THE GUIDE TO
SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
FOREWORD
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PHOTO: DANDELION / ALAN MCATEER
After the rearrangements and restrictions placed upon festivals and events over 2020 and 2021, with so many accompanying disappointments and frustrations, a look at what’s being lined up for 2022 brings the promise that once again we can experience, enjoy and share a huge array of events right through the year all across Scotland. 2022 has been named as Scotland’s Year of Stories, encouraging us all to celebrate the wealth of stories inspired by, written or created in Scotland. Not only will the theme be a prominent part of events, from storytelling and book festivals to community and cultural gatherings, but in many ways every event included in this guide tells a story, from the flicker of first ideas to all the hard work involved by so many people to make them happen, from challenges overcome to the journeys undertaken to be part of them. Events and festivals are, of course, filled with the potential to create memories that will be cherished, told and retold for years to come. Scotland has been described as ‘The Perfect Stage’ for events, thanks both to its reputation for hosting worldclass festivals and events, and for its ability to deliver unrivalled variety and atmosphere. As well as major sporting and cultural happenings in 2022, many old favourites are making a return to the festival calendar alongside established regulars and energetic newcomers. Some of the most intriguing special events developed for the year are part of the UNBOXED programme, a celebration of creativity and innovation right across the UK. Six very different commissions will be delivered at multiple locations across Scotland (in addition, of course, to digital audiences in Scotland and well beyond), offering major events, public engagement activities, participation opportunities and learning
programmes. Read more about UNBOXED on pages 12 and 13, and find out more about Dandelion, Scotland’s special contribution to the programme, with its unique approach to community growing, music-making and harvest gatherings on pages 18 and 19. In publishing this guide, as well as constantly updating information about what’s on all over Scotland at list.co.uk, The List thanks and acknowledges the support of EventScotland, VisitScotland and Creative Scotland in recognising the important role festivals play in the country’s cultural life.
LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
PHOTO: VISITSCOTLAND / KENNY LAM
KNOCKENGORROCH FESTIVAL This festival near Castle Douglas is a melting pot of world, folk, fusion and dub reggae music with electronica, hip hop and drum & bass thrown in too. See page 40, knockengorroch.org.uk
DUNDEE SUMMER (BASH) STREETS FESTIVAL Dundee becomes Beanotown, with a pop-up comic museum, workshops, talks, film screenings and other street fun. See page 54, dundee.com
SUMMER NIGHTS AT THE BANDSTAND Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Bandstand hosts this series of open air gigs with a 2022 roster featuring Suzanne Vega, Rufus Wainwright, Pixies (pictured) and many more. See page 55, regularmusic.com
RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
PHOTO: VISITSCOTLAND / KENNY LAM
FYNEFEST Beer is the star at FyneFest, with a wide variety of brews from the UK and beyond, plus live music and entertainment and a kid-friendly vibe. See page 43, fynefest.com
The Electric Frog crew and Pressure present this outdoor electronic music festival in Glasgow, featuring Charlotte de Witt, Carl Cox, Róisín Murphy and more. See page 42, riversidefestivalglasgow.com
The world’s largest public celebration of the written word returns for another year of literary highlights. See page 53, edbookfest.co.uk 5
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
Project Editor: Donald Reid
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Copy Editor and Producer: Paul McLean Design and Layout: Seonaid Rafferty Listings by The List Ltd: Murray Robertson, Megan Merino, Melissa Paul, Arusa Qureshi Contributors: Deborah Chu, Claire Daly, Brian Donaldson, Jo Laidlaw, Lynsey May, Megan Merino, Lucy Ribchester, Ailsa Sheldon, Jay Thundercliffe
DATE NAME OF FESTIVAL PART OF YEAR OF STORIES 2022
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CATEGORY
Since 2005, Scotland’s fastestgrowing film festival has become a force to be reckoned with in the movie world. The 2022 festival will take place at various venues across the city, online and – for the first time ever – in cinemas across the UK.
COVER IMAGE: Edinburgh International Festival, see page 57. Published by List Publishing Ltd
FESTIVAL DESCRIPTION
2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh www.list.co.uk email festivals@list.co.uk ISSN: 2054-8036 © 2022 List Publishing Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of List Publishing Ltd. This edition published March 2022 Printed by Acorn Web Offset Ltd.
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DISCLAIMER : The List magazine has made every effort to ensure information published in this guide is correct. Line-ups, times and dates can change at short notice, however, so please check with the festival before attending. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors the guide may contain. For up-to-date listings information go to list.co.uk. Festival organisers can get in touch at festivals@list.co.uk.
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2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
FESTIVAL CHECKLIST 1
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KODAK M35 FILM CAMERA Capture all your festival memories in physical form with this film camera that can be used again and again. Price: £25 Stockist: urbanoutfitters.com
CHEEKY PANDA WIPES Wipes are a staple at festivals. Find biodegradable face, hand and antibacterial variations at Cheeky Panda to stay fresh while being kind to the planet. Price: £2–£5 Stockist: cheekypanda.com
PINEWOOD PONCHO RAINFALL Scottish festivals can be notoriously damp, so this full-length foldable poncho will keep out the rain without weighing you down. Price: £40 Stockist: nordicoutdoor.co.uk
ALPINE HEARING PROTECTION Protect those lugs while enjoying noisy headliners with silicone earplugs that can also be used for sleep purposes in raucous campsites. Price: £25 Stockist: alpinehearingprotection.co.uk
LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
Ensure you’re well prepared for your festival away-days and overnights with this selection of discreet but practical items. Megan Merino runs through the packing list
AESOP RESURRECTION RINSE-FREE HAND MIST A compact mist to keep hands disinfected, hydrated and smelling delicious. Price: £10 Stockist: aesop.com
NOLII MODULAR PHONE CHARGER & BATTERY SYSTEM This slick portable charger is a great investment to keep any essential electronics full of juice. Price: £55 Stockist: nolii.com
WILD DEODORANT TRAVEL KIT Stay fresh with this refillable, travel-size deodorant applicator. Scents include fresh cotton & sea salt and jasmine & mandarin blossom. Price: £25 Stockist: wearewild.com
BAMBOO EYE MASK This hypoallergenic and antibacterial eye mask is ideal for catching more of that sweet shut-eye while camping. Price: £18 Stockist: wearthlondon.com
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
Green Space Dark Skies
BOX OF TRICKS The ambitious UK-wide UNBOXED celebration brings a series of spectacular large-scale events to Scotland in 2022. Ailsa Sheldon delves into this package of goodies
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NBOXED: Creativity in the UK is a genre-bending explosion of light, colour and experimental events happening all over the UK in 2022 aiming to showcase the breadth and diversity of creativity in the UK and engage and inspire as many people as possible. Ten large-scale, multi-site projects bringing together arts, technology and science will happen throughout the year, beginning in March. Each project is a collaboration between multiple creatives and partners, backed by a £120 million investment from the UK Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government. One project has been selected from each UK nation, with a further six commissions selected from UK-wide teams. In addition to Dandelion, Scotland’s selection (see page 18), five further
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projects will have a Scottish presence in 2022: About Us, StoryTrails, Dreamachine, PoliNations and Green Space Dark Skies. All of them involve audience participation in some form, many use cutting-edge technology and all celebrate and invite creativity in its widest sense – from art and music to science and technology. All events are free and everyone is invited. About Us launches the whole UNBOXED programme. Taking place at Paisley Abbey and town centre in March, this large-scale outdoor event features live performances of music and poetry alongside multimedia installations. From the Big Bang to the present day, About Us explores the infinite connections linking the universe, the natural world and all of us, from stardust and complex ecosystems to our social relationships and responsibilities. Paisley will be LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
transformed into a large canvas for projections and animations, and musician Nitin Sawhney has composed a new score to be performed by local choirs. A creative collaboration involving 59 Productions, Stemettes and The Poetry Society, About Us will also take place in DerryLondonderry, Caernarfon, Luton, Hull and online. More immersive experiences await audiences at StoryTrails in Dundee and Dumfries, as well as 13 other locations across the UK. This project promises to be ‘a deep dive into our collective history’, unearthing and bringing to life stories in each host town and city. StoryTrails will use streets as well as libraries and cinemas to tell a unique range of stories through augmented reality and virtual reality technology. The trails will give participants the opportunity to ‘see’ the host towns and cities in the past and hear stories of people who lived there. Using archival footage from the British Film Institute and the BBC, you’ll be able to experience moments from history in the locations where they actually happened. StoryTrails is supported by prominent historian David Olusoga, who will also create a film about the project. The stories that we tell are important: they help inform our understanding of who we are and where we are going. StoryTrails aims to spark conversations ROBERTSHAW, PHOTO: THISS, CARL BRONIA HOUSMAN
PoliNations PHOTO: BFI, NEXUS AND UPLANDS
StoryTrails
about our collective past, and our shared future. Dreamachine is a touring production exploring the creativity of the human mind, and may require a leap of faith for the curious participant. Audiences across the four capital cities of the UK will experience a sound and light show with their eyes closed, the idea being that each individual will see rich and colourful imagery that is only in their mind. The project takes inspiration from an obscure 1959 invention by artist Brion Gysin called the Dream Machine, a flickering light device designed to stimulate kaleidoscopic patterns for the viewer. Participants will be invited to share their experiences for a study led by Professor Anil Seth from the Centre for Consciousness Science with the aim of discovering connections in how we perceive and create the world. Dreamachine is created in collaboration by creative producer Jennifer Crook’s Collective Act, working with Turner Prize-winning artists Assemble and Mercury-nominated composer Jon Hopkins. In August, PoliNations will visit Edinburgh’s George Street as part of Assembly Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to Birmingham. A free performance programme hosting a roster of Fringe artists will take place over nine days under the canopy of a 40-foot architectural tree in a celebration of diversity and the multicultural origins of people and plants in the UK. Finally, Green Space Dark Skies takes us out of the cities and into the UK’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty including the Cairngorms National Park, and other sites across Scotland. Some 20,000 ‘lumenators’ are sought across the UK to participate in the events that will see them carrying low-impact, hand-held smart lights specially developed by Siemens for the project to illuminate landscapes in digitally choreographed chains of light. Led by outdoor art pioneers Walk the Plank each light show will be filmed and made available online for wider viewing shortly after the event. So let UNBOXED be your invitation to get involved, connect with others, unleash your creativity and explore some new ideas and places in 2022. n unboxed2022.uk 13
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
YARN W E I
n a country of selkies, kelpies, bogles and trows, where some of the world’s bestselling authors reside, it’s fair to say we Scots have tales aplenty in our DNA. And after two years of pandemic living, stories have taken on an even greater significance, allowing us to share our personal experiences and feel connected. With a year-long programme of over 60 events taking in cinema, music, sculpture trails, nature walks and even stargazing, the Year of Stories 2022 sets out to prove that stories are for – and by – everyone, and can be found in unexpected places. There’s a long association between storytelling and Scottish islands, and from April to December, An Lanntair in Stornoway will present Seanchas – Gaelic for conversation, lore and storytelling – a series of events based around Hebridean tales. Then in August, An Tinne (The Link), on Skye, examines the links between Scotland and Australia, using as its touchstone the evictions of the 19th-century Highland Clearances. Scotland’s Nordic ties to the islands and northern coastline will be celebrated at the Northern Stories Festival based at Lyth Arts Centre in Caithness in the autumn, where travel and nature writers will explore legends and folklore, from The Orkneyinga Saga to
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Neil Gunn. Other regional events revelling in stories with local community links include Once Upon a Time in South Ayrshire, spanning right through the year, the Findhorn Bay Festival in late September, and A Yarn Worth Spinning, led by The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels, which will tell the story of the history and culture of textiles in the Scottish Borders from April to June. Also making connections to landscape, Of Scotland’s Soils and Soul is a series of events spanning the country’s four Botanic Gardens, in the Borders, Argyll, Dumfries and Galloway and Edinburgh. In these lush settings, music, song and performance will dig deep into the role of plant life in some of Scotland’s most famous stories, from Harry Potter to Sunset Song. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and some of our most famous stories of the past century have found their way to the silver screen. This year the Edinburgh International Film Festival celebrates its 75th year and will showcase Scotland’s Stories on Screen in a series of special events and screenings. Meanwhile, Transgressive North are putting on a series of ‘film ceilidhs’ in collaboration with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in October under the title Map of Stories: Voicing LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
PHOTO: AUDREY RUSSELL
From Celtic myths to Tartan Noir, Scotland has always been a nation of storytellers. Lucy Ribchester delves into a year-long celebration that’s set to showcase our tales tall, true and tantalising
W EAVERS Scotland’s Landscapes. From May to December, the Scottish Storytelling Centre has a programme entitled Figures of Speech which challenges prominent and emerging artists and creatives to respond to iconic stories through film, poetry, music and more. Pictures in comic form are the attraction at the spirited Dundee Summer (Bash) Streets Festival in July, where heroes from The Beano take centre stage, while younger audiences might also be drawn to the story of Yoyo and the Little Auk, a brand-new short animated film exploring Scotland’s diversity which will be shown at festivals across Scotland, with live accompaniment from Scotland’s national orchestra, the RSNO. There’s also a musical connection in Songs from the Last Page, led by Chamber Music Scotland, where songs are created from the last lines of great works of literature. The year-long project will use songwriting workshops and live performances to celebrate some of the country’s best-loved storytellers. Using yet another form to express creativity, the Raise the Roof project seeks to reclaim forgotten stories of the women of the region as part of Perth and Kinross’ Year of Stories. Community groups and cultural organisations will create
stories inspired by artefacts, culminating in the Wire Women sculpture trail around the centre of Perth in the summer. If you prefer your tales written down, there are plenty of literary festivals to get stuck into, including StAnza, Scotland’s International Poetry Festival, in March (see page 33), and the Borders Book Festival in June, set in the gardens of Melrose’s Harmony House. Later in the year, Edinburgh International Book Festival is pulling together stories from communities all over the country for a mass storytelling event, Scotland’s Stories Now. Between April and November, the Scottish Book Trust will be on the hunt for the nation’s ‘true’ tales with their Community Campfires programme of storytelling residences and events, culminating in an event during Book Week Scotland in the autumn. Wigtown Book Festival, meanwhile, will feature events such as Into the Nicht, finding tales in dark, starry skies (for more, see page 64), while Tales from the Castle in the autumn brings a brand-new storytelling trail to Stirling Castle, travelling back through time via ancient arches and grand courtyards. n visitscotland.com/year-of-stories. For more events taking place as part of the Year of Stories, see pages 20 and 28. 15
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
PHOTO: ALAN MCATEER
SEEDS OF HOPE As Scotland’s major contribution to the UNBOXED programme of creativity and innovation across the UK in 2022, Ailsa Sheldon explores Dandelion, a project aiming to flower as a celebration of culture, arts, community and food
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dandelion is a symbol of resilience. A hardy wildflower which can flourish and grow anywhere: in depleted soil, in cracked pavements, in gardens that nobody thought to plant. In 2022, we can expect to find Dandelion in bloom all over Scotland as an expansive arts and growing project that spans cultures and generations, hoping to bring the joy of growing, community and music to as many people as possible. Among other aims, Dandelion will reimagine the cultural traditions of Harvest and include the largest citizen science experiment in Scottish history. Following one growing season from April to September, Dandelion will bring together musicians, scientists, technologists, artists, performers, school children and growers of all levels of experience and none. From remote islands and rural villages to city centres, Dandelion aims to be ‘a gift for Scotland’. The project plans to engage thousands of people in traditional and cutting-edge food-growing techniques, and inspire new music and art, culminating in hundreds of
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community harvest events across Scotland, as well as two large free festivals of food and music in Glasgow and Inverness. At the core of Dandelion is community; people coming together to grow and share food, ideas, music and new experiences. There’s a lot to learn: how will we feed ourselves in the future, will vertical gardening be the answer, can anywhere be a growing space, and who is going to do the growing? Part celebration, part experiment, Dandelion is a six-month long conversation about food in Scotland and everyone’s invited to get their hands dirty. Dandelion is in part inspired by the different approaches to community that blossomed during the pandemic, as well as a desire to forge deeper connections. For some, lockdowns were a chance to get more involved in local communities, focus on our immediate environs and perhaps meet our neighbours. For others, it was a time of deep isolation. During lockdown, Angus Farquhar, creative director of Dandelion, and former director of Public Art Collective NVA, LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
