Tigerfest 2010 @ Various Venues, 5-22 May

Returning for its sixth consecutive year, 2010 finds Tigerfest showcasing a rich vein of musical talent along Scotland’s East coast. Setting up camp in Aberdeen, Dunfermline and Edinburgh, the folks at Baby Tiger have secured the services of the Saltire State’s finest acts, from new-blood exuberance, through scene mainstays and pioneering post-punk reformists.

There’s a noted focus on the capital, with seven shows taking in over 20 bands  including the harmonious Blueflint (Electric Circus, 5 May), reunited new wave daddys TV21 (Cabaret Voltaire, 11 May), the frankly dazzling There Will Be Fireworks (Electric Circus, 12 May), young troubadour Chris Bradley (Roxy Art House, 13 May) and a salivating Fence Records night over in the label's native Fife, featuring the relentless King Creosote, Withered Hand’s gloomy goodness and Rozi Plain’s multifarious folk melodies (Carnegie Hall, 21 May).

Dunfermline also plays host to stellar media phantoms Ambulances (Carnegie Hall, 20 May) and an enticing combination of ex Arab Strapper Malcolm Middleton and the oh-so lo-fi Spare Snare (Carnegie Hall, 22 May), whilst those lucky folk in Aberdeen will be served up Craig B and Iain Cook’s born-again brilliance, under the guise of The Unwinding Hours (The Tunnels, 21 May). Given that this represents only a fraction of the acts on show, it’d be reasonable to expect a mass migration to the East this coming month. [Paul Neeson]