Carla J. Easton is an award-nominated singer-songwriter, releasing three critically-acclaimed albums, writing for TeenCanteen, Belle & Sebastian, BMX Bandit, Hen Hoose and National Theatre Scotland. Championed by BBC6 Music, she has performed at festivals across the UK and internationally (SXSW, Pop Montreal, The Great Escape, Celtic Connections, Indiefjord and Pop Cologne) touring the UK with
The world renowned Edinburgh Ceilidh Club brings you the very best in Scottish ceilidh dancing, featuring Scotland’s top ceilidh bands. Brilliant live music and dancing for everyone, from complete beginners to experienced ceilidh dancers.
The Glasgow African Balafon Orchestra (GABO) is a cocktail of musicians of all different backgrounds, bringing together the distinct flavours of the world through the joy of orchestral music. It is a unique blend and fusion of musicians, folklorists and storytellers representing the best musical flavours and stories of our shared humanity.
Electronic music producer Halina Rice brings her unique liveset to Summerhall in a show described as “part rave, part art-happening”. Blending emotive electronic music with impactful mixed reality visuals and bespoke lightshow the performance unites art, music and tech to deliver a mesmerising experience.
Randolph’s Leap are a Scottish indie-pop band known for their catchy melodies, memorable lyrics and uplifting live gigs. The live experience includes brass, strings, fuzzy keyboards, bad jokes and good dancing. Over the past decade, the band have released four studio albums and countless DIY albums which have earned them a cult following. They have performed
Focus Skate Shop and New Balance Numeric Present A Game of S.K.A.T.E., featuring the highest Ollie contest. For one night only Focus Skate Shop return to shred the Dissection Room in collaboration with New Balance Numeric. A £1,500 cash pot and product prizes are up for grabs for competitors, as well as music, open bar and food for spectators
In today’s fast-paced mid-apocalyptic world it can feel like a waste of time to speak about time at all. Why dwell on the past when we could just live in the present because the future won’t shut up about how bad it’s going to be? But with This is the Kit, the pseudonym of songwriter /
The world renowned Edinburgh Ceilidh Club brings you the very best in Scottish ceilidh dancing, featuring Scotland’s top ceilidh bands. Brilliant live music and dancing for everyone, from complete beginners to experienced ceilidh dancers.
Having rocked sold out shows across the UK last year, internationally respected Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré returns to showcase his virtuosic musicianship once more.
After the momentous release of Ali, a collaborative a.lbum with indie-darlings-turned-global-powerhouse Khruangbin, Vieux Farka Touré’s star power is spreading far and wide
Make sure you don’t miss a single thing from our incredible 2023 programme, by taking advantage of our festival pass – allowing you to access as many events as you want. With a very limited number of passes available, get yours early to avoid missing out. A pass offers free entry to all events in
An immersive audio guide leads its listener through a series of images; an unreliable narrator, its tone fluctuates between direct, abstractly poetic, and contemplative, provoking questions about the tension between what our eyes perceive and the guide’s narration. Does the audio align with how we view the photographs? How many ways can an image be
In this panel discussion, we will take an honest look at the role mentorships and awards play in nurturing creative and professional growth and how they contribute to enriching the literary landscape and building community around poetry.
Our home is on fire and our houses unmade. When climate change is also (as Margaret Atwood puts it) ‘everything change’, how might poetry reckon with the far-reaching implications and existential contradictions of environmental crisis?
Discover what’s what and who’s who in the live poetry scenes of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle in this informative panel that will inspire you to get off the sofa and onto the mic. Chaired by Catherine Wilson Garry of Rock the Boat, this panel will feature Degna Stone, Leyla Josephine and Jo Gilbert.
Accent Society is a nomadic literary organization that facilitates synergies across languages, borders, and media. It is a home where accents become the strongest notes. Here, we are pleased to introduce a diverse ensemble of Chinese poets: Wang Yin, Wang Jiaxin, Ming Di, Qin Sanshu, Su Xian, Chris Song Zijiang , Shangyang Fang, Jiaoyang Li,
In this workshop with Stuart King and Lynda Clark, we will explore the convergence of poetry and technology. Using computer-based AI-driven tools we will delve together into the world of co-creation with AI, from remixing and weirding texts to creating from scratch.
Embrace the cat life in this extra special event at Maison de Moggy Cat Cafe with The Cat Prince himself, prize-winning poet Michael Pedersen. The Cat Prince & Other Poems (Little Brown) is the third collection from acclaimed poet and author of Boy Friends, Michael Pedersen. Rich unfolding imagery tumbles off the page in this
Join this whistle stop tour of the adventures of Henrietta Liston, wife of the second British ambassador to the newly-formed USA. Discover her recipe for ink and Martha Washington’s dinner menu through the words of Open Book participants from across Scotland. A poetry reading like no other, in association with NLS.
Embrace the cat life in this extra special event at Maison de Moggy Cat Cafe with The Cat Prince himself, prize-winning poet Michael Pedersen. The Cat Prince & Other Poems (Little Brown) is the third collection from acclaimed poet and author of Boy Friends, Michael Pedersen. Rich unfolding imagery tumbles off the page in this
A special live recording of the Lantern Scottish Poetry podcast, with Scottish Makar Kathleen Jamie and Alistair Heather talking tradition, mentoring and passing the baton, with their guest, the poet and mentor, Niall Campbell.
Join us for our first Cocktail Hour of the festival and where poetry and cocktails will combine to form the greatest mix of all! Mixologists from Ruma are ready to lead you through a host of cracking cocktails, introducing you to each drink with a story and the history of each tipple. The incredible poet, author and comedian Kate Fox, will add to this heady mix of rum and rhyme with a poem to accompany each drink. Ticket price covers the cocktails (and poetry) at this workshop.
A sublimely dark, gothic, evening’s entertainment as Michel Faber, Ever Dundas and Harry Josephine Giles perform specially-commissioned poems inspired by the bicentenary of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at Summerhall, each set to original music composed and performed by David Paul Jones.
Hear work from two new debut collections from Scotland-based poets K Patrick and Marjorie Lotfi. K Patrick’s poetry has appeared in Poetry Review, Granta and Five Dials, and was shortlisted for The White Review Poet’s Prize in 2021. Their debut novel, Mrs S was selected as an Observer Best Debut of the Year, and K
Poetry reminds us what it is to be human, and more importantly, humane. It creates a haven for those who care. In a mutually supportive atmosphere, poet John Glenday will share existing poems and discuss how to approach writing your own. Using tools and tips, you will write a poem that reflects your experience of caring in a world that often overlooks kindness as a force for change.