growers. ‘Growing food fairly and sustainably is so important, and the challenges are huge,’ says Professor Burnett. ‘This is a chance to really connect people to how their food is grown and let them experience it in meaningful ways, and to come back to the joyful aspects of growing and celebrating a harvest and linking it to our heritage. I think that’s amazing.’ Benita Rajania, product director at Liberty Produce who are creating the ‘vertical farm’ growing cubes, believes Dandelion will be a vital chance to find out what growing is possible in different locations and with diverse groups of people. ‘These problems aren’t going to solve themselves,’ says Rajania. ‘You need children to be engaged, you need communities to be engaged in this process, and care and understand where their food comes from.’ She hopes the project will encourage young people to explore careers in plant sciences and agriculture. On every level, Dandelion aims to engage, encourage and inspire, with the most visually striking element of the project likely to be the Pavilions of Perpetual Light – a 10 metre-high vertical farm, part art installation, part concert platform. In Glasgow for midsummer and Inverness in September for harvest, this will be the stage for a day-long music festival, featuring new music commissions, international and Scottish artists programmed by Donald Shaw of Celtic Connections, seeds and plants for audiences to take home and plenty of food to share. n dandelion.scot
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TTIE CHEU PHOTO: WA
launched a hyper-local project in Glasgow called An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand. Brightly coloured hessian sacks were distributed across Kelvinhaugh and Kelvindale, along with seed potatoes, soil and growing advice and support. This humble, easy-to-grow staple was soon flourishing on front steps, sparking conversations and new friendships. It inspired a community festival at SWG3, where the growers came together to celebrate with a harvest feast and great music. The seed for Dandelion had been planted. Could this joyful growing experience be replicated across the country? Dandelion will see ‘Unexpected Gardens’ pop up across Scotland, taking over unused spaces in partnership with community organisations. Each garden will exhibit touring vertical growing cubes, or Cubes of Perpetual Light, to grow herbs and vegetables. The cubes have integrated speaker systems which will showcase new music from Scottish and international composers and perhaps discover if plants, like us, respond positively to music. There will be Unexpected Gardens in Caithness, Ross, Moray, Uist, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Inverclyde, Argyll & Bute and Fife, as well as a ‘floating garden’ based in Falkirk that will tour the canal network. Each garden will have an emerging creative producer and a musician in residence, helping to plan special events, installations, family activities, music commissions and site-specific community harvest events. The citizen science continues with an ambitious schools project, giving 500 schools access to growing cubes, to get young people growing, experimenting and tasting what they grow. Schools will also get stuck into the Big Tattie Experiment, growing tatties anywhere and everywhere and reporting on their results. Professor Fiona Burnett of Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) is leading the growing and science aspects of the Dandelion project, along with colleagues and a ‘Tattie Team’ of SRUC agriculture students who will help advise community
es of lion’s ‘Cub lion ne of Dande de O an t: D gh s; ri rm Left to i-vertical fa local growers in m t’ gh Li by Perpetual bers joined team mem 19
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
LOCAL LEGENDS PHOTO: SONNET YOUTH
Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022 is encouraging organisations and community groups around the country to find ways to tell the stories that matter to them. Lucy Ribchester picks out some of the events to look out for Hannah Lavery
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igging up the past takes a literal form in Easterhouse from March to November, where Platform are encouraging local residents to create a living archive called Mining seams and drawing wells. This is just one example of over 70 events in the year supported by the Community Stories Fund – and the events are nothing if not diverse. For example, Mull and Iona explore their fishing heritage in new film Cliabh An T-Shenachais – The Story Creel, which premieres on the spectacular Fionnphort beach in July. And in Shetland, the year-long If the islands could speak examines Shetlandic resilience and superstition through history and folklore. In Cromarty, Hugh Miller’s Birthplace Museum will use the 19th-century geologist and folklorist as inspiration for Weaving with Words, a series of guided storytelling walks from April to October covering both Cromarty’s links to slavery and women’s lives during the Victorian era. Belonging and exclusion are also faced head on in Open Book’s Stories Across Scotland, which will use Hannah Lavery’s brilliant, blistering poem ‘Scotland You’re No Mine’ as a springboard to
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invite marginalised groups – including LGBTQ+ people, refugee women and older people – to write their own stories. Elsewhere on the east coast, The Phone Box in East Linton is being repurposed as a storytelling venue in August, while nearby in Dunbar, John Muir’s Surviving Childhood! pits participants against an open-air escape room trail while celebrating the famous Scottish conservationist. Also offering a breath of fresh air, Abriachan Forest, in the hills above Loch Ness, is hosting a storytelling event each month, either by the campfire or on a forest walk. As the nights draw in, autumn sees the ghoulishly named Gossip from the Graveyard II: Talking Heads challenge the public to create stories based on two medieval grave excavations; a priest with a cleft palate and a woman buried on a bed of shells. The winning entries will be made into short animated films and premiered at Wigtown Book Festival, ready to share and hand on to future generations. n visitscotland.com/year-of-stories. For more events taking place as part of the Year of Stories, see pages 14 and 28. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
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The Kelpies, Falkirk
Gather round and listen in… 2022 is Scotland’s Year of Stories so why not get involved and enjoy a diverse programme of events celebrating stories inspired by, written, or created in Scotland. Find out more at visitscotland.com/year-of-stories
Share your story using #YS2022 #TalesOfScotland
Ta i
ith
Made poss ible an | dh w ng
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
PHOTO: CHRIS SCOTT
Hidden Door
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL Festivals don’t have to attract tens of thousands of folk or fill every available cultural venue in town to make their mark. Megan Merino checks out some of the more intimate gatherings taking place across Scotland in 2022
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ig isn’t always better, a point proved by a host of events on Scotland’s packed festival calendar this year, where attention to detail and often beautiful scenery add to their boutique charm. For music lovers, the creatively curated Eden Festival kicks off in Raehills Meadows near Moffat in June, with comedy and cabaret in the mix alongside a kids’ arena, drivein cinema and healing field. July brings the return of Kelburn Garden Party, utilising every corner of Kelburn Castle and its estate for its stages, hang-out spaces and watering holes. Doune The Rabbit Hole adopts a similar vibe, with a roster of great bands plus free-for-all jam sessions and yoga and wellness areas, while Woodland Dance Project in September brings electronic music to the beautiful natural setting of Vogrie Country Park, near Gorebridge. In Edinburgh, Hidden Door celebrates new and emerging musical, theatrical and artistic talent in June. This year, the imposing Old Royal High School building on the slopes of Calton Hill, which has lain mainly disused for decades, will be brought back to life for ten days by the cutting-edge festival. More niche interests are catered for at the likes of HippFest, a celebration of silent film held in Bo’ness in March, or the Isle of Arran Mountain Festival in May. For the academically
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minded, June welcomes Solas Festival, Scotland’s midsummer festival in Perth’s Errol Park, which explores social, political, theological and cultural topics through dance, poetry, music and discussion. For food and drink enthusiasts, a dram on the beach at the Islay Festival in late May could be just the ticket, or if beer is your chosen tipple, quench your thirst at Glen Fyne’s FyneFest which returns in June. Elsewhere, the Scottish Wild Food Festival and Stranraer Oyster Festival should get stomachs rumbling in September. The first involves foraging walks, wild cocktail making, cooking demos and workshops in the grounds of Tir na nOg Holistic Centre, near Drymen. Or venture further west to the community-run celebration of Stranraer’s local delicacy and watch the action at the Scottish Oyster Shucking Championships. Family-friendly festivals are becoming more and more common (see Solas Festival, Eden Festival and Kelburn Garden Party) but for those who want a weekend purely dedicated to their little ones, Wildhood Festival in early June is a good bet. This Perthshire festival has a programme packed with immersive outdoor entertainment, so expect arts and crafts, woodland trails and storytelling adventures in the heart of the Scottish countryside. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS CULTURE | HIGHLIGHT EVENTS 2022 2022
Port Ellen Opening Event, Fèis Ìle
SCOTLAND, THE PERFECT STAGE
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cotland hosts a wide range of events from world-class sporting spectacles and world-leading festivals to authentic Scottish events that celebrate our heritage and to those that celebrate their uniqueness. Our picturesque backdrops and iconic venues provide the perfect stage for small and large events and create an unrivalled atmosphere ready for you to enjoy. To explore more of what’s on offer in Scotland go to: visitscotland.com/ see-do/events and follow @EventScotNews Spirit of Speyside 27 Apr–2 May Speyside Regarded as Scotland’s whisky country, Speyside
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provides the perfect setting for visitors from across the globe to go behind the scenes at distilleries, excite their palates at tutored tastings and enjoy ceilidhs, music and more. spiritofspeyside.com Fèis Ìle (The Islay Festival) 27 May–4 Jun Islay As they say on Islay, ‘Come for the whisky, return for the island’. Fèis Ìle is truly a celebration of Islay’s spirit and unique culture where visitors can enjoy ceilidhs, tours and jaw-dropping sunsets, all washed down with a dram. feisile.co.uk St Magnus International Festival 17–24 Jun Orkney
This festival has been at the heart of Orkney’s cultural life since 1977. With music, theatre, dance, literature and more, the programme delivers for lovers of the arts during Orkney’s magical midsummer. stmagnusfestival.com Piping Highlights in Glasgow Piping Live! brings the world of bagpipes to venues across the city from 6–14 August while the best pipe bands from across the globe will also be heading for Glasgow to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships (12 & 13 August). This week is always a highlight in the piping calendar for performers and fans the world over. pipinglive.co.uk theworlds.co.uk
Highland Games One of Scotland’s most unique offerings is, of course, our traditional Highland games. There are plenty to choose from in 2022 not least the Stirling Highland Games (20 August), Cowal Highland Gathering (25–27 August) and Braemar Gathering (3 September). stirlinghighlandgames.com cowalgathering.com braemargathering.org Royal National Mòd 14–22 Oct Perth Perthshire is set to welcome Scotland’s annual celebration of Gaelic culture in 2022 with Perth hosting the Mòd’s week-long programme of music, drama, Highland dance, literature and sport. ancomunn.co.uk LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS SPORT | HIGHLIGHT EVENTS 2022
PHOTO: NO LIMITIS PHOTOGRAPHY
St Magnus International Festival
EventScotland, part of VisitScotland, is proud to support a diverse range of cultural and sport events that take place right across our beautiful country
Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup 21–24 Apr Glasgow The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome hosts its first elite-level international track cycling event since 2019 and cycling fans’ first major fix of the year in the run up to the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships. ticketmaster.co.uk/tissotuci-track-nations-cup UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 21 & 22 May Fort William Some of the best and most daring downhill riders in the world will be ‘back in the Fort’ for 2022 so get ready for an action-packed two days, all played out against the stunning Highland backdrop of Aonach Mòr. fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk
Salomon Skyline Scotland® 17 & 18 Sep Kinlochleven The UK’s biggest weekend of trail running and skyrunning featuring a Golden Trail National Series race (the Salomon Ring of Steall Skyrace™), three of the toughest trail races in the UK, the world’s best mountain athletes, and the truly iconic Salomon Glen Coe Skyline®. skylinescotland.com Baxters Loch Ness Marathon 2 Oct Loch Ness Looking for a challenge this year? Whether for a charity, personal achievement or simply to be part of one the most spectacular marathons in the world, you can’t beat this scenic route along the banks of Loch Ness. lochnessmarathon.com
Ring of Steall, Salomon Skyline Scotland ®
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022 GOLF | HIGHLIGHT EVENTS 2022
PHOTO: VISITSCOTLAND / KENNY LAM
The Old Course, St Andrews
SCOTLAND, THE HOME OF GOLF Genesis Scottish Open 7–10 Jul Renaissance Club, East Lothian Don’t miss your chance to be part of this historic event as it is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and PGA Tour for the first time, with the world’s best set to take on the Renaissance Club near North Berwick. europeantour.com The Open Championship 10–17 Jul Old Course, St Andrews The likes of Willie Park Snr and Old Tom Morris could never have imagined what 26
The Open would become when they played in the 1st Championship at Prestwick in 1860, with a field of just eight players. Now, 162 years and 149 Opens later, Scotland will host The 150th Open on the world’s most famous links course. theopen.com Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex 21–24 Jul Gleneagles, Perthshire Gleneagles will host the Senior Open presented by Rolex for the first time when the iconic
Scottish venue welcomes Europe’s only Senior Major Championship in 2022. Gleneagles is no stranger to major golf events, having hosted The 2014 Ryder Cup and The 2019 Solheim Cup. europeantour.com Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open 28–31 Jul Dundonald Links, North Ayrshire The Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open brings the LET and LPGA back to the West of Scotland where the tournament was previously held in
2015, 2016 and 2017 with Rebecca Artis, Isabelle Boineau and Lee Mi-hyang the respective winners. womensscottish.com AIG Women’s British Open 4–7 Jul Muirfield, East Lothian The AIG Women’s Open will be played at Muirfield for the very first time. A historic golf course that has played an integral role in Championship golf, Muirfield will present a wonderful test for the game’s greatest golfers. womensscottish.com LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
TRAVEL TALES PHOTO: ALISTAIR JACKSON
Travel so often features at the heart of storytelling, says Lucy Ribchester, so it’s no wonder Year of Stories 2022 is rich in migratory tales
Anne Martin at Graulin, An Tinne
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t’s often said stories can transport us, that they take us far outside ourselves, whether it’s catapulting us back into a mythical past, giving us a glimpse into a sci-fi future or sharing a travel narrative from the other side of the globe. So it’s little wonder that travel and migration are woven so tightly as themes throughout 2022 and its Year of Stories theme. Scotland has a rich heritage of Traveller communities, strongly and deeply entwined with storytelling traditions. Many of their stories are guarded in Sabhal MÒr Ostaig’s online Kist o Riches (Tobar an Dualchais), a digital archive of over 7000 oral recordings. Three professional storytellers have been invited to hand-pick their favourite tales in Scots and Doric from the Kist for a live (and streamed) audience in May. In late August, the first ever Tales of a Travelling Scotland in Glasgow will bring together Scottish Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities to explore shared heritage and the art and tradition of preserving oral history. Also in Glasgow, the Concrete Garden in Possilpark is the focus for a series of events for
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all ages about local heritage and multicultural communities called Stories of our People, Place and Planet. Journeys away from Scotland following the Highland Clearances are told in An Tinne (The Link) in Skye in August. Echoing such tales of historical forced migration, Scotland is itself home to a thriving refugee community who have left their homes in Syria, Sudan, and Afghanistan. March will see Home from Home, where refugees and asylum seekers studying Survival English at Glasgow’s St Aloysius ESOL school come together with students from neighbouring St Aloysius College, to share music, poems and stories. Meanwhile, in June, the Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock will play host to a Story Ceilidh as part of Refugee Week, where old tales of Inverclyde will be interwoven with tales from the New Scots who have recently settled there. The shifting landscape of Scotland’s treasure trove of stories is never-ending. n visitscotland.com/year-of-stories. For more events taking place as part of the Year of Stories, see pages 14 and 20. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
Scotland’s Premier Art & Craft Open Studios Event Celebrate our 20th Event: 2nd - 5th June 2022 across Dumfries and Galloway www.spring-fling.co.uk springflingopenstudios @spring_fling #SF2022 springfling
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
PHOTO: MEGAN GISBORNE
MARCH 25 FEBRUARY–6 MARCH
INVERNESS MUSIC FESTIVAL MUSIC Various venues, Inverness, invernessmusicfestival.org
Run by Inverness Festival Association, this competitive event allows people of all ages and abilities to display their skills. The main discipline groups are vocal, instrumental, speech, Gaelic and Scottish.
Lou Sanders, Glasgow Comedy Festival
1–6 MARCH
ABOUT US FAMILY / MULTI-ARTS / SCIENCE Paisley Abbey, Paisley, aboutus.earth
Part of the UNBOXED programme, an open-air event with live shows and multimedia installations exploring connections to the cosmos. See feature, page 12. 1 MARCH–3 APRIL
DANCE INTERNATIONAL GLASGOW
movie world. The 2022 festival will take place at various venues across the city, online and – for the first time ever – in cinemas across the UK. 4–7 MARCH / 18–25 SEPTEMBER
BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR
5 MARCH
WOMEN’S FESTIVAL POLITICS Alloa Town Hall, Alloa, clacks.gov.uk/leisure
Women’s Festival in celebration of International Women’s Day. Featuring talks, free stall space for women’s businesses and charities, plus food and drink.
FILM & TV Various venues, Scotland, banff-uk.com
5–20 MARCH
This biennial dance festival is produced and programmed by Tramway, with events happening all across Glasgow.
A selection of exhilarating sports and adventure films, featuring movies about climbers, skiers, mountain bikers, high-wire walkers and more, screening in Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh.
MULTI-ARTS / POLITICS Various venues, Angus & Dundee, dundeewomensfestival.org.uk
2–13 MARCH
5 MARCH
GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL
NAAFC ANNUAL ACCORDION & FIDDLE FESTIVAL
THEATRE & DANCE Various venues, Glasgow, tramway.org
FILM & TV Various venues, Glasgow, glasgowfilm.org/glasgow-filmfestival
Since 2005, Scotland’s fastestgrowing film festival has become a force to be reckoned with in the 30
DUNDEE WOMEN’S FESTIVAL
Two weeks of events, dramas, discussions and workshops in venues across the region and online, the theme for 2022 is ‘Today’s Women Shape Tomorrow’s World’. 7–13 MARCH
MUSIC / HERITAGE Online, boxandfiddle.com
STANZA: SCOTLAND’S POETRY FESTIVAL
All-day accordion and fiddle competitions, prizewinners concert and a closing dance, if your feet weren’t already a-tapping.
LITERATURE / FAMILY Various venues, St Andrews, stanzapoetry.org
See Panel, page 33. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
3 - 29 August 2022
assemblyfestival.com | @AssemblyFest
My Land (2019)
Back for our 40th anniversary spectacular
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few days of jazz and blues, with everything from jamming and workshops to late-night sessions.
7–12 MARCH
11–13 MARCH
GALLOWAY MUSIC FESTIVAL
C2C: COUNTRY TO COUNTRY
MUSIC The Cinema, Newton Stewart, gallowaymusicfestival.org.uk
MUSIC The OVO Hydro, Glasgow, c2c-countrytocountry.com
18–20 MARCH
Competitive music festival for amateur musicians of all ages, with categories including piano, brass, woodwind, recorder, strings, ensemble, vocal, choral, jazz, recital, composition, speech and Scottish traditional, with the public welcome to attend all competitions.
