Living It Up: A guide to Edinburgh's live music scene

Edinburgh has a surprising amount going for it in terms of its music scene, despite what our pals in Glasgow might tell you. Look beyond its massive NYE Hogmanay Street Party celebrations and in the spring and you’ll find Edinburgh TradFest and Wide Days, Scotland’s leading music convention. In peak summer hit up the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival (17-26 Jul) ahead of the many festivals that take over every nook and cranny of the city in August.

Speaking of which, at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe you’ll find a curated programme under the Made In Scotland banner, with music offerings including FLOWERCORE (The Gilded Saloon, 17-22 Aug, 3pm), from Edinburgh multihyphenate Siobhan Wilson, and Tùs / Origin (The Jazz Bar, 18-20 Aug, 5:30pm) from the Brian Molley Quartet as they explore the Celtic roots of jazz. There’ll also be a gig showcase (17 Aug) hosted by the aforementioned Wide Days featuring an exciting cross-section of rising Scottish talent – expect neo-soul and jazz from Azamiah and Cathal Murphy, enigmatic dance-punk from Bikini Body, folk and harp from Dara Dubh, cinematic indie-rock from Fright Years, heartfelt indie from Haiver, fronted by Frightened Rabbit’s Billy Kennedy, and much more!

Also in August, head to the North Berwick coast for Fringe by the Sea (31 Jul-9 Aug). A festival with community at its heart, there you’ll find a glut of Scottish talent like Belle and Sebastian, Tinderbox Collective, Kathryn Joseph, Sarah/Shaun, Brian d’Souza/Auntie Flo, Drexler and Rianne Downey. At the Edinburgh International Festival, two contemporary shows that should be high up your 2026 hit list are Mercury Prize-nominated Glasgow jazz artist corto.alto (The Hub, 18 Aug) and the pairing of Isle of Skye smallpipes wizard Brìghde Chaimbeul and Scottish Ensemble (The Queen’s Hall, 23 Aug). Meanwhile, out at the Royal Highland Centre you’ll find some of the biggest shows of the year thanks to Edinburgh Summer Sessions with Biffy Clyro (21 Aug), The Cure (23 Aug), Florence + The Machine (24 Aug), Lorde (25 Aug), Deftones (27 Aug) and The Prodigy (29 Aug) all set to play.

Bikini Body. Image: Rosie Sco

In the heart of the city, the Cowgate is alive with exciting new music and mini-festivals all-year round. On Saturday 18 July, the third instalment of the Cowgate Block Party all-dayer takes place at world-renowned host venue Sneaky Pete’s and the multiple rooms of The Mash House. Sneaky Pete’s have a packed programme all-year round, so it’s always worth checking what’s on while you’re in town. Jump back to August, and promoters 432 Presents are pulling out all the stops for a run of shows at La Belle Angele that includes Mary Lattimore (7 Aug), Bel Cobain (16 Aug), Pigs x7 (20 Aug), Just Mustard (24 Aug), This Is the Kit (25 Aug) and Getdown Services (30 & 31 Aug).

With their official mainland outpost in Leith record shop Good Vibes, Isle of Eigg record label Lost Map Records bring a slice of island life to the Leith FAB Cricket Club (run by neighbouring indie venue Leith Depot) this August in the form of three Howlin’ Fringe shows: Suckle + Sulka (12 Aug), Pictish Trail (19 Aug) and Free Love (26 Aug). For more indie and grassroots happenings, keep an eye on (and listen to) community radio station EHFM, Leith-based micro-label New Teeth, and Paradise Palms Records, the latter of which runs out of their namesake cocktail bar/restaurant/pre-club and performance space Paradise Palms. With unwavering support for local artists and a stacked year-round programme, be sure to pop into their cosy corner of the city, which just so happens to be right in the heart of the Fringe district – very handy in August.

Just outside the Fringe, you’ll find Edinburgh Psych Fest (6 Sep), with this year’s festival welcoming international talent like Stereolab, Ty Segal, and the much lauded Angine de Poitrine alongside SHAME, Mandy, Indiana, and local talents Jill Lorean, Isabella Strange, Acolyte, Roller Disco Death Party, Water Machine and more. Cast your gaze to later in the year and you’ll find the Soundhouse Winter Festival (26-30 Nov), a showcase of some of Scotland’s most exciting talent that runs in tandem with St Andrew’s Day. Of course, if none of that sounds any good, well, Glasgow’s only 40 minutes away by train. But maybe the problem isn’t Edinburgh, maybe it’s you xx