Edinburgh Fringe 2023: Music Highlights

August in Edinburgh is always overwhelming, with music often taking a backseat to comedy and theatre. While the Edinburgh International Festival has a few big names worth your time (Alison Goldfrapp, Lankum etc), elsewhere in the city it's all kind of ‘business as usual’. There's a handful of big shows from the likes of Devo and Amyl & The Sniffers happening at the O2 Academy, a huge array of international and local talent playing Summerhall’s Nothing Ever Happens Here programme, and Sneaky Pete’s Central Belters run has a firm focus on Scottish up-and-comers.

But what about the less obvious music choices? We’ve dug deep into the 2023 Fringe programme to pull out some interesting-sounding options, especially of interest if you’re a music fan looking to try something different this August. First up, there are extensive local offerings to be found across this year’s Made In Scotland showcase. At St Vincent’s Chapel in Stockbridge, accompanied by some exceptional talents, Modern Studies frontwoman Emily Scott presents CHRYSANTHS (14 & 15 Aug). Across its three shows, you'll also find support slots from more of Scotland’s cherished talents: L.T. Leif, Faith Eliott, and C Duncan.

From 15 to 20 August, Katie Armstrong presents SKETCHES/GLISK at Dance Base. This hour-long double bill features experimental turntablism, acoustic piano, dance and visual art, inspired by the dramatic landscapes around Aberdeen and the North East. Also drawing inspiration from her surrounding landscape, as Aurora Engine, Deborah Shaw brings TERRE to Summerhall (16-19 Aug). A sonic exploration of nature found nearby her home on the Water of Leith, you can read more about her practice in the August issue of The Skinny.

Outwith the Made In Scotland programme, Edinburgh musician and producer Fraser Lawson, who performs and makes music as Pharos, is bringing late-night immersive experience Rave to Just the Tonic at The Caves. Running every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through the Fringe, by use of pulsating rhythms and mind-bending visuals, Rave promises to offer "a multi-sensory experience that engages the body, mind and spirit." Meanwhile, Glasgow-based Sonia Killmann brings Là-haut (Up There) to The French Institute (25-28 Aug). Much like Pharos, this saxophonist and multimedia artist promises to delight with an audiovisual show that will immerse audiences in a “one-of-a-kind-world.”

Still with an audiovisual bent, we were surprised to find renowned turntablist DJ Yoda hidden deep in this year’s Fringe programme. Performing for five nights in The Voodoo Rooms’ Ballroom, this show is sure to sound as good as it looks as Yoda mixes soundtracks and audio clips, sound effects and video from his favourite Quentin Tarantino flicks in DJ Yoda’s Tarantino AV Show (9-13 Aug). And for more big audiovisual energy, head along to Dynamic Earth for Planetarium Lates: Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (Tue-Sat, 1-26 Aug (not 22)). Celebrating its 50th anniversary, experience this iconic album like never before, in surround sound and set to a cosmic interplanetary backdrop in the venue’s 360°, 6K planetarium.

Karen Reilly of KlangHaus. Photo: Andi Sapey

More immersive music experiences can be found in Summerhall’s Lower Church Basement this month with KlangHaus: InHaus (3-27 Aug (not Mondays)). With three performances each day, the collective continue their mission of turning the gig-going experience on its head. With this show performed in a dramatic domestic setting, the audience are integral to the show as they’re invited into the band’s own personal space, getting up-close-and-personal with them as well as the lights and sounds of a gig.

For a dose of comedy with your music, we have it on good authority that Vroni Holzmann is not to be missed. Accompanied by Joey Sanderson, you’ll find Vroni & the Seppls: Bavarian Traditions at Bob’s BlundaBus (23-27 Aug) as they explore Bavarian traditions and Oktoberfest through song, maybe even with some yodelling. For another international taste, as part of Assembly’s seventh Korean Season at the Edinburgh Fringe, seek out Kokoon (Assembly Checkpoint, 2-13 Aug (not 9)). This five-piece boy band effortlessly combine K-pop with K-comedy for a show that we’re sure will be scores of fun.

Comedy and music continue to come together at a handful of other Assembly shows too, with a few, perhaps, well-known names. First up, be sure to check out Jazz Emu’s Pleasure Garden at Assembly George Square Studios (17-19 & 24-26 Aug), where backed by The Cosmique Perfectión, Emu will perform his own songs alongside sets from some special guest comedians. In the same venue, for four nights of the Fringe, Ivo Graham will pit comedians against each other in Comedians’ DJ Battles, a competitive club night where the winner stays on (4, 11, 20 & 27 Aug). And how could we talk about comedy and music without mentioning the D.O.D., aka David O’Doherty. Find this loveable Irish comedian and musician armed with a small keyboard and a whole sackful of jokes and funny songs in David O'Doherty: Tiny Piano Man (Assembly George Square, 2 to 28 Aug (not 15)).