Country music extravaganza featuring some of Nashville’s biggest stars. The 2022 lineup includes Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Darius Rucker.
FAMILY / MULTI-ARTS Various venues, Lochwinnoch, lochwinnochartsfestival.co.uk
9–12 MARCH
ART Various venues, Dornoch, fibrefest.org.uk
BIG BANG SCIENCE Various venues, Wigtown, wigtownbookfestival.com
An offshoot of Wigtown Book Festival, celebrating the wonders of the skies above, with both in-person and online events. 10–20 MARCH
SONICA MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE / ART Various venues, Glasgow, sonic-a.co.uk
Cutting-edge performance by established international artists, crossing the boundaries of music, theatre, visual and electronic art. 10–27 MARCH
GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL COMEDY Various venues, Glasgow, glasgowcomedyfestival.com
Glasgow’s comedy festival birls back into your life. For 2022, you’re looking at a top lineup which includes Janey Godley, Jerry Sadowitz, Fern Brady, Lou Sanders, Stewart Lee and more. 32
LOCHWINNOCH ARTS FESTIVAL
12 & 13 MARCH
Lochwinnoch’s annual arts festival is a celebration of music, art, dancing and theatre.
DORNOCH GRAND FIBRE FEST
18–22 MARCH
A festival of fibre and woollen crafts with masterclasses in weaving and botanical printing. 14–23 MARCH
ON THE ROCKS STUDENT ARTS FESTIVAL COMEDY / FAMILY Various venues, St Andrews, ontherocksfestival.com
Student-run arts festival featuring shows, concerts and exhibitions for all the family. 16–20 MARCH
HIPPFEST
THE NIEL GOW FESTIVAL MUSIC Various venues, Dunkeld & Birnam, niel-gow.co.uk
Established in 2004 to celebrate the life of Perthshire fiddle legend Niel Gow, this festival is now a breeding ground for traditional music talent, running a selection of workshops and performances, with events taking place across the lovely villages of Dunkeld and Birnam. 23–27 MARCH
GLASGOW SHORT FILM FESTIVAL FILM & TV Various venues, Glasgow, glasgowshort.org
FILM & TV The Hippodrome, Bo’ness, hippodromecinema.co.uk
Scotland’s only silent film festival featuring old favourites, premieres and new commissions. 17–27 MARCH
ABERDEEN JAZZ FESTIVAL MUSIC Various venues, Aberdeen, aberdeenjazzfestival.com
Musicians and performers descend on the Granite City for a
Glasgow Short Film Festival
LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
PHOTO: STEVE PYKE
The largest competitive short film festival in Scotland, championing new film talent by providing an annual showcase and meeting point for new and established Scottish and international filmmakers, industry delegates and local audiences. The full 2022 programme is due to be announced on 23 February. 25–27 MARCH
HAWICK REIVERS FESTIVAL HERITAGE Various venues, Hawick, hawickreivers.com
A programme of music, drama and re-enactments allow you to experience what life was like in the mid-16th century. 26 MARCH–2 APRIL
BURNS&BEYOND COMEDY / MUSIC St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh, burnsandbeyond.com
Celebration of the life and legacy of Robert Burns through traditional and contemporary art and culture. The 2022 programme includes Michael Pendry’s Les Colombes, Arab Strap, Neu Reekie’s This-is-Not-a-BurnsNight Burns Night, The Big Burns Comedy Night, Treacherous Orchestra and Rip it Up! 31 MARCH–3 APRIL
COUNTERFLOWS FILM & TV / MUSIC / ART Various venues, Glasgow, counterflows.com
A festival of underground, experimental and international music, Counterflows marries the local to the international with artists from around the world collaborating with homegrown talent across Glasgow.
Colm Tóibín
STANZA: SCOTLAND’S INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL As part of Scotland’s Year of Stories, there are few events better placed to explore this country’s relationship with stories than StAnza. Since its inception, the St Andrews-based international poetry festival has explored, questioned and challenged the ways in which narratives shape our understanding of each other and the world around us. Their 25th edition promises its most far-reaching and incisive survey of this topic yet, with the theme ‘Stories like starting points’. The festival’s programme of talks, readings, panels and workshops explores stories’ diverse iterations in contemporary poetry, from hybrid forms such as the verse novel, to poetry as reportage. But stories will also be held up to scrutiny and radical revision: feminist challenges are lodged against historical accounts, whilst across the programme writers today respond to canonical works such as Gilgamesh and One Thousand and One Nights, as well as modernist heavyweights Pound, Eliot, Stevens and Stein. StAnza welcomes acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Tóibín to mark the release of his first collection, while celebrated poet Mona Arshi delivers this year’s annual StAnza’s lecture on the condition of uprootedness. Elsewhere in the programme, the stages of St Andrews will feature the likes of Daisy Lafarge, Daniel Sluman, Marjorie Lofti, Alycia Pirmohamed, Nadine Aisha Jassat and many, many more. The festival kicks off with performances by Scotland’s new Makar Kathleen Jamie, Peter Mackay, Hannah Lavery, Roseanne Watt, Don Paterson and many more. Rounding things off a week later will be Luke Kennard reading from his Forward Prize-winning collection Notes on the Sonnets and Maria Dahvana Headley’s radical translation of Beowulf, plus tunes from leading Scottish folk musician Kim Edgar. (Deborah Chu) n Various venues, St Andrews, 7–13 March, stanzapoetry.org 33
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APRIL
and drink at this celebrated food festival in Balloch.
Europe. For the first time, Terminal V will run over two days this Easter.
BANJO MANDOLIN GUITAR FEDERATION FESTIVAL
9–24 APRIL
21–24 APRIL
EDINBURGH SCIENCE FESTIVAL
MULL MUSIC FESTIVAL
MUSIC Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, bbmg.org.uk/festival
FAMILY / SCIENCE Various venues, Edinburgh, sciencefestival.co.uk
A new music festival featuring concerts, workshops, informal playing and contests.
Hands-on science for families in venues across the city with a programme ranging from the entertaining to the controversial and, of course, the icky.
1–3 APRIL
1–3 APRIL
MUSIC Various venues, Tobermory, Isle of Mull
BIG DOG FESTIVAL
The Mull Music Festival is a weekend of Scottish music featuring folk-rock bands, fiddle, accordion, dance and ceilidh bands. It usually takes place over the last full April weekend, in several hotel and bar venues in Tobermory.
LITERATURE / FAMILY Various venues, Dumfries, wigtownbookfestival.com
16 APRIL
MACMORAY EASTER FAMILY FESTIVAL
23 APRIL
This children’s book festival in Dumfries has a programme which also features film, music and theatre. Big DoG is devised and organised by Wigtown Festival Company.
FAMILY / MUSIC Cooper Park, Elgin, macmoray. com
FOOD & DRINK Macdonald Inchyra Hotel and Spa, Falkirk, macdonaldhotels. co.uk/our-hotels/macdonaldinchyra-hotel-spa
2 & 3 APRIL
16 & 17 APRIL
LOCH LOMOND FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL
TERMINAL V FESTIVAL
FOOD & DRINK / FAMILY Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch, lochlomondfoodanddrinkfestival. co.uk
Enjoy a weekend of fine food
FALKIRK GIN SOCIAL
Easter celebration with a variety of music and activities for the whole family.
THEATRE & DANCE / MUSIC Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, royalhighlandcentre. co.uk
Indoor electronic music festival, one of the largest of its kind in
Craft Beer Discovery, the team who host Falkirk’s festival of craft beer and Falkirk Whisky Festival, branch out into the gin game with the Falkirk Gin Festival. Sample gins and learn how to achieve that perfect serve. Ticket price includes samples of all gins, a programme and one gin and tonic token. 23 APRIL
PHOTO: JAMES HORAN
FIFE BRASS BAND FESTIVAL MUSIC Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, onfife.com
Bands from Scotland and beyond present their own brassy concert programme in a judged contest format. 23 APRIL
SCOTLAND CALLING Edinburgh Science Festival 34
MUSIC O2 Academy Glasgow, o2academyglasgow.co.uk
One-day punk festival featuring LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
FROM 22 JUL
TO 31 JUL
SERVING A FLAVOUR OF THE BEST MAKERS AND PRODUCERS FROM ACROSS SCOTLAND @EdFoodFest
FREE ENTRY | GEORGE SQ GARDENS | www.edfoodfest.com
The Skids, Cockney Rejects, The Rezillos, UK Subs and more.
28 APRIL–1 MAY
27 APRIL–2 MAY
MUSIC Various venues, Shetland, shetlandfolkfestival.com
SPIRIT OF SPEYSIDE WHISKY FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Various venues, Speyside, spiritofspeyside.com
See Panel, page 36. 28–30 APRIL
KINGDOM OF FIFE REAL ALE AND CIDER FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK Various venues, Glenrothes, onfife.com
A chance to sample more than 30 real ales from around the country, as well as wines, ciders and continental beers. Live music is on offer and all guests receive a commemorative beer glass and programme with detailed tasting notes.
SHETLAND FOLK FESTIVAL
high quality artistic projects and experimental short film from around the world, mixed with thematically related feature-length screenings and a sprinkling of cinematic magic.
This internationally renowned festival – the most northerly folk gathering in the UK – hosts eclectic lineups of folk, blues, jazz and swing with a programme of workshops, sessions and concerts. It’s famous for showcasing Shetland musicianship, especially the unique fiddle tradition.
29 APRIL–1 MAY
28 APRIL–2 MAY
29 APRIL–2 MAY
ALCHEMY FILM AND MOVING IMAGE FESTIVAL
LOCH SHIEL SPRING FESTIVAL
FILM & TV / ART Heart of Hawick, Hawick, alchemyfilmfestival.org.uk
Annual film festival with a focus on
BONFEST MUSIC Various venues, Kirriemuir, bonfest.com
Fans from all over the world descend on the sleepy Angus town of Kirriemuir for a celebration of its most rock’n’roll son, AC/DC frontman Bon Scott.
MUSIC Various venues, Loch Shiel, lochshielfestival.com
A festival of Western classical music with the stunning setting 35
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
of Loch Shiel as its backdrop. From offbeat locations to local traditions, national celebrations to innovative performances, the event celebrates all things chamber music. 30 APRIL
STEREOFUNK FESTIVAL MUSIC Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell, stereofunkfestival. com
Club night Stereofunk bring you a full day of DJs and live music. This year’s lineup includes Vengaboys, JX, DJ Sammy and Cappella. 30 APRIL–2 MAY
OPEN STUDIOS NORTH FIFE SPIRIT OF SPEYSIDE WHISKY FESTIVAL The sheer scale of this celebration of Scotland’s internationally revered spirit is enough to make you need a stiff drink. After a virtual festival last year – still cramming in over 250 events – the organisers are looking to get back to pre-pandemic levels with around 700 happenings taking place over six days at various venues stretching across the region Thankfully it’s a manageable bitesize chunk of the country. Stretching across the Strathspey area, taking in much of Moray, Speyside is a real whisky-lover’s paradise, with more distilleries for your buck than any other part of Scotland. Here global goliaths such as The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich rub shoulders with younger, smaller and family-owned distilleries, dotted across the picturesque, often rugged Highland landscape. Many of the Speyside distilleries are partners of the festival and all join in the fun, delivering special tastings, exclusive tours, workshops and talks, and maybe digging out an extra special bottle or two. Any festival focused on whisky is as much about camaraderie and shared passions, and here there’s a real global spread to attendees, with plenty on offer to suit the young or old, novice or connoisseur. The festival venues are as varied as whisky fans, from historic castles, distilleries and hotels to village halls, whisky bars and lochside locations. The Spirit of Speyside also organises other events – the Distilled Food and Drink event, 2–3 September, at Elgin Town Hall, with plans too for the Gin Experience (tbc) in July. (Jay Thundercliffe) n Various venues, Speyside, 27 April–2 May, spiritofspeyside.com 36
HERITAGE / ART Various venues, Fife, openstudiosfife.co.uk
Artists from across the north of Fife open up their adapted sheds and bespoke studios to display paintings, ceramics, jewellery, textiles and work in glass, metal and wood. Commission work, purchase something unique or simply enjoy the beautiful wares. 30 APRIL–1 MAY
COLONSAY BOOK FESTIVAL LITERATURE / FAMILY Colonsay Village Hall, Scalasaig, Isle of Colonsay, colonsaybookfestival.org.uk
A book festival hosted by the beautiful inner Hebridean isle of Colonsay. As well as readings and performances, the emphasis is on meeting and chatting with the writers, plus debate and good craic in the pub. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL Stories and songs are vital for human survival, they carry our emotions, memories and values, regardless of where we are in the world.
14–31 OCTOBER 2022
The 2022 festival will present a hybrid series of live and online events, as we invite you to explore ‘Scotland’s Stories’. Join us this autumn and see where the story takes you. @scotstoryfest @scotstoryfest @scotstoryfest
sisf.org.uk #SISFScotStories 37
RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL GLASGOW
JUNE 2022 JUBILEE BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND
THU
02
CHARLOTTE DE WITTE
999999999 LIVE - BAMBOUNOU - CERA KHIN DJ SMOKER - FJAAK LIVE - HELENA HAUFF I HATE MODELS - LISALÖÖF - ROBERT HOOD SLAM - SPFDJ - WALLIS + MORE A-Z:
FRI
03
AFROCELT SOUND SYSTEM L'ENTOURLOOP | PLUMP DJS MUNGOS HI FI SOUND SYSTEM ROSS AINSLIE & ALI HUTTON'S SYMBIOSIS LOWKEY | THE POOZIES | KEL ASSOUF MOISHES BAGEL | CALLUM EASTER
CARL COX
NOVA | TINDERBOX ORCHESTRA | DON KIPPER
ANNA - JOSEPH CAPRIATI - JOY ORBISON KILIMANJARO - KINK LIVE - NIGHTWAVE OVERMONO LIVE - WARDY & DOM D’SYLVA + MORE
BLUE GIANT ORKESTRA | STACEY MCMULLEN
SAT
DOPESICKFLY | OSCAR MIC | LITTLE QUIRKS
A-Z:
04
RÓISÍN MURPHY
BIG FREEDIA LIVE - BONZAI BONNER CHIPPY NONSTOP - DERRICK CARTER - HAAi INDIA JORDAN - JOB JOBSE - JUNGLEHUSSI OPTIMO (ESPACIO) - TAAHLIAH LIVE + MORE A-Z:
TWELFTH DAY | JOHN FAIRHURST SAMSON SOUNDS | ZOE BESTEL | FEHDAH DOLPHIN BOY | TARANTISM
MIDI PAUL | CEITIDH MAC | THE FUZZKILLS & MANY MORE Dance tent, acoustic sessions, workshops, kids area, fire show, real ales, good food, stalls and camping.
All in a beautiful river valley in the Southern Uplands
A D VA N C E T I C K E T S AVA I L A B L E N OW KNOCKENGORROCH.ORG.UK
RIVERSIDEFESTIVALGLASGOW.COM
27 - 28 August 2022 Traquair House, Innerleithen, EH44 6PW Tickets & Programme: beyondbordersscotland.com 38
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MAY
performed by drama groups from all over Argyll.
2–15 MAY
COLONSAY FESTIVAL OF SPRING
6 & 7 MAY
COMMUNITY / FAMILY / MUSIC The Colonsay Hotel, Isle of Colonsay, colonsayspringfest. co.uk
FOOD & DRINK North Inch Park, Perth, perthbeerfestival.co.uk
PERTH BEER FESTIVAL
This tiny island comes alive with a series of events that showcase its natural beauty, featuring workshops and tours, whisky tasting and cake baking, music, exhibitions and film screenings.
Combined beer festival and rugby sevens tournament so there’s something to watch while drinking beer from around the country. There’s also a ticketed function at night with a top-notch local band.
3–7 MAY
6–8 MAY
LORN DRAMA FESTIVAL
ULLAPOOL BOOK FESTIVAL
FAMILY / THEATRE & DANCE Corran Halls, Oban, facebook. com/LornDramaFestival
A festival of one-act plays
LITERATURE / FAMILY Various venues, Ullapool, ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk
Promoting the importance of literature in Highland culture, this festival brings together writers from Scotland and abroad, with events organised thoughtfully so festival-goers can attend everything on the programme. 6–12 MAY
NEWTON STEWART WALKING FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Various venues, Newton Stewart, walkfestnewtonstewart.com
A week of guided walks exploring the wild hills, rugged coastline and rolling countryside of Galloway in south-west Scotland. Some of the walks have specific themes such as wildlife, coastline, geology or history. 7 MAY
THE NATIONAL WHISKY FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK SWG3, Glasgow, nationalwhiskyfestival.scot
A chance to try a selection of fine whiskies from over 40 tasting stands. Some of the best drams from around the world are on offer and local restaurants are also providing dishes to complement the different whiskies. 7 & 8 MAY
GLASGOW COFFEE FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK The Briggait, Glasgow, glasgowcoffeefestival.com
Glasgow Coffee Festival
A celebration of the mighty coffee bean, showcasing Scotland’s speciality coffee scene, with roasters, bars, brews and baristas hosting tastings and presentations. There will be no disposable cups – bring your own reusable cup. 39
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
7–15 MAY
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE Various venues, Edinburgh, imaginate.org.uk/festival
The UK’s largest children’s theatre festival showcases highquality Scottish and international performances to thousands of children each year, giving them the chance to see the best shows from Britain and abroad. 8 MAY
SCOTTISH VEGAN FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK O2 Academy Edinburgh, academymusicgroup.com/ o2academyedinburgh
The UK Vegan Festival is a family-run, multi-award winning festival that promotes veganism throughout the UK. Their festivals have a huge selection of crueltyfree food, drinks and clothing along with information, talks and workshops on veganism.
