Reviews & features: Music, Brian Donaldson

2012 Edinburgh Festival of Politics highlights

Talks on George Wyllie, the music industry, Canongate and Scotland's wood cabins

Singin’ I’m No a Billy, He’s a Tim. The difficulties of overcoming ignorance associated with the issue of sectarianism in Scotland were perfectly highlighted last season when one football radio pundit accused Des Dillon’s play of actually promoting…

Life is a cabaret: 7 cabaret shows at Fringe 2012

Featuring Auntie Myra, Bourgeois & Maurice, Damsel Sophie, Ria Lina and more

Auntie Myra’s Fun Show As the legendary Jeremy Lion showed, reluctant children’s entertainers make for bleak but blisteringly funny comedy. We suggest that Rotherham’s Myra Dubois may be in the same vein. The Voodoo Rooms, 226 0000, 3–26 Aug (not 6…

Edinburgh International Festival 2012 highlights

Highlights from the 2012 International Festival programme

Batsheva Dance Company. They last stirred the festival in 2008 with the blazing Deca Dance, which featured the relatively rare sight of some members of an EIF audience on stage with the performers. Under the guidance of innovative choreographer Ohad…

Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival 2012 highlights

Kyle Eastwood, Dr John, Jeremy Pelt, Joakim Milder and Floex

Kyle Eastwood. The rugged demeanour, surname and love of jazz surely give the game away as to this guy’s heritage. But if anyone is wrong-headed enough to think Kyle has simply been given a leg-up by his legendary dad, they might want to reflect on an…

Fringe 2011 comedy: 5 musical comedians

Isy Suttie, Steve Pretty, ATF?, Pistol & Jack and Gareth Richards

Isy Suttie. Dobby (from Peep Show not Harry Potter, silly) brings us Pearl and Dave, another heartwarming multi-character tale. With his Perfect Mixtape, Pretty recalls the tunes played at his own wake in 2005 (there’s a story there) and wonders what…

Helen Arney

Sweet songs with a tender heart

For Helen Arney, love is a many tentacled thing. Two centuries ago, there was ‘less choice, more farming accidents’ while now we’re never too sure whether the grass will turn out to be greener on the other side. For her own part, she seems to have a…

The Gospel at Colonus promises rousing theatre experience

EIF soul and gospel take on Sophocles' tragedy sure to impress

If there’s a more roof-raising theatre experience at the entire festival, never mind just at the International end of things, we can’t wait to hear about it. Lee Breuer and Bob Telson’s The Gospel at Colonus merges rock’n’roll, soul and gospel to fire…

Avi Buffalo will now support The Low Anthem at Edge Festival

Edinburgh gig by swoony youths rescheduled

Avi Buffalo, or Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg to his mum, formed a band with three friends from his high school in Long Beach, California. That was three years ago, and their sun-bleached, jangly, trippy folk-rock has been slowly creeping into British hearts.

An overview of the 2010 Edinburgh Festivals and their directors

What to expect from Edinburgh in August

Nowhere does a festival quite like Edinburgh, and even with the film folk having long moved out of August, there is more than plenty going on for lovers of art, literature, comedy, theatre, kids entertainment, music, dance and military displays. The…

Edinburgh festivals line-ups announced

Whatever your cultural poison, Edinburgh’s festival circuit has it covered

Belly of a Drunken Piano

When Stewart D’Arrietta takes to the stage beneath the cloak of darkness, he emits a tone-perfect Waitsian growl. There’s no doubting that this Australian troubadour knows and loves the songs and gets a kick out of being grumpy at a mobile going off and…