glasgow Jazz Festival, Glasgow, Jun TBC; Spit It Out, Edinburgh & Glasgow, 6-16 Jun; Solas Festival, Errol Park, Perthshire, 14-16 Jun; Young Fathers all-dayer, Stirling City Park, 29 Jun; The Speyside Fantastic Party, Aviemore, 20 Jul; Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Edinburgh, 12-21 Jul; M4 Festival, BAaD, Glasgow, 3 Aug; Jupiter Rising x EAF, Jupiter Artland, nr. Edinburgh, 17 Aug; Pitch Scotland, Glasgow, 22-23 Aug; Outwith Festival, Dunfermline, 4-8 Sep; Fly Open Air, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, 21-22 Sep; Sonica, Glasgow, 19-29 Sep; Tenement Trail, Glasgow, 12 Oct