A quirky literary festival devoted to biography and the first modern biographer, James Boswell. The festival spans talks, performances and workshops by writers, actors and artists.
An outdoor festival with the emphasis on roots music, the lineup is a melting pot of world, folk, fusion and dub reggae music with electronica, hip hop and drum & bass thrown in for good measure.
13–16 MAY
ARRAN MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Various venues, Isle of Arran, arranmountainfestival.co.uk
This mountain festival features a huge variety of guided walks and scrambles through Arran’s stunning hills and mountains. The programmes includes everything from wildlife-watching walks along the coast to scrambles on towering granite ridges.
19–22 MAY
ORKNEY NATURE FESTIVAL FAMILY Various venues, Orkney, orkneynaturefestival.org
Get familiar with Orkney’s wildlife through walks, talks, activities, demonstrations, concerts and more. 20–29 MAY
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY ARTS FESTIVAL MULTI-ARTS
18–29 MAY
PERTH FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS FAMILY / MULTI-ARTS Various venues, Perth, perthfestival.co.uk
Music, comedy, theatre, dance and visual arts are all up for grabs at this festival celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022.
13 & 14 MAY
SKYE LIVE
19–21 MAY
MUSIC The Lump, Portree, Isle Of Skye, skyelive.co.uk
WIDE DAYS MUSIC Online events, widedays.com
Two-day music festival on Skye offering a fusion of genres, with traditional music, bands, DJs and dance acts on the bill, along with excellent food and drink courtesy of the island’s finest foodies.
The virtual edition of Scotland’s key music convention will include panels, interviews, live performances, sector meetings, social activities and a range of networking opportunities.
13–15 MAY
19–22 MAY
BOSWELL BOOK FESTIVAL
KNOCKENGORROCH FESTIVAL
LITERATURE / FAMILY Dumfries House, Cumnock, boswellbookfestival.co.uk
FAMILY / MUSIC Knockengorroch Farm, Castle Douglas, knockengorroch.org.uk
Bringing world-class acts to Dumfries & Galloway for more than 40 years, this is Scotland’s largest rural performing arts festival, featuring ten days of comedy, theatre, music, spoken word and dance. 21 & 22 MAY
FLY OPEN AIR FESTIVAL MUSIC Hopetoun House, South Queensferry, flyflyfly.co.uk
FLY presents FLY Open Air, a showcase of the world’s best DJs in the spectacular grounds of Hopetoun House. The 2022 lineup features Peggy Gou, DJ Tennis, Eclair Fifi, Horsemeat Disco and many more. 21 & 22 MAY
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UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP OUTDOOR Various venues, Fort William, fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk
Mountain bike action from the LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
world’s best riders, as well as the World Cup Village offering demos, mountain bike goodies and entertainment. 21–27 MAY
BALLATER WALKING FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Various venues, Royal Deeside, walkballater.com
Run continuously since 1998, this festival caters to all abilities of walkers. Making the most of the magnificent views on easy, medium and strenuous walks across seven active days, the events are led by very knowledgeable local residents, full-time rangers and professional mountain guides. 26–29 MAY
ORKNEY FOLK FESTIVAL MUSIC Various venues, Orkney, orkneyfolkfestival.com
A firm fixture in the folk festival calendar since its inception in 1982, the festival’s combination of Orcadian talent and visiting musicians has earned it a loyal following. This year marks a welcome return to a full-scale live event, following two online editions during the pandemic. 26–29 MAY
TASTE OF ORKNEY FOOD FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK Various venues, Orkney, orkney.com/events/taste-oforkney
Festival celebrating Orkney as a great food and drink destination. Expect to see a high-profile celebrity chef and enjoy a range of activities over the weekend.
THE GATHERING The Gathering is a one-day folk and traditional music festival in Inverness which lives up to its name, celebrating a coming together of national and local talent, with this year’s headliners including Celtic superstars Capercaillie, Highland indie folk band Elephant Sessions and the Isle of Skye’s Peatbog Faeries. Held in the historic Northern Meeting Park in Inverness, it’s an intimate festival with only 6000 attendees. The event’s unofficial house band are local favourites Torridon, a folk rock band with a Celtic twist, who have played at festivals throughout Scotland as well as Europe. Other highlights this year include respected Scottish supergroup Manran, neo-trad trio Project Smok and the vibrant and energetic six-piece Heist. Heron Valley will make their Gathering debut in 2022 with traditional Scots and Irish-influenced songs featuring the gorgeous vocals of Abigail Pryde. The festival, which launched in 2019, aims to celebrate the best of the Highlands and Scotland. The Gathering also has its very own Gaelic ambassador who will take over the event’s social media in the run up to the festival and encourage festival-goers to speak Gaelic. The event also promotes Highland culture by featuring craft stalls and food and drink producers from the local area. Further acts and a programme of family entertainment will be announced in the coming months, ensuring The Gathering returns with a bang in 2022. (Claire Daly) Northern Meeting Park, Inverness, 28 May, thegatheringscotland.com 41
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
PHOTO: VISITSCOTLAND / KENNY LAM
27–29 MAY
THE FISHERFOLK FESTIVAL COMMUNITY / MUSIC Seaboard Memorial Hall, Balintore, seaboardcentre.com
A celebration of the history and heritage of the Ross-shire seaboard villages. Events include a special dinner on the Friday plus a street party, ceilidhs, music, food, art, workshops and more. 27–30 MAY
CRIEFF & STRATHEARN DROVERS’ TRYST WALKING FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Various venues, Crieff, droverstryst.com
Annual celebration of the life, work and play of the people who made Crieff the cattle-droving crossroads of Scotland in the 1700s. The modern day Tryst is a festival run by volunteers and built around a programme of guided walks and evening social events. 27 MAY–4 JUNE
ISLAY FESTIVAL OF MUSIC AND MALT FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Various venues, Isle of Islay, islayfestival.com
The Islay Festival (or ‘Fèis Ìle’ as it’s called in Gaelic) offers distillery tours, live music, a food fair, golf and bowling competitions and even Gaelic lessons for those who want to embrace the culture.
Anstruther Harbour Festival
stunning isle of Islay. Check website for updates on 2022 lineup. 28 MAY
THE GATHERING FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Northern Meeting Park Arena, Inverness, thegatheringscotland. com
See Panel, page 41. 28 & 29 MAY
EDINBURGH MARATHON FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Various venues, Edinburgh, edinburghmarathon.com
Scotland’s largest running festival of its kind with seven races to choose from over two days including the marathon, team relay and junior races.
LAGAVULIN ISLAY JAZZ FESTIVAL
DANDELION PAVILION OF PERPETUAL LIGHT FESTIVAL
MUSIC Various venues, Isle of Islay, islayjazzfestival.co.uk
COMMUNITY / FAMILY / FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Glasgow, dandelion.scot
Annual jazz festival held on the
Live music, locally grown food
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1 JUNE–30 SEPTEMBER
OF SCOTLAND’S SOILS AND SOUL: SCOTLAND’S VOICES, TELLING SCOTLAND’S STORIES, THROUGH THE WORLD OF PLANTS OUTDOOR Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, rbge.org.uk
A multi-sensory journey celebrating stories inspired by Scotland’s rich and diverse plant life across its four Gardens at Edinburgh, Benmore, Dawyck and Logan, from June to September 2022. 2–4 JUNE
JUNE JUNE
27 MAY–4 JUNE
and talks based around a 10m-high vertical farm and art installation. See feature, page 18.
RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL MUSIC Riverside Museum, Glasgow, riversidefestivalglasgow.com
The Electric Frog crew and Pressure once again join forces to present their outdoor electronic music festival. The lineup for 2022 features Charlotte de Witt, Carl Cox, Róisín Murphy and more. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
2–5 JUNE
3–5 JUNE
4 & 5 JUNE
EWS TWEED VALLEY FESTIVAL
ANSTRUTHER HARBOUR FESTIVAL
WILDHOOD
FAMILY / OUTDOOR Innerleithen, tweedvalley. enduroworldseries.com
FOOD & DRINK / FAMILY Anstruther Harbour, Anstruther, anstrutherharbourfestival.org
Alongside the Enduro World Series mountain bike races, a family-friendly bike festival with big-name cycling brands, activities, entertainment and fringe events.
Family-friendly food festival based in Anstruther and featuring local food and producers, as well as children’s activities, tastings and demonstrations. 3–5 JUNE
2–5 JUNE
PUNK ON THE PENINSULA MUSIC Various venues, Dunoon, punkonthepeninsula.rocks
Punk and ska music festival returns after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, with a lineup for 2022 featuring The Exploited, The Pukes, Kickback Generation and more.
CYMERA: SCOTLAND’S FESTIVAL OF SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY AND HORROR WRITING LITERATURE Various venues, Edinburgh, cymerafestival.co.uk
See Spotlight, page 48. 3–5 JUNE
FAMILY / OUTDOOR Tullibole Castle, Kinross, wildhoodfamily.com
Children’s festival celebrating nature, games and crafts, dance and music in a fairytale setting. 9 JUNE
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL OF CYCLING OUTDOOR Various venues, Edinburgh, edfoc.org.uk
This festival brings a bit of sport and leisure to the capital’s stacked arts and culture calendar. Alongside cycling events – from lengthy scenic tours to talks from well-known cyclists to family bike rides – the festival also features a related film and art programme.
FYNEFEST 2–5 JUNE
SPRING FLING ART / FAMILY Various venues, Dumfries & Galloway, spring-fling.co.uk
A vibrant visual art and craft open studios event offering a chance to see behind the scenes of around 100 local artists.
FOOD & DRINK / FAMILY / MUSIC Fyne Ales, Achadunan, Cairndow, fynefest.com
Beer is the star at FyneFest, with a wide variety of brews from the UK and beyond, though it takes pains to be kid-friendly with various entertainments and plenty of live music.
2–12 JUNE
GLASGOW SCIENCE FESTIVAL: GLASGOW CONNECTS FAMILY / SCIENCE Various venues, Glasgow, glasgowsciencefestival.org.uk
A packed programme of workshops, shows, films, discussion, exhibitions and art collaborations allows budding scientists to sit back and learn something new or don safety goggles and take part in an experiment.
4 & 5 JUNE
BLAZIN’ IN BIGGAR MUSIC Gillespie Centre, Biggar, blazininbiggar.com
Folk music festival hosted by Scottish fiddle supergroup Blazin’ Fiddles, a new sibling to sister event Blazin’ in Beauly. This fiddle school will bring together fiddlers, guitarists and piano players from all over the country for a weekend of workshops and music-making.
9–12 JUNE
THE EDEN FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE Raehills Meadows, Moffat, edenfestival.co.uk
This boutique festival (with over 300 acts performing across 13 stages) brings together live music, dance, cabaret, burlesque, circus skills, theatre, a children’s area, fun, games and much more. 9–18 JUNE
HIDDEN DOOR FESTIVAL MUSIC / ART / THEATRE & DANCE Old Royal High School, Edinburgh, hiddendoorblog.org
Volunteer-run arts organisation Hidden Door return with another eclectic edition of this festival of music, visual art, theatre, dance and spoken word. 43
MUSIC • THEATRE • VISUAL ART • OPERA • COMEDY • LITERATURE
18-29 MAY 2022 Tickets on Sale 21 March 40 Events around the city
CELEBRATING
perthfestival.co.uk
With more than 150 individual acts across 10 days to choose from, in the stunning seaside town of North Berwick, how you design your Fringe by the Sea is up to you…
BOOK NOW FRINGEBYTHESEA.COM
From local bands to international headliners, award winning comedy to silent discos, much loved authors to kids illustrators, street performance to foodie masterclasses, a whole host of street food traders and a makers market there’s something to suit every taste.
TEXAS - CANDI STATON - VAL MCDERMID - JUST THE TONIC COMEDY Photo: @mr_smith_creative MONSKI MOUSE - PLUS MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED 44
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2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
10–12 JUNE
POTFEST SCOTLAND ART Scone Palace, Perth, potfest.co.uk
Scotland’s International Ceramics Festival features over 100 ceramic artists selling their work. The event also offers workshops, demonstrations and classes for everyone. 10–12 JUNE
TMSA KEITH FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC / HERITAGE Various venues, Keith, tmsakeithfestival.blogspot.com
Traditional music, song, poetry and dance across a platform of competitions as well as spectator events, culminating in a traditional farewell concert and ceilidh. 11 JUNE
SUMMER SESSIONS MUSIC Slessor Gardens, Dundee, smmrsessions.com
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds headline this Dundee leg of Summer Sessions, with support from Inhaler.
Magdalen Green is filled with attractions, arts and crafts, live music, food stalls, carnival rides and more for a full day of family fun.
BALLANTRAE FESTIVAL OF FOOD & DRINK FOOD & DRINK Various venues, Ballantrae, ballantrae.org.uk/foodfestival
Celebrating local eating and drinking, with quality, wellsourced food, tastings, pop-up restaurants, producers and traders and organic food stalls.
THE GLASGOW REAL ALE FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK The Briggait, Glasgow, glasgowrealalefestival.co.uk
Real ale festival, organised by the Glasgow and West of Scotland branch of CAMRA, and featuring more than 150 local and international ales, ciders and beers.
DUNDEE WESTFEST: BIG SUNDAY FAMILY / MUSIC Magdalen Green, Dundee, dundeewestfest.org
FOOD & DRINK Summerhall, Edinburgh, juniperfestival.co.uk
With top producers allowing you to try before you buy, as well as gin talks, cocktails, food stalls and handmade fashions and crafts on sale, the Juniper Festival celebrates all things gin. 17–19 JUNE
CRAIL FOOD FESTIVAL 16–19 JUNE
DRUMLANRIG OFFROAD MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Drumlanrig Castle, Thornhill
Festival that features multiple disciplines within motor sport, including flat-field motocross and off-road bike trials. The three-day event will also feature live music, stalls, entertainment, a children’s play area and displays.
BORDERS BOOK FESTIVAL LITERATURE / FAMILY Harmony House, Melrose, bordersbookfestival.org
This festival attracts world-class literary, sport and comedy figures, with more than 100 events, plus a food village, kids’ activities, a mobile cinema and more. 17 JUNE
12 JUNE
17 & 18 JUNE
JUNIPER FESTIVAL 16–18 JUNE
16–19 JUNE 11 & 12 JUNE
films, inspiring speakers and hands-on sessions.
PEEBLES OUTDOOR FILM FESTIVAL FILM & TV Eastgate Theatre & Arts Centre, Peebles, eastgatearts.com
A busy weekend of adventure
FOOD & DRINK / FAMILY Various venues, Crail, crailfoodfest.co.uk
A weekend of food and drink events, with plenty of sampling as well as food demonstrations and talks by independent producers. There will also be music events, children’s activities and markets. 17–19 JUNE
SOLAS FESTIVAL ART / MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE Errol Park, Errol, solasfestival. co.uk
A midsummer music and arts festival with performances and workshops in world music, theatre, dance, literature and visual arts, as well as talks and debates. 17–19 JUNE
KILLIN MUSIC FESTIVAL MUSIC McLaren Hall, Killin, killinmusicfestival.com
An electric three-day festival of music featuring live bands and artists, as well as fringe events throughout the village over the weekend. 45
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17–24 JUNE
ST MAGNUS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL ART / MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE Various venues, Orkney, stmagnusfestival.com
St Magnus International Festival is a multi-arts event boasting a mix of live events in Orkney and online sessions spanning music, poetry, drama, film and more. 17–26 JUNE
REFUGEE FESTIVAL SCOTLAND 2022 COMMUNITY / MULTI-ARTS Various venues, Scotland, refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk
THE ROYAL HIGHLAND SHOW After a two-year hiatus, Scotland’s largest agricultural and farming show is back, just in time to celebrate an impressive 200 years since the first event took place on Edinburgh’s Canongate back in 1822. Since 1960, the show has been based at the Royal Highland Centre next to Edinburgh Airport at Ingliston, encompassing exhibition halls, arenas and acres of parkland. The show continues to expand its packed programme, now covering every aspect of Scottish rural life, and attract big crowds, with 200,000 visitors in 2019. Scotland’s livestock is among the best and most famous in the world, and the finest will be paraded before the judges at this year’s gathering, including everybody’s favourite, that rock star of the cattle world: the Highland coo. There’s plenty of other farmyard favourites, with thousands in attendance, including sheep of all varieties as well as horses showing off their jumping skills. In addition to the all-important animals, there’s plenty of human craftsmanship to enjoy, from forestry skills and farrier displays to rural crafts and demonstrations of what can be done in the kitchen with our nation’s harvests. Meanwhile, anybody in the market for some shopping will be spoilt for choice, whether it be farm machinery, clothing, arts and crafts creations, or locally produced food and drink. Live music and other entertainments over the weekend include the Big Top pop-up concert venue at the centre with Snow Patrol, Biffy Clyro and more making an appearance. (Jay Thundercliffe) n Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh, 23–26 June, royalhighlandshow.org 46
An annual celebration of the contribution refugee communities make to life in Scotland. This year, the Festival will celebrate and share the stories of people and communities who have made their lives in Scotland. 18 JUNE
WOODZSTOCK MUSIC FESTIVAL COMEDY / FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Wildwoodz, Munlochy, woodzstock.co.uk
Summer music festival with local acts, local food and drinks, and activities for kids. Acts confirmed include Ian McLaughlin and the Outsiders, Josh Mackenzie, The Malts, Andrew Still and many more. 18 & 19 JUNE
OPERA CALEDONIA: ISLE OF CUMBRAE OPERA RETREAT FESTIVAL MUSIC Cathedral of the Isles, Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
operacaledonia.co.uk Opera Caledonia presents a weekend-long programme of recitals, concerts, talks and events on Scotland’s most accessible island. 18 & 19 JUNE
PARTY AT THE PARK FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE South Inch Park, Perth, partyatthepark.scot
A two-day music, food and summer vibes festival, with a family-friendly Sunday event. East Neuk Festival 18 & 19 JUNE
SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL BOAT FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC / HERITAGE Various venues, Portsoy, stbfportsoy.org
As traditional boats congregate in the historic harbour, the seaside town of Portsoy celebrates with a festival of music, sailing, rowing and traditional crafts and art. 19 JUNE
EDINBURGH WHISKY FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, thewhiskylounge.com
Pairing up with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, this event brings a huge range of whiskies from Scotland and around the world to the capital, and features a series of masterclasses. 19–26 JUNE
PEEBLES BELTANE FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC / HERITAGE Various venues, Peebles, peeblesbeltanefestival.co.uk
Local legend, history and tradition combine for this
annual festival celebrating summer. Services, discos and concerts are topped off with a crowning ceremony and grand procession to mark the beginning of summer.
