What's On Scotland 9-15 Jan: First Footing + more
In 2025's first Zap! roundup, find great new music at King Tut's and The Hug & Pint, live poetry and comedy, and one last festive treat before January fully kicks in...
New Year, New You, right? If you want to reinvent yourself in 2025 and would like to kickstart that process by finding, oh I don't know, a new favourite Scottish band, two of Glasgow's best small venues have you covered.
King Tut's New Year's Revolution and First Footing at The Hug and Pint are a pair of gig series offering the chance to catch some of the best new acts coming out of Scotland's music scene. Highlights at King Tut's include the excellent songwriting of Indoor Foxes (pictured above) on 10 Jan and the punky racket of Martha May and the Mondays on 15 Jan; in the West End, catch Glasgow underground supergroup Former Champ at the H&P on 11 Jan.
First Footing and New Year's Revolution continue throughout January, and remember – a new year's resolution is just for the first few weeks of the year, but a favourite new band is forever.
Lunchtime reading: Spotlight on... New Scottish Music for 2025
If that chat above has you thinking 'ooh I'd like to find some more great new music from Scotland', here's our guide to 17 of the bands, MCs and artists we're excited to hear from this year, including Elisabeth Elektra (pictured) and the aforementioned Indoor Foxes and Former Champ... Photo: Greta Kalva
ADVENTURE WEEKENDS WITH MARINE & LAWN
The Wellness Weekend with Sophie Hellyer, Marine Troon. 31 Jan – 2 Feb | 21 – 23 Feb
Retreats for wellness seekers and avid adventurers. Explore, unwind and find a new sense of being. Set against the breathtaking landscapes of our hotels, try everything from cold water therapy to hiking, breathwork and more, with group retreats designed to nourish your holistic wellbeing, body and mind.
Join us at Marine Troon for a weekend of yoga, wild swimming and breathwork with Sophie Hellyer.
marineandlawn.com/adventure-
The Nutcracker
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. Until 18 Jan, 2.30 & 7.30pm
If you're looking for a top-drawer treat to ease you back into the cultural swing of things, or simply refuse to let Christmas end, Scottish Ballet's production of The Nutcracker is just the ticket. Beautiful costumes, live music from the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, and a dancing Rat King – what more could you ask for? Photo: Andy Ros
Rayna Carruthers: While We Wait
Glasgow Women's Library, Glasgow. Until 29 Mar
Glasgow-based photographer Rayna Carruthers spent over a year in Jordan, meeting women forcibly displaced from across the region and awaiting resettlement in Europe and North America. Her portraits capture these women’s stories and explore their experiences of exile and belonging. Image: Mary with Son by Rayna Carruthers, courtesy of the artist.
Max Cooper
The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. 12 Jan, 7pm
The electronic composer/artist/biologist brings his new album and live show to Edinburgh. With On Being, Cooper promises to blend immersive 3D visuals with his experimental techno sound. Photo: Ella Mitchell
Return to Mono
Sub Club, Glasgow. 10 Jan, 10pm
Slam kick off another year of their Sub Club residency with a quintet of Scottish techno talents – blow off the cobwebs with sets from Niamh Jobson, KAAI, Ona:V, Brandon Lee Vear and Kairogen. Illustration: Yvette Earl
Loud Poets: Slam Series
Drygate, Glasgow. 11 Jan, 7.30pm
Come on and slam, and welcome to the jam. Loud Poets' search for 2025's Grand Slam poetry champion continues with the Glasgow heat of their Slam Series at Drygate, bolstered by a 'sacrificial' performance from the mighty Jim Monaghan.
Kathy Maniura: London Cycling Man (WIP)
Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh. 15 Jan, 8pm
The new creation from comedian Kathy Maniura is a velo-obsessed, middle-aged and freshly-divorced man in lycra. A blend of character comedy and drag performance, join Maniura as she develops an act that's already won acclaim at Europe's biggest drag king competition, Man Up!
The Watermelon Woman
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. 14 Jan, 8.30pm
Cheryl Dunne's mockumentary, which follows a young Black woman filmmaker putting together a film about a long-forgotten Black actor, is a landmark piece of queer cinema. It gets a big screen outing as part of DCA's Artists' Screenings series, chosen by Helen Cammock whose joint exhibition continues in the DCA galleries this month.
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