Concert In the Gardens @ Edinburgh's Hogmanay, 31 Dec

Seeing in the New Year at a large-scale outdoor music concert comes with its own set of risks. Bad weather is the most obvious – 2024/25’s Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh were scuppered entirely by high winds – but there are plenty of others. A crowd split between tourists and hard-drinking revellers can mean attention drifts away from the music as midnight approaches, while performers themselves may be tempted into a victory lap mentality, hoping the date itself will do the heavy lifting. The Concert In the Gardens could easily fall victim to all of the above but this year, it certainly did not. Instead, the five-hour event offered up three purposeful and entertaining sets from artists who appeared genuinely invested in the moment and committed to delivering performances worthy of the occasion.

Glasgow’s Lucia & The Best Boys set the tone for a thoroughly enjoyable evening of live music. Despite an early slot not long after doors, they still manage to engage the audience; clever and catchy songs such as the 80s-indebted So Sweet I Could Die incite headbanging across the Gardens. Frontwoman Lucia Fairfull has a natural command of the stage. Dressed appropriately for the occasion in a black leather jacket and long tartan skirt, she confesses she’s been “looking forward to this for ages”. The biggest response from the crowd is reserved for the group’s closing number, an atmospheric and artfully arranged cover of The Blue Nile’s wonderful The Downtown Lights.

Image: Lucia & The Best Boys @ Concert In the Gardens, Edinburgh's Hogmanay, 31 Dec by Cameron Brisbane

By the time Hamish Hawk emerges, the Gardens have properly filled out. A hometown appearance of this scale clearly matters to the group, and their years of playing together is evident in a set delivered with confidence and theatrical flair. Immaculately styled, Hawk prowls the stage, relishing the occasion. Songs like The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973 prompts a joyful call-and-response. When its central refrain 'Isn’t this living?' rings out among the crowd, it is genuinely uplifting. A sharp, accomplished set, Hawk is a captivating performer with a real knack for capturing and holding onto an audience. A brand new track – Half of Paris – slots so seamlessly into the group’s wordy, playful repertoire, you’d be forgiven for thinking the whole crowd had heard it before.

As headliners, Wet Leg generated some pre-event gripes about whether they had the necessary heft for a Hogmanay slot. Those doubts are quickly dispelled by the sheer scale and enthusiasm of the younger crowd drawn in by the Isle of Wight outfit's presence on the bill. Opening with Catch These Fists, the band launches into a hook-heavy first half that concludes with early career favourite Wet Dream before breaking for the countdown and fireworks. Rhian Teasdale’s star power is undeniable: clad in metallic hot pants, a hooded parka, sunglasses and fluffy mittens, she perfectly embodies the band’s sweet spot between absurdity and magnetic confidence. Even moments that could tip into gimmick – the acted-out segment with a corded phone for CPR, or an overactive bubble machine during the set’s quieter moments – become oddly intimate, adding texture and whimsy rather than distraction.

While midnight leads to a slight thinning of the crowd, those that stay for the second half of Wet Leg’s set enjoy a sharper, more relaxed performance packed with the group’s biggest hits. With the pesky business of it becoming 2026 now wrapped up, it seems like both the band and audience have loosened. When the first notes of Chaise Longue begin, the Gardens briefly become less of a concert venue and more of a shared dancefloor.

This year’s Concert In the Gardens felt carefully judged: a night that resisted coasting and instead treated the moment with drama, joy and intent. But most of all, the night made a convincing case for live music as perhaps the best way to cross the threshold into a new year.