What's On Scotland 28 Apr-5 May: Stag & Dagger & more

Spread out not only across Edinburgh and Glasgow but across both of the cities’ most important music venues, Stag & Dagger is a celebration of live music made incredibly local. Taking place this weekend – Sat 29 Apr in Edinburgh and Sun 30 Apr in Glasgow – in locations such as Sneaky Pete's, The Caves and Broadcast, there’s a blazing lineup of both national and international talent, including garage rock from Black Lips, dreamy indie from Edinburgh gang Swim School, and post-punk from British-German duo Lebanon Hanover. Tickets come as one festival pass, and there are still a few available for Edinburgh and Glasgow.  

Bemz
SWG3, Glasgow. 28 Apr, 7pm
Ayrshire lad Bemz headlines SWG3 for the second time in six months. Known for his genre-bending blend of grime, hip-hop and drill, Bemz is one of the best currently working in Scotland - no wonder, then, that he was longlisted for Scottish Album of the Year in 2022. Image: Andrew Low.

Edinburgh Tradfest
Various venues, Edinburgh. 28 Apr-8 May
Find the very best of local and internationally renowned traditional music at Edinburgh TradFest this week. Taking place across Traverse Theatre. Assembly Rooms and Scottish Storytelling Centre, expect performances from Rhiannon Giddens, FARA and Alicia Edelweiss. Image: Courtesy of Edinburgh Tradfest.

Zineb Sedira: Can't You See the Sea Changing?
DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, until 6 Aug
Marking the artist’s first UK project in 12 years, Zineb Sedira’s newest exhibition brings together film, photography and installation to explore ideas of identity, belonging, and collective memory, drawing on her own personal experiences of working across different cultures. Image: Zineb Sedira. Photo. Archives Mennour. Courtesy the artist and Mennour, Paris.

Shoot Your Shot 9th Birthday - UNiiQU3
The Berkeley Suite, Glasgow. 30 Apr, 11pm
Jersey club queen UNiiQU3 closes a double weekender for Shoot Your Shot as they celebrate their ninth birthday this year. From fresh club cuts to high energy 135BPM spins and remixes, find a little bit of the East Coast right in the heart of Glasgow's Bank Holiday weekend. Image: Courtesy of artist.

ADVERTISEMENT | Public - The Musical
Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe, 2-28 Aug, 6.30pm
This award-winning new musical follows four unlikely strangers who find themselves trapped together in a gender-neutral public toilet. With an hour to kill until maintenance arrives, the group navigates unexpected challenges, pungent opinions and some seriously sticky conversations. Winner of the Pleasance's Charlie Hartill Fund 2023. Save 20% off tickets if you book before the end of May!

↪ Scottish Ballet: A Streetcar Named Desire
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 3-5 May, 7:30pm
A Streetcar Named Desire has been on everyone’s minds recently (hello, Paul Mescal), so there’s no better time to see Scottish Ballet’s subversive and outrageously sexy interpretation of the classic Tennessee Williams play. Image: Andrew Ross.

→ Volens Chorus: Residents
Sneaky Pete's Edinburgh. 4 May, 11pm
If you like your club nights to have a little bit of everything, Volens Chorus are doing a residents-only lineup at Sneaky's next week, with no-holds-barred on genre: expect anything from dubstep, happy hardcore, Gqom and footwork.

→ Collage
The Caves, Edinburgh. 3 May, 7pm
Just what it says on the tin: a collage of up-and-coming music talent, with performances by guitarist Mille Donnachie and indie pop and folk rock musicians Katherine Marsh and Callen Love.