Piping spectacle based in Inverness that incorporates the European Pipe Band Championships. 25 & 26 JUNE
YOUTH BEATZ 23–26 JUNE
THE ROYAL HIGHLAND SHOW FOOD & DRINK / FAMILY / OUTDOOR Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, royalhighlandshow.org
See Panel, page 46.
MUSIC Park Farm Showfield, Dumfries, youthbeatz.co.uk
Scotland’s biggest free youth music festival provides opportunities for young people to gain experience of organising, performing and producing a large-scale event.
25 JUNE
COLOURBOXX MUSIC Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, colourboxx.com
Brand new festival coming to Bellahouston Park in 2022 with the likes of Years & Years, Becky Hill, Joesef, Rina Sawayama and more. 25 JUNE
PIPING INVERNESS MUSIC Bught Park, Inverness, pipinginverness.com
29 JUNE–3 JULY
EAST NEUK FESTIVAL ART / LITERATURE / MUSIC Various venues, East Neuk, Fife, eastneukfestival.com
Critically acclaimed music, art and literature converge on this busy corner of Fife. Though chamber music remains at the heart of its programme, the East Neuk Festival includes musical surprises, international authors and imaginative artworks, all located in quirky venues. 47
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PHOTO: CYMERA
SPOTLIGHT ON . . . CYMERA Since bounding onto the scene in 2019, Cymera – Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Writing – has offered an expansive space for anyone who loves stories bursting with big ideas. This specialised book festival is based in Edinburgh but boasts a variety of online events, allowing enthusiasts to attend from home. Taking place over a weekend, the festival includes talks and panels, creative writing workshops and masterclasses with speakers from Scotland, the UK and beyond. Past guests have included VE Schwab, Laura Lam and Ben Aaronovitch and the lineup always sports a great range of big hitters and up-and-comers. It may still be a relative newbie in the book festival calendar but you’d never guess it – a fun and feisty literary weekend perfect for writers, readers and fans alike. (Lynsey May) n Online and various venues, Edinburgh, 3–5 June, cymerafestival.co.uk
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JULY JULY
STORYTRAILS COMMUNITY / FAMILY / HERITAGE / LITERATURE Dundee & Dumfries, story-trails. com
1–4 JULY
KELBURN GARDEN PARTY ART / FAMILY / MUSIC Kelburn Castle and Estate, Fairlie, kelburngardenparty.com
Transforming the streets, squares, cinemas and libraries of Dundee and Dumfries to explore history through immersive VR technology. Part of the UNBOXED programme. See feature, page 12.
Kelburn Castle provides the fairytale setting for this eccentric music festival. Multiple stages host the musical programme, alongside creative happenings, fun attractions, waterfall plunge pools, cabaret and more. Check website for updates on 2022 lineup.
1–3 JULY
1–4 JULY
THE ANGUS ACCORDION AND FIDDLE FESTIVAL
NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF YOUTH THEATRE
MUSIC Various venues, Arbroath, aaff. co.uk
FAMILY / THEATRE & DANCE Gaiety Theatre, Ayr, ytas.org.uk/ events/nfyt
A celebration of folk and traditional music.
A colourful programme of performances and special events showcasing the creative work of youth theatre groups from across Scotland and further afield.
1–3 JULY
GWCT SCOTTISH GAME FAIR HERITAGE / FAMILY / OUTDOOR Scone Palace, Perth, scottishfair.com
8 & 9 JULY
Three days of country sport, competitions and main ring events at this family-friendly fair. There’s falconry, gun dogs, pipe bands, cookery demonstrations, shooting and a veritable myriad of traders and their stalls.
FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Hoddom Castle Coach House, Ecclefechan, countryatthecastle. co.uk
COUNTRY AT THE CASTLE
Brand new country music festival featuring two days of live music. 8–10 JULY
1–3 JULY
WILDFIRE FESTIVAL MUSIC Wanlockhead Inn, Wanlockhead, wildfirefestival.co.uk
Scotland throws up the devil horns for its award-winning rock and metal festival, marking its 10th anniversary in 2022 with a lineup including Sari Schorr, Scarlet Rebels, Bad Touch and many more.
NEWTON STEWART AND MINNIGAFF TRADITIONAL MUSIC AND DANCE FESTIVAL MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE Various venues, Newton Stewart, tradmusic.com
This traditional music and dance festival in Dumfries and Galloway features concerts, workshops, tune and song sessions, Highland dancing and pipe bands. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
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SCONE PALACE
19 - 21 AUGUST 2022
PHASE ONE LINEUP A - Z TIERS
BICEP JAMIE XX TOM MISCH [LIVE]
28 July – 28 August
edinburghartfestival.com
FOLAMOUR HONEY DIJON RICARDO VILLALOBOS
POWER TO THE PPL A/V
@EdArtFest | #EdArtFest
The platform for the visual arts at the heart of Edinburgh’s August festivals
ALEWYA
ELKKA
DJ SEINFELD
SHERELLE
TSHA
[LIVE]
YUNG SINGH
HAYLEY ZALASSI
SEREN SEO + MORE TBA
WWW.OTHERLANDSFESTIVAL.COM
13–29 August The World, in Words Come together for over 500 events featuring the best writers from around the world. Enjoy summer days in our new home at Edinburgh College of Art, or join in the discussion online. Programme launch: early June Tickets on sale in late June edbookfest.co.uk | @edbookfest
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8–10 JULY
SCOTTISH ADVENTURE TRAVEL FILM FESTIVAL FILM & TV Strathallan School, Forgandenny, adventuretravelfilmfestival.com/ scotland-festival
A celebration of adventure travel films based around two days of camping in the Highland countryside. 8–10 JULY
STONEHAVEN FOLK FESTIVAL MUSIC Various venues, Stonehaven, stonehavenfolkfestival.co.uk
HEBCELT (HEBRIDEAN CELTIC FESTIVAL) Set in the heartland of Gaelic language and culture, Stornoway’s HebCelt is a music festival that puts heritage and community centre stage. Every year, Scottish talent combines with UK and international acts, with 2022’s lineup featuring the likes of American blues musician Seasick Steve and Scots rockers Texas. The festival celebrates its 25-year anniversary this year with a fully live offering, after online outings in 2020 and 2021. Kicking off the three-day event on the main stage will be energetic Glasgow folk six-piece, Heisk. Joining them on Thursday 13 July will be Scott C Park and Highland folk rock group Tide Lines. Highlights from Friday’s lineup include indie folk outfit Elephant Sessions and Glasgow’s Trail West. Saturday should prove popular with Admiral Fallow, Gaelic singer Mischa Macpherson and RURA on the roster. Skipinnish are also on the bill, marking their their first gig on lead singer Norrie MacIver’s native isle for three years, no doubt getting audiences hyped up for Sharleen Spiteri to take the stage with her Texas bandmates. The HebCelt experience (for non-islanders) starts by hopping on the ferry at Ullapool to arrive at Stornoway. Accommodation is in high demand during festival time, so book early. Weekend arena tickets or day tickets can be purchased, with special packages available that include accommodation and return ferry travel. (Megan Merino) n Stornoway, 13–16 July, hebceltfest.com 50
This popular festival combines old favourites and exciting new acts in a programme of concerts, ceilidh, workshops, sessions and the Tradition Bearers Concert. Check the website for rolling updates on the 2022 lineup. 8–10 JULY
TIREE MUSIC FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC Various venues, Isle of Tiree, tireemusicfestival.co.uk
With its picture-perfect white sands and world-famous surf, Tiree has been described as one of the most stunning music festival locations in the world. The event limits capacity to keep it small and intimate, resulting in a sellout every year, so make sure to check the website for updates. 8–10 JULY
TRNSMT FESTIVAL MUSIC Glasgow Green, Glasgow, trnsmtfest.com
See Spotlight, page 55. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
25 RED HOT CHILLI PIPERS • SKERRYVORE E L E P H A N T S E S S I O N S A LY B A I N & P H I L C U N N I N G H A M DUNCAN CHISHOLM • RURA BRUCE MACGREGOR • ANNA MASSIE & MAIREARAD GREEN CLAIRE HASTINGS BAND • JAMES ALEXANDER & FRIENDS TOUR BUS FORTUNE • MAKARAKIT • COLIN CAMPBELL & FRIENDS AULD FOCHABERS FIDDLERS • MILNES HIGH SCHOOL FIDDLERS FRI & SAT CONCERT & STOMP / SPEYFEST SUNDAY ALL DAY CRAFT FAIR / WORKSHOPS / GIN TASTING CELTIC KIRK SERVICE / SPEYFEST YOUNG ENTERTAINER
seyfe.co THE BEST IN TRADITIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY CELTIC MUSIC TENTED VILLAGE • EAST STREET • FOCHABERS
Fri 20th - Sun 29th May 2022 Scotland’s Largest Rural Performing Arts Festival invites you to join us for 10 Days of world-class Theatre, Music, Comedy, Spoken Word and Dance. www.dgartsfestival.org.uk @DGArtsFest | #DGArtsFest
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PHOTO: KENNY LAM
In the wake of a tough couple of years, the world’s biggest arts and culture gathering looks primed for a much brighter 2022. Brian Donaldson takes a look at the main attractions lighting up the capital’s festival calendar in July and August
BAC K W IT H A BANG A
fter the non-event of 2020 and the mini-festival of 2021, Edinburgh is set to roar back in fine style this summer and re-establish itself as the festival capital of the world. While there has been a lot of talk that the pre-pandemic levels of activity in and around Edinburgh during August might never be replicated again (and to be blunt, this might well be a good thing for both the city and the wider environment) the buzz in Scotland’s capital come this summer is likely to be deafening. The whole thing gets underway in earnest across mid to late July with the Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival (15–24 Jul)
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which is headlined by the starry likes of Jools Holland (accompanied as ever by his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra), Eddi Reader, Ruby Turner and Curtis Stigers. But a strong emphasis of the EIJBF is on the rising stars of the jazz scenes in Scotland, Britain, Europe and far beyond. Meanwhile, Edinburgh itself is not being forgotten, with local community stories playing a vital part of the always popular and often raucous Festival Carnival. Food is never far away from festival-goers’ minds and tummies, and Assembly’s Edinburgh Food Festival (late Jul) kicks things off in style in the hub of George Square Gardens with LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
stalls, street food and top industry figures all appearing. Across town in Inverleith Park, the Edinburgh Foodies Festival (5–7 Aug) is also back featuring MasterChef champs such as Daniel Lee and Tom Rhodes while there are also theatre spaces dedicated to Drinks, Cake & Bake, and Kids Cookery. After returning from its June enclave into the August fold in 2021, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (12–20 Aug) is back in that sweet spot of the calendar with its usual array of premieres, themes and retrospectives as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories. Plus there’s the EIFF Youth strand which is dedicated to films made by budding cineastes in the 15 to 25-year-old range. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (5–29 Aug) will be back with a vengeance though exactly how it pans out remains a little unclear: will the smaller venues that have often proved to be the heartbeat of the Fringe be allowed to operate at similar numbers of events and attendance figures as before, or will there be a shift of emphasis towards larger spaces? Whatever happens, the Fringe has made it clear that its renaissance is not about replicating its prepandemic model but to aim for ‘sustainable practices’. One certain focal point will be PoliNations (see feature, page 12), a pop-up garden on George Street that aims to hail the multicultural origins of both the plants and people of the UK, with immersive installations, talks, live music and performance. Running in tandem, dates-wise, with the Fringe is the Edinburgh International Festival (5–29 Aug) which promises another innovative and exciting programme of theatre, music, opera and dance, as well as hosting events which are largely unclassifiable. The first shows have already been announced with Alan Cumming starring in a National Theatre Of Scotland celebration of Robert Burns (called Burn) which features music from Anna Meredith, while Adura Onashile takes on the title role in Liz Lochhead’s modern adaptation of Medea.
Having relocated in 2021 to Edinburgh College Of Art for a hybrid of live and digital events, the Edinburgh International Book Festival (13–29 Aug) returns to that venue with another vibrant programme which features a natural connection to Scotland’s Year of Stories. To get you in the mood, edbookfest. co.uk carries an array of previous festival events in video, photographic and podcast form. Meanwhile, Edinburgh Art Festival (28 Jul–28 Aug) will once again bestow upon the capital a feast of creativity, building on 2021’s excellent lineup which included specially commissioned artworks that responded to public and historic sites across the city. Galleries both big and small take part while site-specific events give the festival a more immersive essence. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (5–27 Aug) focuses on the theme of ‘voices’ for its 2022 return, with a typically colourful mix of music, dance and military precision. With a new creative director leading the show, this year’s event aims to draw inspiration from those across the globe who continued to make connections with people these past two years through artistic expression. The all-encompassing Edinburgh Festival will have several reasons to celebrate in style this July and August: there’s the 75th anniversary of the world’s greatest arts festival for one thing, as well as the simple fact that it has survived this most difficult and unpredictable of challenges. Hold on to your hats (and yes, pack an umbrella) for a summer party like no other.
Edinburgh Food Fes tival
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13–16 JULY
HEBCELT FESTIVAL MUSIC Various venues, Outer Hebrides, hebceltfest.com
See Panel, page 50. 14–17 JULY
DOUNE THE RABBIT HOLE MUSIC Cardross Estate, Port of Menteith, dounetherabbithole. co.uk
A boutique music festival that produces a strong lineup of music, theatre, comedy and spoken-word performances. Artists confirmed for the 2022 festival include Patti Smith, Amy Macdonald, Belle and Sebastian, Teenage Fanclub, Sleaford Mods and more. 14–24 JULY
DUNDEE SUMMER (BASH) STREETS FESTIVAL FAMILY / FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE Various venues, Dundee, dundee.com
Dundee becomes Beanotown, with a pop-up comic museum, workshops, talks, film screenings, marble runs and other street fun. 15 & 16 JULY
DOONHAME FESTIVAL MUSIC Grierson House, Dumfries, doonhamefestival.co.uk
Music festival set in the stunning grounds of the Crichton Estate. Check website for updates on the 2022 lineup.
Doune the Rabbit Hole
Various venues, Edinburgh, edinburghjazzfestival.com Scotland’s biggest jazz festival with a programme featuring all genre styles, from early jazz to the avant garde. Look out for world premieres, new bands and fresh collaborations, as emerging Scottish talent mixes with the cream of the international jazz world.
themorayway.org.uk A series of walks in the varied landscape of Scotland’s Malt Whisky Country. Take in the sights along sandy beaches, over hilltops, past railway tracks and in the footsteps of whisky smugglers.
17 JULY
MUSIC Benbecula, Western Isles, edf. scot
SCOTTISH FESTIVAL OF MOTORING FAMILY / HERITAGE Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, festivalofmotoring. co.uk
A family-friendly motor and car show with stunts, displays and fun activities for kids. 17–27 JULY
15–24 JULY
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22 & 23 JULY
EILEAN DORCHA FESTIVAL
A family-friendly festival in the Outer Hebrides with a wide range of music. Acts confirmed already for 2022 include Skerryvore, Mànran, Trail West and Beinn Lee. 22–24 JULY
REWIND SCOTLAND MORAY WALKING & OUTDOOR FESTIVAL
MUSIC Scone Palace, Perth, rewindfestival.com
OUTDOOR Highland and Moray Regions,
Rewind goes large on nostalgia with a big lineup of 80s and 90s LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
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22–24 JULY
SPEYFEST
Chain, Edwyn Collins, Altered Images, Peat & Diesel and Van Morrison. 28–30 JULY
BELLADRUM TARTAN HEART FESTIVAL
MUSIC Playing Fields, Fochabers, speyfest.com
FAMILY / MUSIC / THEATRE & DANCE Belladrum, Inverness, tartanheartfestival.co.uk
One of the best Celtic and Scottish music festivals in the country with a varied programme of concerts, ceilidhs and stomps across three days and nights. The festival lineup features some of the biggest names from the worlds of Scottish traditional and contemporary music.
