Scottish Live Music Highlights: October 2025

First up, here’s a quick recap of festivals happening this month. Interesting Things (4 Oct) returns to Stirling’s Tolbooth for a day of sonic discovery; while there, check out Lomond Campbell’s MŮO exhibition which opens in the venue on the same day. In Glasgow, Chlobocop returns to curate the Brick Lane Jazz Festival at The Rum Shack (10 Oct), multidisciplinary festival SPLINTR takes over various spaces courtesy of Flos Collective (9-12 Oct), Tenement Trail brings the heat to the city’s east end on the 11th, and Pop Mutations’ multi-venue fundraiser for Tiny Changes brings an unreal wealth of local talent to Stereo, The Glad Cafe, Mono, The Flying Duck, The 78 and The Old Hairdresser's on the 18th.

Back at the top of the month, Katie Gregson-Macleod kicks off a string of Scottish dates at Church, Dundee (1 Oct) before shows in Stirling (Tolbooth, 2 Oct), Edinburgh (La Belle Angele, 12 Oct) and Glasgow (Òran Mór, 13 Oct). Tina Sandwich has a similar run of shows celebrating her latest single Grit, playing new Glasgow venue 1990 (3 Oct) with dates in Edinburgh (Bannermans, 4 Oct), Dundee (Hidden, 11 Oct) and Dunfermline (PJ Molloys, 26 Oct). Emma Pollock also hits the road this month in celebration of her latest album, Begging the Night to Take Hold. She plays Tolbooth, Stirling (25 Oct), Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh (26 Oct), Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (28 Oct) and Òran Mór, Glasgow (29 Oct).

In between and around those tours, you’ll find A Night for MAP at The Queen’s Hall (4 Oct) with appearances from Jacob Alon, Kathryn Joseph and Harben Kay amongst others, SHEARS launches her debut pristine pop record, WE ARE BUT CHEMICALS, at Sneaky Pete’s (4 Oct) and The Cords celebrate their self-titled debut record with a show at Mono (5 Oct). Garage punks Casual Drag launch their latest single at McChuills on the 8th, while the same night brings Scottish mainstays Idlewild to The Liquid Room in Edinburgh in celebration of their tenth album, Idlewild. Glasgow’s Dancer bring the delightful art-rock and indie-pop of their latest record More or Less to Leith FAB Cricket Club (10 Oct) for new promoters Play Nice, while the first of AMPLIFI’s main auditorium of The Queen’s Hall shows takes place on the 15th with tuba virtuoso Theon Cross supported by local stars on the up Azamiah and GAÏA.

Faith Eliott. Image: Flannery O'Kafka.

On the 19th, Faith Eliott keeps celebrations going for their latest album dryas with a launch party at The Glad Cafe, despite its release being in May; with a SAY Award longlist announcement, you might want to act quick on this one. On 24 October, Scottish hip-hop collective Eastside, featuring Madani, Chef the Rapper and Princyboii, play Sneaky Pete’s, while fans of both surf-rock-punk and fancy dress should head for Maz and the Phantasm’s pair of "really queer and silly" Halloween shows. They bring Phantasmagasm to Edinburgh’s newest hot spot the People’s Leisure Club (30 Oct) and Glasgow's The Glad Cafe (31 Oct) with all manner of chaos in the works.

Of course there are loads of tours swinging through the central belt this month, too. In Glasgow, catch Billy Nomates (SWG3, 3 Oct), Ethel Cain (O2 Academy, 4 Oct), billy woods (Saint Luke’s, 4 Oct), CMAT (Barrowlands, 8, 9 & 10 Oct), JADE (O2 Academy, 13 Oct), Panic Shack (Garage, 14 Oct), The Lovely Eggs (Òran Mór, 23 Oct) and U.S. Girls (Stereo, 26 Oct). Edinburgh welcomes Beverley Glenn-Copeland and John Grant to The Queen’s Hall on 2 Oct and 17 Oct respectively, while dodie plays The Caves (5 Oct), and The Bug Club play pretty much everywhere but Edinburgh with dates in Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow and Dundee.