What's On Scotland 14-20 May: Glasgow Zine Fest & more

Do it all yourself at Glasgow Zine Fest, Glasgow Zine Library’s annual celebration of DIY and print culture, taking place in The Briggait and venues across the Southside from 19-24 May.

There's everything from workshops, a zine fair, and a mobile library pop-up to explore. Make blackout poetry zines, explore ideas of community and Palestinian liberation, assemble ephemera into a documentation of cityscapes, subvert the family album with a zine dedicated to your best friend, or drop in and make a mix CD. You’ll be hard pressed to find a more wholesome time this month – explore the full programme here.

ADVERTISEMENT | Heriot-Watt University's 2026 Degree Show
Heriot-Watt University Scottish Borders Campus, Edinburgh. 23-30 May

Discover Heriot-Watt University’s 2026 Degree Show, where graduating students from their fashion, textiles and design programmes explore new materials, technologies and practises that will help shape the future of an ever-evolving global industry.

Visit the Degree Show from 23 – 30 May at their Scottish Borders Campus, as the next generation of designers embrace creativity and the versatility of design to challenge conventions, drive innovation, and address global challenges with sustainable solutions in their final projects.

Revolution Days
Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. 20-23 May, various times
Following Samira, a Scottish aid worker determined to make a difference, and based on real life experiences and testimonials, Revolution Days looks at the legacy of the Arab Spring 15 years on, and at the reality of war and aid work across different communities.

Birthday Programme
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow. 17 May, 6pm
Happy birthday to Glasgow Film Theatre! They're celebrating their birthday month with a present to us: a programme of Big Screen Classics made to be experienced in the cinema, from Interstellar and The English Patient on film to The Godfather and The Fall. Image: MUBI.

Haseeb Iqbal - Fred Alexander - Mark Quinn
The Flying Duck, Glasgow, 15 May, 11pm
Three UK-based DIY parties – Haseeb Iqbal’s Studio Crumb, Fred Alexander's Vita Nova and Mark Quinn's Habitat – come together in this one-off club night going deep into the recesses of Fringe club music. Expect eclectic sonic experiments ranging from dub to jazz.

Jacques Greene: Free Time x LUCKYME
Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh. 17 May, 6pm
Canadian musician and producer Jacques Greene stops by Edinburgh for an early evening set of hazy club, subverting the energy of dance music into a dreamier, intimate experience. His first two albums with LuckyMe – Feel Infinite and Dawn Chorus – were released to critical acclaim.

ADVERTISEMENT | corto.alto

corto.alto – AKA multi-instrumentalist producer, composer and performer Liam Shortall – announces he is playing Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom on Fri 29 January as part of Celtic Connections.

Closing 2025 with a win for ‘Breakthrough Artist’ at the AIM Awards in London and new material on the horizon, Shortall and the corto.alto band are consolidating their reputation as one of the best live bands around.

Presale tickets are available now, going on general sale this Fri 15 May, 11am.

↪ Francis Dosoo: Portrait of Dorothy Gale
DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee. 16 May-2 Aug
Forget about Wicked: there’s a new Wizard of Oz interpretation in town. Edinburgh artist Francis Dosoo’s Portrait of Dorothy Gale draws on the 1978 film The Wiz, itself a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, to examine the way we look at historic moving images. Image: Courtesy of artist.

→ Fcukers
SWG3, Glasgow. 20 May, 7pm
For a club-forward blend of house-y beats and millenial electro-pop, head to SWG3 for New York pop duo Fcukers' (pronounced F-C-U-K-ers rather than, you know, which is a bummer) headline show.

→ Talisk
La Belle Angele, Edinburgh. 16 May, 7pm
There’s very little that matches the sheer joyousness and energy of a Talisk gig – the Glasgow-based three-piece folk outfit have been playing their heart-rushing, infectious brand of Scottish trad for a decade.