Family-friendly favourite of the Scottish music festival scene, with theatre and spoken word events, ceilidhs, art and craft workshops and more. This year’s music lineup includes Nile Rodgers & Chic, Van Morrison, Emeli Sandé, The Fratellis and Shed Seven.
25–31 JULY
28 JULY–28 AUGUST
SINGLE PARENT FESTIVAL
EDINBURGH ART FESTIVAL
FAMILY Douglaswood, Angus, singleparentcampingholidays. com
ART / FAMILY Various venues, Edinburgh, edinburghartfestival.com
27 JULY–13 AUGUST
Scotland’s largest annual celebration of visual art offers work by the best contemporary Scottish artists as well as exhibitions of the most important international artists and movements of the 20th century and other historical periods. Check the website for updates on the 2022 programme.
SUMMER NIGHTS AT THE BANDSTAND
29–31 JULY
A chance for single parents and their kids to join together for a week-long festival in the beautiful Scottish countryside. The week is packed full of activities and entertainment for kids (of all ages) and adults.
MUSIC Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow, regularmusic.com
Summer festival featuring a series of open air gigs by popular artists. The 2022 roster includes Suzanne Vega, Billy Bragg, Belinda Carlisle, Rufus Wainwright, Pixies, Richard Hawley, Rick Astley, King Creosote, The Jesus and Mary
BUTEFEST MUSIC Various venues, Isle of Bute, butefest.co.uk
A three-day family-friendly music festival taking place on the picturesque Isle of Bute. In 2022, Elephant Sessions, Mànran, Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Scouting For Girls are among the many acts confirmed.
PHOTO: GAELLE BERI
stars. The 2022 event features Holly Johnson, Wet Wet Wet, Billy Ocean, Heaven 17, Trevor Horn, T’Pau, Nik Kershaw, Bananarama, Hue & Cry and more.
SPOTLIGHT ON . . . TRNSMT Scotland’s biggest music festival returns to the banks of the River Clyde this July, with a suitably big-name lineup to match. Headlining Glasgow Green on day one is Paisley’s own superstar singer-songwriter, Paolo Nutini. He’s joined by special guest Sam Fender, while Friday also sees some welcome funk and soul from the legendary Nile Rodgers & Chic. Off the back of their 2020 album The New Abnormal (their first for seven years), The Strokes fill the Saturday headline spot alongside Foals, The Snuts and Fontaines D.C. Other honourable mentions include pop up-andcomer Griff and overnight sensation Wet Leg. Sunday’s lineup keeps the momentum going, with DMA’s, Sigrid and Wolf Alice all building to the final headliner, Bathgate-born superstar Lewis Capaldi who, after pulling out last year, will no doubt cause quite a stir. (Megan Merino) Glasgow Green, Glasgow, 8–10 July, trnsmtfest.com
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5–28 AUGUST
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AUGUST
5–8 AUGUST
MUGSTOCK FESTIVAL 1–12 AUGUST
THE NORTH RONALDSAY SHEEP FESTIVAL HERITAGE / OUTDOOR North Ronaldsay, Orkney, nrsheepfestival.com
Annual sheep festival to carry out repair work to the North Ronaldsay Sheepdyke. 4–7 AUGUST
AN TINNE MUSIC Various venues, Isle of Skye seall.co.uk/an-tinne
Led by SEALL and Skye Gaelic singer Anne Martin, a series of special events links a collection of songs, stories and objects across the centuries between Scotland and Australia. The connection is a pot hook which moved to Australia with a family forced from their homes during the Highland Clearances and which is the focus of an unbreakable link between people, land and language. 5 & 6 AUGUST
PERTH SHOW OUTDOOR / FAMILY South Inch, Perth, perthshow. co.uk
FAMILY / MUSIC Strathallan Castle, Auchterarder, mugstock.org
Friendly wee music festival which favours creativity over commerce and attracts new and established talent from across Scotland and beyond. Stanley Odd, Griogair Labhruidh, Becci Wallace and Half Formed Things are among the acts confirmed for 2022. 5–14 AUGUST
FRINGE BY THE SEA FAMILY / MULTI-ARTS Various venues, North Berwick, fringebythesea.com
See Panel, page 58. 5–27 AUGUST
THE ROYAL EDINBURGH MILITARY TATTOO HERITAGE / MUSIC Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, edintattoo.co.uk
This unique event draws crowds and performers from all over the world, with massed pipes and drums, military bands, display teams, dancers and the haunting lament of the Lone
5–7 AUGUST
FOODIES FESTIVAL FAMILY / FOOD & DRINK Inverleith Park, Edinburgh, foodiesfestival.com
Award-winning chefs cook up a storm at this annual festival which features offerings from local producers, culinary masterclasses, and workshops for food lovers young and old.
5–29 AUGUST
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE FAMILY / MULTI-ARTS Various venues, Edinburgh, edfringe.com
Each year, thousands of performers take to a multitude of stages across Edinburgh to present shows for all tastes. From big names to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and includes theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, musicals, operas, children’s shows, music and cabaret. 5–29 AUGUST
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL MULTI-ARTS Various venues, Edinburgh, eif. co.uk
Bringing world-class arts to the capital since 1947, the EIF sets the standard for classical concerts, opera, dance and theatre, and in recent years has added an excellent contemporary music strand. PHOTO: EMMANUEL BURRIEL
Two-day agricultural show with craft fairs, trade stands, livestock judging and more.
Piper set against the magnificent backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.
Flip Fabrique, Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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6 & 7 AUGUST
OUT EAST FESTIVAL MUSIC Dalkeith Country Park, Dalkeith, outeastfest.co.uk
Family-friendly summertime festival in the grounds of Dalkeith Palace featuring a vibrant programme of music, arts and culture. The 2022 festival will boast performances by Ministry of Sound Classical, Sister Sledge, Callum Beattie, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 and many more. 6 & 7 AUGUST
TRUCKFEST FAMILY Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, truckfest.co.uk
The UK’s largest truck festival with plenty of entertainment for all the family. 6–14 AUGUST
PIPING LIVE! GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL PIPING FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC Various venues, Glasgow, pipinglive.co.uk
FRINGE BY THE SEA A triumphant 2021 saw 39,000 people visiting North Berwick’s Fringe By The Sea, the little festival that could, cementing its position in the hearts of locals and visitors alike. It’s not hard to understand why – a mere 30-minute train journey from Edinburgh could see you going for a paddle, slurping an ice-cream, sipping local beer and enjoying some 200 events planned for 2022, featuring fantastic homegrown, national and international talent across music, literature, comedy, science and nature. Venues are dotted around town but it’s all an easy walk from the Lodge Gardens, the main festival hub and home to larger-scale events including headlining gigs from Texas and music legend Candi Staton. Fringe By The Sea wears its success lightly, holding onto a sense of something grassroots, with an easy-going nature that makes a visit feel like a wee mini-break amid the madness of an Edinburgh August. (Jo Laidlaw) n Various venues, North Berwick, 5–14 August, fringebythesea.com 58
A week-long celebration of piping, including contemporary and traditional, solo and pipe bands. The World Pipe Band Championships take place on the second to last day at Glasgow Green, with free family displays in George Square. 6–14 AUGUST
SEAFEST FAMILY / FOOD & DRINK Various venues, Lossiemouth, seafestlossie.org.uk
Celebrating our connection to the sea through a mixture of sports, crafts, food, arts and social events. Highlights include a sandcastle competition and a summer fayre with more than 40 stalls. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
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7–14 AUGUST
17–21 AUGUST
SUMMER SESSIONS
MULL OF KINTYRE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL
MUSIC Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, smmrsessions.com
In the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, 2022’s Summer Sessions features concerts by a bigname lineup including Michael Kiwanuka, Simply Red, Tom Jones, Simple Minds and Travis.
HERITAGE / MUSIC Campbeltown Heritage Centre, Campbeltown, mokfest.com
A selection of traditional music and mixed genres concerts, both open air and indoor. 19 & 20 AUGUST
12 & 13 AUGUST
THE GIN & RUM FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK The Briggait, Glasgow, ginandrumfestival.com
Festival with over 60 different varieties of each tipple, with tasting sessions, talks and live music.
MILLPORT COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC Garrison House, Millport, millportcountrymusic.com
Weekend of country and western gigs headlined by Drake White and The Big Fire, with more to come. 19–21 AUGUST
12–20 AUGUST
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FAMILY / FILM & TV Various venues, Edinburgh, edfilmfest.org.uk
The oldest continually running film festival in the world, the EIFF presents programmes of new features, documentaries, retrospectives, shorts, panel discussions and workshops, plus high-profile premieres. 13–29 AUGUST
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
OTHERLANDS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL MUSIC Scone Palace, Perth, otherlandsfestival.com
Three-day camping retreat of music, art and culture in the Perthshire countryside, with the best acts in live and electronic music. 20 & 21 AUGUST
ABERFELDY MULTI SPORTS FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Various venues, Aberfeldy, aberfeldytriathlon.com
A weekend of trail running, swimming and triathlon events in and around Drummond Hill.
FAMILY / LITERATURE Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, edbookfest.co.uk
25 AUGUST–4 SEPTEMBER
The world’s largest public celebration of the written word presents leading Scottish and international authors, poets, politicians, historians, journalists and children’s authors.
FAMILY / LITERATURE Various venues, Isle of Arran, arrantheatreandarts.co.uk/ mclellan-festival
MCLELLAN ARTS FESTIVAL
SPOTLIGHT ON . . . LARGS VIKING FESTIVAL This eight-day celebration of all things Viking on North Ayrshire’s picturesque coast commemorates the Battle of Largs in 1263, when a Scots force defeated an invading Norse army, thus bringing the Viking Age to a sudden end in Scotland. The Vikings have been given a much warmer welcome at Largs since this festival began in 1980, and there’s an invading horde of events this year for the pillaging. The festival kicks off with an opening parade and ceremony beginning a week of live entertainments, air shows, food and crafts markets and firework displays. Get in the Nordic mood with a visit to the Viking Village – a living history taster of what everyday life was like in the 13th century – plus there are re-enacted skirmishes, axethrowing competitions, the burning of a long boat and the popular Festival of Fire procession to close off the festival. (Jay Thundercliffe) Various venues, Largs, 28 August–4 September, largsvikingfestival.co.uk
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writing talent, inspired by the late, great playwright Robert McLellan.
day art festival, with proceeds donated to Scottish Charity Air Ambulance.
26–28 AUGUST
CONNECT MUSIC FESTIVAL
SPOTLIGHT ON . . . BLOODY SCOTLAND In 2022, Bloody Scotland celebrates a decade of shocking twists and big reveals, adding an extra day of crime-writing shenanigans to extend the festival’s run from Thursday to Sunday. Opening with the now-iconic torchlit procession through Stirling’s streets, organisers are rightly proud of its reputation as a place where fans can get up close and personal with the world’s leading crime writers. While the roll call of winners of their McIlvanney Prize reads like a who’s who of crime writing royalty, there’s also a focus on bringing new Scottish talent to the stage, exemplified by the Scottish Crime Debut of the Year award. Fans can expect a mix of online and in-person events for 2022, including masterclasses, panels and readings dotted around town, as well as the always hard-fought annual Scotland vs England football cup. (Jo Laidlaw) Various venues, Stirling, 15–18 September, bloodyscotland.com
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MUSIC Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, connectmusicfestival.com
Massive Attack, The National and Chemical Brothers headline this festival featuring the best in leftfield talent, plus locally sourced food and drink, art installations, DJs and more.
27 AUGUST–4 SEPTEMBER
LARGS VIKING FESTIVAL FAMILY / HERITAGE The Promenade, Largs, largsvikingfestival.co.uk
See Spotlight, page 59.
SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER
JUPITER RISING
DANDELION PAVILION OF PERPETUAL LIGHT FESTIVAL
ART / MUSIC Jupiter Artland, Wilkieston, jupiterrising.art
COMMUNITY / FAMILY / FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Inverness, dandelion.scot
Jupiter Rising breathes new life into the festival format with a powerful overview of cutting-edge music, art, film and performance.
Live music, locally grown food and talks based around a 10m-high vertical farm and art installation. See feature, page 18.
27 & 28 AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
BEYOND BORDERS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
GREAT PERTHSHIRE FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL
MUSIC / POLITICS Traquair House, Innerleithen, beyondbordersscotland.com
FOOD & DRINK Various venues, Perthshire, greatperthshire.com
Intimate and engaging festival with talks by authors, politicians, journalists and diplomats about pressing global issues. It features an arts and music programme with performance, visual arts, poetry and dance.
Farm and producer visits, tastings, foraging walks, markets and local food promotions taking place around the region.
26–28 AUGUST
27 & 28 AUGUST
RATTRAY ARTS FESTIVAL ART / FAMILY Rattray Community Hall, Rattray, rattrayartfestival.co.uk
Local artists in a variety of media contribute to this two-
1–7 SEPTEMBER
ORKNEY INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL FAMILY / SCIENCE Various venues, Orkney, oisf.org
A kaleidoscopic mix of sparkling ideas and lively activities with talks and outings, food and music, in an island setting where past and future meet. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
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Jupiter Rising
2–4 SEPTEMBER
SCAPA FEST: THE YOGA & ADVENTURE FESTIVAL FAMILY / OUTDOOR Ardkinglas House, Cairndow, scapafest.com
Multi-day outdoor event for individuals and families, featuring yoga, adventure, outdoor education and environmental action. 3 & 4 SEPTEMBER
CLYDEBUILT FESTIVAL HERITAGE / OUTDOOR River Clyde, Glasgow, clydebuiltfestival.com
Watch on as rowers participate in Scotland’s biggest open-water rowing race, plus plenty of arts. crafts, music and more on the banks of the Clyde.
Boutique family-friendly music festival held in Callendar Park, with Cast, The Fratellis, Reef and many more confirmed for 2022.
10 SEPTEMBER
LAMMERMUIR FESTIVAL
GARNOCK VALLEY CARVES
MUSIC Various venues, East Lothian, lammermuirfestival.co.uk
ART / FAMILY / HERITAGE Manse Field, Beith, garnockvalleycarves.com
The Lammermuir Festival presents great music in the picturesque surroundings of East Lothian, employing unusual locations (remote churches, the National Museum of Flight) to provide a backdrop for top-class chamber music performances.
Chainsaw carving event supported by the National Lottery, featuring 12 international carvers who will transform logs into works of art. Also expect food and drink, face painting, storytelling, axe-throwing and more.
8–19 SEPTEMBER
10 & 11 SEPTEMBER 9–11 SEPTEMBER
DANDELION HARVEST GATHERINGS
VIBRATION FESTIVAL
COMMUNITY / FAMILY / FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC Across Scotland, dandelion.scot
FAMILY / MUSIC Callendar Park, Falkirk, vibrationfestival.com
Boxes of wonky veg, giant soup pots, live music and more popping up in playgrounds,
3 & 4 SEPTEMBER
unexpected gardens, car parks and other gathering spots. See feature, page 18.
DUKES WEEKENDER FAMILY / OUTDOOR Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, Aberfoyle, dukesweekender.com
A weekend cycling festival for all ages, with off-road gravel hill climbs as well as races for the kids, plus food and drink options in the event village. 61
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2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
10 & 11 SEPTEMBER
FIFE FEST FAMILY / MUSIC Silverburn Park, Leven, silverburnpark.co.uk
A weekend of fun for families in one of the best parks in Fife, featuring top tribute bands and local talent, as well as kids’ entertainment and food trucks. 10 & 11 SEPTEMBER
PERTH FESTIVAL OF YARN HERITAGE Dewars Centre, Perth, perthfestivalofyarn.uk
Find bespoke yarns from independent dyers, single-farm wool direct from the farmers and inspiration for your next textile project, as well as classes, lectures and social events. 15–18 SEPTEMBER
BLOODY SCOTLAND LITERATURE Various venues, Stirling, bloodyscotland.com
learning-youth-opportunities/ gyff Innovative festival for young audiences featuring premieres, screenings, events and special guest speakers. GYFF enables 15–19 year olds to co-create a vibrant and diverse festival. 16–18 SEPTEMBER
TARBERT MUSIC FESTIVAL FAMILY / MUSIC Tarbert, Loch Fyne, tarbertfestivals.co.uk
Traditional music takes over the pubs and hotels of Tarbert with a series of concerts, workshops and demonstrations. 16–18 SEPTEMBER
TWEEDLOVE BIKE FESTIVAL OUTDOOR Tweed Green, Peebles, tweedlove.com/#tweedlovebike-festival
15–18 SEPTEMBER
Race, ride, try a new bike, check out the expo or just soak up the festival vibes. The event features the biggest UK enduro race of the year, plus food, drink and music.
LINLITHGOW FOLK FESTIVAL
17 & 18 SEPTEMBER
See Spotlight, page 60.
