Student Heads Up: 20 events to check out this year
We get it, you want to keep your calendar clear for ‘work’ and ‘studying’ and ‘the sesh’, but there is a lot going on around here. Consider these the tentpoles around which to build your year…
FLY Open Air Festival
Princes St Gardens, Edinburgh, 13-14 Sep
Start as you mean to go on with this big outdoor party from Scottish clubbing mainstays FLY. The lineup includes &ME, Joy Orbison, KILIMANJARO and Effy; the setting is iconic; there’s loads of afterparties if you want to keep things rolling. Photo: Ryan Johnston
Tenement Trail
Various venues, Glasgow, 11 Oct
What better way to get to know the East End than swinging between its various gig venues? The Barrowlands, Saint Luke’s and BAaD host this year’s Tenement Trail, with a lineup packed with great new Scottish bands (look out for Soapbox, Cowboy Hunters (pictured) and Theo Bleak), and headlined by Pale Waves. Photo: Block 414
The SAY Award
Caird Hall, Dundee, 6 Nov
The annual celebration of Scotland’s best new music is in Dundee this year, with an awards ceremony at the Caird Hall on 6 Nov. Even if you don’t make it along, the SAY Award is a great excuse to listen back to some of the great albums released by Scottish artists in the past year – the 20-strong longlist is released on 25 Sep. Photo: Alan Richardson via SAY Award
Celtic Connections
Various venues, Glasgow, 15 Jan - 1 Feb 2026
Get back from Christmas break and right back at it with Celtic Connections, Glasgow’s annual festival of folk and roots music from around the world. Expect a mix of folk sessions, big gigs and unique collaborations – it’ll definitely help shake off the cobwebs. Photo: Brendan Waters
Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Various venues, 11-29 Mar 2026
Glasgow Comedy Festival has a bit of everything: previews, touring shows and works-in-progress from big names, and showcases of Scottish comic talent. Early highlights include the new show from Taskmaster’s Bridget Christie, and a chance to see Christopher Macarthur-Boyd’s excellent Fringe show Howling At The Moon in the palatial surroundings of the King’s Theatre. Photo: curse these eyes
RSA New Contemporaries
Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 28 Mar - 22 Apr 2026
The cream of the crop from 2025’s art school degree shows come together under the enormous columns of the RSA for the annual New Contemporaries exhibition. Dozens of artists from across the country in one big exhibition, with some late-night parties thrown in for good measure. Photo: Julie Howden
Record Store Day
Various venues across Scotland, 18 Apr 2026
Over the years, RSD has become an unofficial public holiday for music-lovers. We’re talking big queues for Record Store Day exclusives, pop-up gigs, afterparties, and a genuinely buzzy and lovely atmosphere all day long (helped by the fact that the weather is often suspiciously good for the time of year). Photo: Jonny Mowat
Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival
Hawick, Scottish Borders, 30 Apr - 3 May 2026
Film students – it’s time for a road trip! Alchemy is one of the UK’s very best festivals of experimental film and artists’ moving image, with a warm welcome for anyone who makes the trip south, and a huge programme of screenings and events waiting for you on your arrival. Photo: Sanne Gault for Alchemy Film & Arts
2026 Degree Shows
Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, May-Jun
Graduating art students: it’s your time to shine, and share your work on an undoubtedly big platform. Studying art students: an ideal chance to be nosy and see what your peers are up to. Everyone else: here are some massive, exciting exhibitions to check out and some afters to try and blag your way into. Everyone wins. Photo: Agnes Sharp and Rita Rogers, Sculpture and Environmental Art, GSA Degree Show 2025
Glasgow International 2026
Venues across Glasgow, 5-21 Jun
The biennial festival of contemporary art will take over the city next June with a mix of big exhibitions, artist-led productions, unique collaborations and one-off events. Keep an eye on GI’s socials for more info. Photo: Wah Yen (2024) by Wei Zhang, copyright Glasgow International and the artist
Kelburn Garden Party
Kelburn Castle, near Largs, 2-6 Jul 2026
Our favourite Scottish music festival, Kelburn offers a real community feel, an absolutely beautiful setting on the west coast, a huge art programme and a selection of great bands, musicians and DJs from across Scotland and beyond. Get your crew together (for your sake, grab at least one person with access to a car) and have a great weekend. Photo: Kelburn Garden Party
The Edinburgh Festivals
August 2026
You may have heard of them. The International, Book, Film, Art and Fringe Festivals will all be back next August, offering thousands of shows at venues across the city all month long – and countless opportunities to get a bit of bar or front-of-house work then spend all the money immediately on ‘having fun’. Photo: Edinburgh University Students' Association
And eight more events to look out for...
Scottish Queer International Film Festival – Various venues, Glasgow, 27 Oct - 1 Nov
Scotland Loves Anime – GFT, Glasgow, 31 Oct - 2 Nov; Cameo, Edinburgh, 10-16 Nov
Lighthouse Radical Book Fair – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, 6-9 Nov
Christmas Art Markets – Out of the Blue Drill Hall and Fruitmarket, Edinburgh; Kelvingrove and Alchemy Experiment, Glasgow, dates tbc
Manipulate Arts – Venues across Edinburgh, Feb 2026
Glasgow Film Festival – Various venues, 25 Feb - 8 Mar 2026
Glasgow Short Film Festival – Venues across Glasgow, 18-22 Mar 2026
Sonica – Venues across Glasgow, 24 Sep - 4 Oct 2026