Top Ten Events 26 Apr-3 May: Outskirts Festival, Matthew Dear + Cry Parrot Turn 5!

Lighting up the week is new music, performance and visual art festival on the block, Outskirts, debuting with a dynamic array of musicians playing through the day, including a short acoustic set from Vashti Bunyan (accompanied by Kieran Evans' documentary about the lady herself, From Here To Before), plus Aidan Moffat, and Future Pilot AKA. Additionally, there will be a cultural programme of delights, including live readings from Alasdair Gray, roaming performances from Emma Snellgrove, and Thom Scullion's interactive installation, Play [Station], where audience and artist bond through the medium of computer games. Buses picking up from Mono at 3pm (tickets £4 from Mono direct).

As Sub Club draw their 25th birthday celebrations to a close, Subculture pull out the big guns with DJ, producer and remixer extraordinaire Andrew Weatherall sharing deck duties with minimalist techno specialist Matthew Dear (pictured). That's one dream pairing right there, helped along by Subculture residents Harri & Domenic. Oh, and a 4am license. And those good chaps at Sub Club have kept back 200 tickets for the door. The final installments of the birthday celebrations then go a little something like this: Magda (4 May) and Carl Craig (5 May). Amen.

It's that time of year again when we play host to the exhibition of our RSA New Contemporaries winner from the previous year's show, and so this week sees 2011 Skinny Award Winner Stephen Thorpe brighten the walls of Whitespace with his beautifully vibrant and obsessively immaculate paintings (Throne Room with Nautilus, pictured), produced in oil, canvas, and expanding foam, all roughly-hewn around the edges. View more of his work in his official Skinny Showcase here.

Post their album preview set with Paul Vickers where they basically started a riot in the medieval catacombs of Mary King's Close, sonic alchemists The Leg launch their new album proper, for which they're taking to a disused bookbinders in the Old Town – such is their propensity for causing mayhem in tranquil places. The meeting point for the evening is The Wash Bar, where there'll be a brief pre-gig string quartet, before revellers will walk en masse to the (somewhat hidden) venue point. Get your exclusive invite by putting a £5 deposit on their album here.

We end as all good weeks should – with free stuff! If you fancy discounted tickets, VIP party passes, free drinks, and other such nifty benefits for use during the Edinburgh International Festival, and throughout the following year, then get yersel' down to the IN Festival launch where they'll be revealing details of the INsider membership programme and the exclusive opportunities a golden INsider pass can bring. Attendance is free, but you'll need to book in advance by emailing INsider@eif.co.uk before 30 April. Visiit www.eif.co.uk/INsider for more information.

Skinny On Tour: Guess where The Skinny's publisher spotted this pair (pictured above) showing some love for the March issue of The Skinny and you will win yourself a booze-y prize courtesy of our chums at Vino Wines. Closes 30 Apr.
Jonah Lehrer on Creativity: Get 2-for-1 tickets on collection at Waterstone's (George Street) when you mention 'The Skinny'. Full details of the Canongate talks series can be found here. 
Errors tickets: We've got a pair of tickets (plus the full merch kit of t-shirt, CDs, 7-inch singles etc.) up for grabs to see our former guest editors, Errors, down't the Arches in May. Win them here.
Paint Your Own Mural: Offcut are calling all artists to submit their ideas for the chance to design a large mural for their new store. Deadline closes 27 Apr. Full details here.
Knockengorroch Festival tickets: Win a pair of tickets to the rollicking musical beast that is the Knockengorroch World Ceilidh Festival, set in the beautiful mountain river valley plain in't Dumfriesshire. Closes 30 Apr.
Stag & Dagger tickets: Get yersel' a bumper package including a pair of tickets to Stag & Dagger's musical all-dayer – with some 50 bands on the bill, including Django Django and The Phantom Band – plus free scran courtesy of Captain's Rest. Closes 30 Apr.
Saint Judes 2-for-1 Meals: Get 2-for-1 main courses during April on Saint Jude's new Pan Asian menu, created in collaboration with their pals at Bar Soba. One word: yum.
Free Delivery at Real Foods: Ethical shopper's delight Real Foods are offering free delivery on all orders over £15 on their online shopping site here.

*PLUS* Any budding songwriters amongst you can download and print off an application form for the Billy Kelly Songwriting Award. You can get your form here, then all you need do is enclose your demo and post it to: Billy Kelly Songwriting Award, Oran Mor, Byres Road, Glasgow, G12 8QX. Alternatively you can apply electronically by emailing three tracks to thebillykellyaward@gmail.com.