FAMILY / MUSIC Various venues, Linlithgow, linlithgowfolk.com
Linlithgow’s annual folk festival regularly features big-name stars, along with music covering the whole spectrum of folk tastes. Check the website for updates on the 2022 lineup. 16–18 SEPTEMBER
GLASGOW YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL FILM & TV / FAMILY Various venues, Glasgow, glasgowfilm.org/glasgow-film-
SCOTTISH WILD FOOD FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK Various venues, Drymen, scottishwildfoodfestival.co.uk
See Spotlight, page 63. 17–19 SEPTEMBER
CAPERS IN CANNICH MUSIC Invercannich Farm, Cannich, capersincannich.co.uk
Luxury glamping festival with three days of live music by Scottish artists in a beautiful Highland setting.
SPOTLIGHT ON . . . SCOTTISH WILD FOOD FESTIVAL Scotland’s bountiful natural larder is the focus for this celebration of our wild food and drink – part of the wider Foraging Fortnight, which premiered in 2019. Holistic centre Tir na nOg near Drymen is the fitting setting for a weekend of delving into our hedgerows, woods and riverbanks. The festival offers opportunities to learn and hone skills in the company of experts in their field, be it foraging, wild food or sustainability. Foraging walks and talks, taster experiences, live music, storytelling and family activities are included in the ticket price, as is the Wild Market selling foraged and locally produced food and drink. Further events are available to book at additional cost, such as making herbal remedies, pizza making, preserving and fermenting workshops, plus wild banquet feasts created by guest chefs. (Jay Thundercliffe) n Tir na nOg, Drymen, 17 & 18 September, scottishwildfoodfestival.co.uk
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22–25 SEPTEMBER
WORDPLAY LITERATURE Various venues, Shetland, shetlandarts.org/our-work/ festivals/wordplay
Shetland’s annual book festival welcomes writers of local, national and international renown, and features a mix of readings, writing workshops, children’s theatre, storytelling events and book signings. 23 SEPTEMBER–2 OCTOBER
WIGTOWN BOOK FESTIVAL FAMILY / LITERATURE Various venues, Wigtown, wigtownbookfestival.com
See Panel, page 64. 24 SEPTEMBER
HORDES X MUSIC Beat Generator Live, Dundee, beatgenerator.co.uk
WIGTOWN BOOK FESTIVAL Since being crowned Scotland’s National Book Town in 1999, Wigtown and the wider Galloway region has become a site of pilgrimage for readers everywhere. In a town that once possessed the highest rates of unemployment in Scotland, Wigtown’s central square is now dominated by a weekly local market and a cheerily eclectic collection of a dozen-or-so bookshops. Much of its reputation today, however, is owed to the Wigtown Book Festival. Punching far above its weight as far as literary festivals go, the annual celebration regularly attracts the great and good of Scotland’s writerly scene and beyond, with headliners last year featuring the likes of Val McDermid, Alexander McCall Smith, Salena Godden, AC Grayling and Laura Bates. Its 2022 lineup has yet to be announced, though organisers have revealed details of an enhanced year-round programme for Scotland’s Year of Stories, including the immersive family show Walter in Wonderland, and a night-time audio story inspired by Galloway’s spectacular dark skies, titled Into the Nicht. (Deborah Chu) n Various venues, Wigtown, 23 September–2 October, wigtownbookfestival.com 64
One-day festival of underground metal and hard rock. Check website for updates on 2022 lineup. 27 SEPTEMBER–3 OCTOBER
NAIRN BOOK AND ARTS FESTIVAL FAMILY / MULTI-ARTS Various venues, Nairn, nairnfestival.co.uk
A range of musical, literary and artistic events with a fringe drawing on the talents of the local creative community. 28 SEPTEMBER–2 OCTOBER
FINDHORN BAY FESTIVAL FAMILY / MULTI-ARTS Town Hall, Forres, findhornbayarts.com
A spectacular five-day celebration of arts and culture LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
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65
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
taking place at the heart of Moray, showcasing national and international artists.
to warm up the October evenings with fine trad music. 6–16 OCTOBER
THE ENCHANTED FOREST
ABERDEEN INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
ART / FAMILY / HERITAGE Faskally Wood, Pitlochry, enchantedforest.org.uk
COMEDY Various venues, Aberdeen, aberdeencomedyfestival.com
A stunning sound and light show that transforms Faskally Wood in Perthshire using dazzling visuals and innovative design set against an original music score.
The Aberdeen Comedy Festival features over 250 comedians performing at venues across the city.
29 SEPTEMBER–30 OCTOBER
SPOTLIGHT ON . . . BUTE MANOUCHE GYPSY JAZZ FESTIVAL ‘Gypsy jazz is different to traditional jazz,’ explains Tim Saul, founder of Scotland’s only Gypsy jazz festival, Bute Manouche, taking place in October on the Isle of Bute. ‘It had to be simpler in its chord structure to be able to be passed down aurally among communities who couldn’t always read music.’ It’s a distinctive style, made famous by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli in the smoky bars of 1930s Paris. Gypsy jazz musicians, including Israeli guitarist Duved Dunayevsky, awardwinning Rose Room, and Scottish Polish-Roma fusion group Romacaleo, will gather for a weekend of concerts. And for those with a musical bent themselves, audiences don’t just have to sit and listen, but are encouraged to participate in various jam sessions throughout. (Lucy Ribchester) n Club 292, Masonic Hall, Rothesay, Isle of Bute, 21–23 October, butejazz.com
66
30 SEPTEMBER–2 OCTOBER
CALLANDER JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL MUSIC Various venues, Callander, callanderjazzandblues.com
The largest rural jazz & blues festival in Scotland and firmly established on the UK festival map, featuring more than 60 gigs across multiple venues.
7–9 OCTOBER
ULLAPOOL GUITAR FESTIVAL MUSIC The Macphail Centre, Ullapool, ullapoolguitarfestival.com
One for all lovers and players of the six-string with a combination of workshops, concerts, late night sessions and a trade fair with several top manufacturers of bespoke guitars. 8 OCTOBER
OCTOBER 6–8 OCTOBER
NESS BOOK FEST LITERATURE Various venues, Inverness, nessbookfest.com
Grassroots book festival showcasing the Inverness area as a creative centre which produces a considerable amount of homegrown talent. 6–10 OCTOBER
SHETLAND ACCORDION AND FIDDLE FESTIVAL HERITAGE / MUSIC Various venues, Shetland, shetlandaccordionandfiddle.com
Visiting and local acts join together in a Shetland knees-up
TENEMENT TRAIL MUSIC Various venues, Glasgow, tenementtrail.com
Full-day indie rock music festival featuring bands performing across multiple venues in the city. Check out the website for updates on the 2022 lineup. 8 & 9 OCTOBER
BOOKMARK BOOK FESTIVAL LITERATURE / FAMILY Blairgowrie Community Campus, Blairgowrie, bookmarkblair.com
A weekend book festival for Blairgowrie and Rattray, aimed at all ages, with this year marking its 10th outing. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
PHOTO: ANGUS FORBES
8–14 OCTOBER
TIREE WAVE CLASSIC OUTDOOR Various venues, Isle of Tiree, tireewaveclassic.co.uk
A highlight on the UK windsurfing calendar, this week-long event guarantees plenty of adrenaline-fuelled action as some of the world’s top competitors compete in freestyle, wave jumping and supercross disciplines. A whole host of daytime and evening activities surround the competition. 8–15 OCTOBER
HADDO ARTS FESTIVAL MULTI-ARTS Haddo House, Ellon, haddoarts. com
A festival of music, theatre, visual arts and workshops in the beautiful surroundings of Haddo House. Check website for updates on the 2022 programme. 8–22 OCTOBER
COLONSAY FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL FOOD & DRINK The Colonsay Hotel, Isle of Colonsay, colonsayfoodfest.co.uk
Autumn festival celebrating the season’s bounties. Features workshops on foraging, cooking, preserving and chocolate making, wine and cheese tastings, kidfriendly activities, as well as guided walks of the island.
The Enchanted Forest
in the music of the Highlands and Islands through concerts, sessions, talks and workshops – making this one of the finest fiddle festivals around. 12–16 OCTOBER
ST ANDREWS VOICES 10–14 OCTOBER
BLAZIN’ IN BEAULY MUSIC Venue tbc, Beauly, blazininbeauly.com
The brainchild of fiddle supergroup Blazin’ Fiddles, designed to immerse visitors
FAMILY / MUSIC Various venues, St Andrews, standrewsvoices.com
It’s all about the voice in this eclectic festival of music drawn from opera, Lieder, folk, jazz, early music and contemporary genres.
14 OCTOBER–30 NOVEMBER
SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL FAMILY / HERITAGE / LITERATURE Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh, sisf.org.uk
A celebration of live storytelling and imagination uniting Scottish and international storytellers and musicians. Performance, workshops, talks and children’s events radiate out from the capital with guest storytellers from across the globe. 67
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
PHOTO: CHRIS WATT
12 NOVEMBER
THE GREAT WESTERN MUSIC Various venues, Glasgow, tgwfest.com
Multi-venue arts and music festival, showcasing a range of local and international talent across venues in Glasgow’s West End. 24–26 NOVEMBER
DUNDEE MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL FILM & TV / OUTDOOR Bonar Hall, Dundee, dundeemountainfilm.org.uk
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay
21–23 OCTOBER
BUTE MANOUCHE: SCOTLAND’S GYPSY JAZZ FESTIVAL
A weekend of old-school rock, AOR, blues, and up-andcoming bands.
MUSIC Various venues, Isle of Bute, butejazz.com
27–31 OCTOBER
See Spotlight, page 66.
COMEDY / FILM & TV / THEATRE & DANCE Various venues, Edinburgh, facebook.com/edhorrorfest
22 OCTOBER–6 NOVEMBER
DISCOVERY FILM FESTIVAL FAMILY / FILM & TV Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, discoveryfilmfestival. org.uk
Scotland’s international film festival for young audiences combines the best youth cinema from around the world with a series of creative workshops and events. 25 & 26 OCTOBER
EDINBURGH HORROR FESTIVAL
Edinburgh’s Halloween horror festival featuring theatre, magic, comedy, movies and more.
30 NOVEMBER
CALEDONIA FESTIVAL COMEDY Creative Stirling Hub, Stirling, creativestirling.org
Celebrate St Andrew’s Day with with an eclectic lineup of speakers, performers, artists and comedians.
DECEMBER 28 DECEMBER–1 JANUARY
NOVEMBER 3–6 NOVEMBER
WOFF: WORLD OF FILM INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
WINTERSTORM ROCK WEEKENDER
FILM & TV / THEATRE & DANCE Various venues, Glasgow, woffglasgow.com
MUSIC Troon Concert Hall, Troon, winterstorm.co.uk
International festival showcasing independent films from all over the world.
68
The UK’s longest continuously running mountain film festival showcases films by local filmmakers, presentations and book signings by world renowned mountaineers, adventurers and expedition leaders.
EDINBURGH’S HOGMANAY MUSIC Various venues, Edinburgh, edinburghshogmanay.com
Edinburgh’s world-famous New Year’s celebrations, comprising four days of events, multiple stages of bands and DJs and over 60,000 revellers on the big night, as well as the stunning fireworks display above Edinburgh Castle and the Concert in the Gardens. LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
Burns&Beyond
A
Burns&Beyond in Edinburgh. The capital also hosts Manipulate, celebrating
puppetry, animation and visual theatre, in February, while Glasgow’s Celtic Connections is always a burst of warmth, colour and energy at the start of the year – a compelling reminder that, for all its attractions, hibernation means you’re missing out.
PHOTO: GAELLE BERI
t the time this guide was going to press, not many of the festivals and events for the winter months of December, January and February had confirmed their details – when they do become available, we’ll be keeping information as up-to-date as possible on our website, list.co.uk. However, plenty of festivals are already being planned, and after the curtailment of activity in the past two years, there’s a renewed sense of optimism for lots to be happening in December 2022 and the early months of 2023. Expect Christmas, Winter and Hogmanay events in all the main cities as well as places such as Perth, Oban, Stirling and Stonehaven, where they’ll be hoping to see the Fireballs ceremony back for 31 December. Also making a fiery return after a couple of years’ absence is Shetland’s Up Helly Aa at the end of January, while festivals of different types of light are likely with Spectra in Aberdeen and the Hebridean Dark Skies Festival in Stornoway. Keeping things cosier indoors, various literary events are planned including Winter Words in Pitlochry, Granite Noir in Aberdeen, the Paisley Book Festival and the usual surge of activity around Burns Night at the end of January, including the dynamic
PHOTO: ASH MILLS
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN WINTER 2022 / 23
Celtic Connections
Manipulate 69
84% OF PEOPLE AGREE THAT SCOTLAND IS A CREATIVE NATION Scottish Opinion Survey 56 Degree Insight, December 2020
Our Creative Voice sets out to highlight the crucial role of creativity to our health, communities and economy. Follow Our Creative Voice as we tell stories about why art and creativity matter to us all.
www.ourcreativevoice.scot @ourcreativevoice | @ourcreativevoice /ourcreativevoice | #OurCreativeVoice
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
INDEX There are two indexes: The first lists festivals alphabetically and the second by category.
Aberdeen International Comedy Festival Aberdeen Jazz Festival Aberfeldy Multi Sports Festival About Us Abriachan Forest Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival An Tinne The Angus Accordion and Fiddle Festival Anstruther Harbour Festival Arran Mountain Festival Ballantrae Festival of Food & Drink Ballater Walking Festival Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Banjo Mandolin Guitar Federation Festival Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival Beyond Borders International Festival Big Bang Big DoG Festival Blazin’ in Beauly Blazin’ in Biggar Bloody Scotland Bonfest Bookmark Book Festival Borders Book Festival Boswell Book Festival Burns&Beyond Bute Manouche: Scotland’s Gypsy Jazz Festival ButeFest C2C: Country to Country Caledonia Festival Callander Jazz and Blues Festival Capers in Cannich
66 32 59 30 20 35 57 48 43 40 45 41 30
Cliabh An T-Shenachais – The Story Creel 20 Clydebuilt Festival 61 Colonsay Book Festival 36 Colonsay Festival of Spring 39 Colonsay Food and Drink Festival 67 Colourboxx 47 Community Campfires 15 Connect Music Festival 60 Counterflows 33 Country at the Castle 48 Crail Food Festival 45 Crieff & Strathearn Drovers’ Tryst Walking Festival 42 CYMERA: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing 48 Dance International Glasgow 30 Dandelion 18 Dandelion Harvest Gatherings 61 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Glasgow 42 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Inverness 60 Discovery Film Festival 68 Doonhame Festival 54
Dornoch Grand Fibre Fest 32 Doune the Rabbit Hole 54 Dreamachine 13 Drumlanrig Off-Road Motorsport Festival 45 Dukes Weekender 61 Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival 40 Dundee Mountain Film Festival 68 Dundee Summer (Bash) Streets Festival 54 Dundee Westfest: Big Sunday 45 Dundee Women’s Festival 30 East Neuk Festival 47 The Eden Festival 43 Edinburgh Art Festival 55 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 57 Edinburgh Festival of Cycling 43 Edinburgh Horror Festival 68 Edinburgh International Book Festival 59 Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 40 Edinburgh International Festival 57 Edinburgh International Film Festival 59
34 55 60 32 34 67 43 60 35 66 45 40 33 66 55 32 68 66 63
Luke Combs, Country to Country 71
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival Edinburgh Marathon Festival Edinburgh Science Festival Edinburgh Whisky Festival Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Eilean Dorcha Festival The Enchanted Forest EWS Tweed Valley Festival Falkirk Gin Social Fife Brass Band Festival Fife Fest Figures of Speech Findhorn Bay Festival The Fisherfolk Festival FLY Open Air Festival Foodies Festival Fringe by the Sea FyneFest Galloway Music Festival Garnock Valley Carves The Gathering The Gin & Rum Festival Glasgow Coffee Festival Glasgow Film Festival Glasgow International Comedy Festival The Glasgow Real Ale Festival Glasgow Science Festival: Glasgow Connects Glasgow Short Film Festival Glasgow Youth Film Festival Golf Gossip from the Graveyard II: Talking Heads Great Perthshire Food & Drink Festival The Great Western Green Space Dark Skies GWCT Scottish Game Fair Haddo Arts Festival Hawick Reivers Festival HebCelt Festival Hidden Door Festival Highland Games HippFest Home from Home Hordes X If the islands could speak Into the Nicht 72
54 42 34 47 68 54 66 43 34 34 63 15 64 42 40 57 58 43 32 61 41 59 39 30 32 45 43 32 63 26 20 60 68 13 48 67 33 50 43 24 32 28 64 20 15
Inverness Music Festival 30 Islay Festival of Music and Malt 42 John Muir’s Surviving Childhood! 20 Juniper Festival 45 Jupiter Rising 60 Kelburn Garden Party 48 Killin Music Festival 45 Kingdom of Fife Real Ale and Cider Festival 35 Kist o Riches (Tobar an Dualchais) 28 Knockengorroch Festival 40 Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival 42 Lammermuir Festival 61 Largs Viking Festival 59 Linlithgow Folk Festival 63 Loch Lomond Food & Drink Festival 34 Loch Shiel Spring Festival 35 Lochwinnoch Arts Festival 32 Lorn Drama Festival 39 MacMoray Easter Family Festival 34 Map of Stories: Voicing Scotland’s Landscapes 14 McLellan Arts Festival 59 Millport Country Music Festival 59 Mining seams and drawing wells 20 Moray Walking & Outdoor Festival 54 Mugstock Festival 57 Mull Music Festival 34 Mull of Kintyre Music and Arts Festival 59 NAAFC Annual Accordion & Fiddle Festival 30 Nairn Book and Arts Festival 64 National Festival of Youth Theatre 48 The National Whisky Festival 39 Ness Book Fest 66 Newton Stewart and Minnigaff Traditional Music and Dance Festival 48 Newton Stewart Walking Festival 39 The Niel Gow Festival 32
The North Ronaldsay Sheep Festival 57 Northern Stories Festival 14 Of Scotland’s Soils and Soul: Scotland’s Voices, Telling Scotland’s Stories, Through the World of Plants 42 On the Rocks Student Arts Festival 32 Once Upon a Time in South Ayrshire 14 Open Studios North Fife 36 Opera Caledonia: Isle of Cumbrae Opera Retreat Festival 46 Orkney Folk Festival 41 Orkney International Science Festival 60 Orkney Nature Festival 40 Otherlands Music & Arts Festival 59 Out East Festival 58 Party at the Park 47 Peebles Beltane Festival 47 Peebles Outdoor Film Festival 45 Perth Beer Festival 39 Perth Festival of the Arts 40 Perth Festival of Yarn 63 Perth Show 57 The Phone Box 20 Piping Invernesss 47 Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival 58 PoliNations 13 Potfest Scotland 45 Punk on the Peninsula 43 Rattray Arts Festival 60 Refugee Festival Scotland 46 Rewind Scotland 54 Riverside Festival 42 The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 57 The Royal Highland Show 46 Royal National Mod 24 Scapa Fest: The Yoga & Adventure Festival 61 Scotland Calling 34 Scotland’s Stories Now 15 Scotland’s Stories on Screen 14 Scottish Adventure Travel Film Festival 50 LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
Skye Live
Scottish Festival of Motoring Scottish International Storytelling Festival Scottish Traditional Boat Festival Scottish Vegan Festival Scottish Wild Food Festival Seafest Seanchas Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival Shetland Folk Festival Single Parent Festival Skye Live Solas Festival Songs from the Last Page Sonica Speyfest Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Spring Fling St Andrews Voices St Magnus International Festival StAnza: Scotland’s Poetry Festival Stereofunk Festival Stonehaven Folk Festival Stories Across Scotland Stories of our People, Place and Planet
54 67 47 40 63 58 14 66 35 55 40 45 15 32 55 36 43 67 46 33 36 50 20 28
Story Ceilidh 28 Storytrails 48 Stranraer Oyster Festival 22 Summer Nights at the Bandstand 55 Summer Sessions 45, 59 Tales from the Castle 15 Tales of a Travelling Scotland 28 Tarbert Music Festival 59 Taste of Orkney Food Festival 41 Tenement Trail 66 Terminal V Festival 34 Tiree Music Festival 50 Tiree Wave Classic 67 TMSA Keith Festival 45 TRNSMT Festival 55 Truckfest 58 Tweedlove Bike Festival 63 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 40 Ullapool Book Festival 39 Ullapool Guitar Festival 66 UNBOXED 12 Unexpected Gardens 19 Vibration Festival 61 Weaving with Words 20 Wide Days 40 Wigtown Book Festival 64 WildFire Festival 48 Wildhood 43 Winterstorm Rock Weekender 68
Wire Women 15 WoFF: World of Film International Festival Glasgow 68 Women’s Festival 30 Woodland Dance Project 22 Woodzstock Music Festival 46 WordPlay 64 A Yarn Worth Spinning 14 Year of Stories 14, 20, 28 Youth Beatz 47 Yoyo and the Little Auk 15
CATEGORY ART About Us Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival Counterflows Dornoch Grand Fibre Fest Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival East Neuk Festival Edinburgh Art Festival The Enchanted Forest Garnock Valley Carves Haddo Arts Festival Hidden Door Festival
30 35 33 32 40 47 55 66 61 67 43 73
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
60 48 32 36 40 45 60 45 32 43
PHOTO: THISS, CARL ROBERTSHAW, BRONIA HOUSMAN
Jupiter Rising Kelburn Garden Party Lochwinnoch Arts Festival Open Studios North Fife Perth Festival of the Arts Potfest Scotland Rattray Arts Festival Solas Festival Sonica Spring Fling St Magnus International Festival UNBOXED Wire Women A Yarn Worth Spinning
46 12 15 14
COMEDY Aberdeen International Comedy Festival 66 Caledonia Festival 68 Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival 40 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 57 Edinburgh Horror Festival 68 Findhorn Bay Festival 64 Fringe by the Sea 58 Glasgow International Comedy Festival 32 Nairn Book and Arts Festival 64 On the Rocks Student Arts Festival 32 Perth Festival of the Arts 40 Woodzstock Music Festival 46
COMMUNITY Colonsay Festival of Spring 39 Community Campfires 15 Dandelion 18 Dandelion Harvest Gatherings 61 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Glasgow 42 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Inverness 60 Home from Home 28 Mining seams and drawing wells 20 Once Upon a Time in South Ayrshire 14 Refugee Festival Scotland 46 74
PoliNations, UNBOXED
Stories Across Scotland 20 Stories of our People, Place and Planet 28 Story Ceilidh 28 Storytrails 48 UNBOXED 12 Unexpected Gardens 19 Wire Women 15 Year of Stories 14, 20, 28
FAMILY About Us Anstruther Harbour Festival Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival Big DoG Festival Bookmark Book Festival Borders Book Festival Boswell Book Festival Colonsay Book Festival Colonsay Festival of Spring
30 43 55 34 66 45 40 36 39
Crail Food Festival 45 Dandelion 18 Dandelion Harvest Gatherings 61 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Glasgow 42 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Inverness 60 Discovery Film Festival 68 Dreamachine 13 Dukes Weekender 61 Dundee Summer (Bash) Streets Festival 54 Dundee Westfest: Big Sunday 45 The Eden Festival 43 Edinburgh Art Festival 55 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 57 Edinburgh International Book Festival 59 Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 40 Edinburgh International Festival 57 LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
Edinburgh International Film Festival 59 Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 54 Edinburgh Science Festival 34 The Enchanted Forest 66 EWS Tweed Valley Festival 43 Fife Fest 63 Findhorn Bay Festival 64 Foodies Festival 57 Fringe by the Sea 58 FyneFest 43 Garnock Valley Carves 61 Glasgow Science Festival: Glasgow Connects 43 Glasgow Youth Film Festival 63 GWCT Scottish Game Fair 48 Haddo Arts Festival 67 Kelburn Garden Party 48 Knockengorroch Festival 40 Largs Viking Festival 59 Linlithgow Folk Festival 63 Loch Lomond Food & Drink Festival 34 Lochwinnoch Arts Festival 32 Lorn Drama Festival 39 MacMoray Easter Family Festival 34 McLellan Arts Festival 59 Millport Country Music Festival 59 Mugstock Festival 57 Mull of Kintyre Music and Arts Festival 59 Nairn Book and Arts Festival 64 National Festival of Youth Theatre 48 On the Rocks Student Arts Festival 32 Orkney Folk Festival 41 Orkney International Science Festival 60 Orkney Nature Festival 40 Peebles Beltane Festival 47 Perth Festival of the Arts 40 Perth Show 57 Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival 58 Rattray Arts Festival 60 The Royal Highland Show 46 Scapa Fest: The Yoga & Adventure Festival 61
Scottish Festival of Motoring 54 Scottish International Storytelling Festival 67 Scottish Traditional Boat Festival 47 Single Parent Festival 55 Spring Fling 43 St Andrews Voices 67 StAnza: Scotland’s Poetry Festival 33 Stories of our People, Place and Planet 28 Storytrails 48 Tales from the Castle 15 Tarbert Music Festival 59 Tiree Music Festival 50 TMSA Keith Festival 45 Truckfest 58 Ullapool Book Festival 39 Unboxed 12 Unexpected Gardens 19 Vibration Festival 61 Wigtown Book Festival 64 Wildhood 43 Year of Stories 14, 20, 28 Yoyo and the Little Auk 15
FILM & TV Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival 35 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 30 Cliabh An T-Shenachais – The Story Creel 20 Counterflows 33 Discovery Film Festival 68 Dundee Mountain Film Festival 68 Dundee Women’s Festival 30 Edinburgh Horror Festival 68 Edinburgh International Film Festival 59 Figures of Speech 15 Glasgow Film Festival 30 Glasgow Short Film Festival 32 Glasgow Youth Film Festival 63 Gossip from the Graveyard II: Talking Heads 20 HippFest 32 Map of Stories: Voicing Scotland’s Landscapes 14
McLellan Arts Festival Nairn Book and Arts Festival Peebles Outdoor Film Festival Scotland’s Stories on Screen Scottish Adventure Travel Film Festival WoFF: World of Film International Festival Glasgow Yoyo and the Little Auk
60 64 45 14 50 68 15
FOOD & DRINK Anstruther Harbour Festival 43 Ballantrae Festival of Food & Drink 45 Colonsay Food and Drink Festival 67 Country at the Castle 48 Crail Food Festival 45 Dandelion Harvest Gatherings 61 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Glasgow 42 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Inverness 60 Dundee Summer (Bash) Streets Festival 54 Edinburgh Whisky Festival 47 Falkirk Gin Social 34 Foodies Festival 57 FyneFest 43 The Gathering 41 The Gin & Rum Festival 59 Glasgow Coffee Festival 39 The Glasgow Real Ale Festival 45 Great Perthshire Food & Drink Festival 60 Islay Festival of Music and Malt 42 Juniper Festival 45 Kingdom of Fife Real Ale and Cider Festival 35 Loch Lomond Food & Drink Festival 34 The National Whisky Festival 39 Party at the Park 47 Perth Beer Festival 39 Refugee Festival Scotland 46 The Royal Highland Show 46 Scapa Fest: The Yoga & Adventure Festival 61 75
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
Scottish Traditional Boat Festival Scottish Vegan Festival Scottish Wild Food Festival Seafest Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Stranraer Oyster Festival Taste of Orkney Food Festival Woodzstock Music Festival
45 40 63 58 36 22 41 46
HERITAGE Clydebuilt Festival 61 The Enchanted Forest 66 Garnock Valley Carves 61 GWCT Scottish Game Fair 48 Hawick Reivers Festival 33 Highland Games 24 If the islands could speak 20 Largs Viking Festival 59 Mining seams and drawing wells 20 Mull of Kintyre Music and Arts Festival 59 NAAFC Annual Accordion & Fiddle Festival 30 The North Ronaldsay Sheep Festival 57 Northern Stories Festival 14 Open Studios North Fife 36 Peebles Beltane Festival 47 Perth Festival of Yarn 63
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 57 Royal National Mod 24 Scottish Festival of Motoring 54 Scottish International Storytelling Festival 67 Scottish Traditional Boat Festival 47 Seanchas 14 Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival 66 Stories of our People, Place and Planet 28 Storytrails 48 Tales from the Castle 15 Tales of a Travelling Scotland 28 TMSA Keith Festival 45 Weaving with Words 20 Year of Stories 14, 20, 28
LITERATURE Abriachan Forest Big DoG Festival Bloody Scotland Bookmark Book Festival Borders Book Festival Boswell Book Festival Cliabh An T-Shenachais – The Story Creel Colonsay Book Festival Community Campfires
20 34 60 66 45 40 20 36 15
CYMERA: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing 48 East Neuk Festival 47 Edinburgh International Book Festival 59 Figures of Speech 15 Findhorn Bay Festival 64 Fringe by the Sea 58 Gossip from the Graveyard II: Talking Heads 20 Home from Home 28 If the islands could speak 20 Into the Nicht 15 John Muir’s Surviving Childhood! 20 Kist o Riches (Tobar an Dualchais) 28 Map of Stories: Voicing Scotland’s Landscapes 14 McLellan Arts Festival 59 Mining seams and drawing wells 20 Nairn Book and Arts Festival 64 Ness Book Fest 66 Northern Stories Festival 14 Once Upon a Time in South Ayrshire 14 The Phone Box 20 Refugee Festival Scotland 46 Scotland’s Stories Now 15 Scotland’s Stories on Screen 14
Vengaboys, Stereofunk Festival 76
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2022 THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS
Scottish International Storytelling Festival 67 Seanchas 14 Songs from the Last Page 15 StAnza: Scotland’s Poetry Festival 33 Stories Across Scotland 20 Stories of our People, Place and Planet 28 Story Ceilidh 28 Storytrails 48 Tales from the Castle 15 Tales of a Travelling Scotland 28 Ullapool Book Festival 39 Weaving with Words 20 Wigtown Book Festival 64 Wire Women 15 WordPlay 64 A Yarn Worth Spinning 14 Year of Stories 14, 20, 28
MUSIC Aberdeen Jazz Festival An Tinne The Angus Accordion and Fiddle Festival Banjo Mandolin Guitar Federation Festival Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival Beyond Borders International Festival Blazin’ in Beauly Blazin’ in Biggar Bonfest Burns&Beyond Bute Manouche: Scotland’s Gypsy Jazz Festival ButeFest C2C: Country to Country Callander Jazz and Blues Festival Capers in Cannich Clydebuilt Festival Colonsay Festival of Spring Colourboxx Connect Music Festival Counterflows Country at the Castle
32 57 48 34 55 60 67 43 35 33
66 55 32 66 63 61 39 47 60 33 48
Dandelion Harvest Gatherings 61 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Glasgow 42 Dandelion Pavilion of Perpetual Light Festival Inverness 60 Doonhame Festival 54 Doune the Rabbit Hole 54 Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival 40 Dundee Summer (Bash) Streets Festival 54 Dundee Westfest: Big Sunday 45 East Neuk Festival 47 The Eden Festival 43 Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 40 Edinburgh International Festival 57 Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 54 Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 68 Eilean Dorcha Festival 54 Fife Brass Band Festival 34 Fife Fest 63 Figures of Speech 15 Findhorn Bay Festival 64 The Fisherfolk Festival 42 FLY Open Air Festival 40 Foodies Festival 57 Fringe by the Sea 58 FyneFest 43 Galloway Music Festival 32 The Gathering 41 The Great Western 68 Haddo Arts Festival 67 HebCelt Festival 50 Hidden Door Festival 43 Hordes X 64 Inverness Music Festival 30 Islay Festival of Music and Malt 42 Jupiter Rising 60 Kelburn Garden Party 48 Killin Music Festival 45 Knockengorroch Festival 40 Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival 42 Lammermuir Festival 61 Linlithgow Folk Festival 63 Loch Shiel Spring Festival 35 Lochwinnoch Arts Festival 32 MacMoray Easter Family Festival 34
McLellan Arts Festival 60 Millport Country Music Festival 59 Mugstock Festival 57 Mull Music Festival 34 Mull of Kintyre Music and Arts Festival 59 NAAFC Annual Accordion & Fiddle Festival 30 Newton Stewart and Minnigaff Traditional Music and Dance Festival 48 The Niel Gow Festival 32 Opera Caledonia: Isle of Cumbrae Opera Retreat Festival 46 Orkney Folk Festival 41 Otherlands Music & Arts Festival 59 Out East Festival 58 Party at the Park 47 Peebles Beltane Festival 47 Perth Festival of the Arts 40 Piping Invernesss 47 Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival 58 PoliNations 13 Punk on the Peninsula 43 Rewind Scotland 54 Riverside Festival 42 The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 57 The Royal Highland Show 46 Royal National Mod 24 Scotland Calling 34 Scottish Traditional Boat Festival 47 Shetland Accordion and Fiddle Festival 66 Shetland Folk Festival 35 Skye Live 40 Solas Festival 45 Songs from the Last Page 15 Sonica 32 Speyfest 55 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival 36 St Andrews Voices 67 St Magnus International Festival 46 Stereofunk Festival 36 Stonehaven Folk Festival 50 Summer Nights at the Bandstand 55 77
THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
SCIENCE
Tweedlove Bike Festival
Summer Sessions 45, 59 Tarbert Music Festival 59 Tenement Trail 66 Terminal V Festival 34 Tiree Music Festival 50 TMSA Keith Festival 45 TRNSMT Festival 55 Ullapool Guitar Festival 66 UNBOXED 12 Vibration Festival 61 Wide Days 40 WildFire Festival 48 Winterstorm Rock Weekender 68 Woodland Dance Project 22 Woodzstock Music Festival 46 Youth Beatz 47 Yoyo and the Little Auk 15
20 39 15
EWS Tweed Valley Festival 43 Green Space Dark Skies 13 GWCT Scottish Game Fair 48 Highland Games 24 Into the Nicht 15 John Muir’s Surviving Childhood! 20 Moray Walking & Outdoor Festival 54 Newton Stewart Walking Festival 39 The North Ronaldsay Sheep Festival 57 Of Scotland’s Soils and Soul: Scotland’s Voices, Telling Scotland’s Stories, Through the World of Plants 42 Perth Show 57 PoliNations 13 Stories of our People, Place and Planet 28 Tiree Wave Classic 67 Tweedlove Bike Festival 63 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 40 UNBOXED 12 Unexpected Gardens 19 Wildhood 43 Woodland Dance Project 22
42 18
POLITICS
OUTDOOR Aberfeldy Multi Sports Festival Abriachan Forest Arran Mountain Festival Ballater Walking Festival Cliabh An T-Shenachais – The Story Creel Colonsay Festival of Spring Community Campfires Crieff & Strathearn Drovers’ Tryst Walking Festival Dandelion Drumlanrig Off-Road Motorsport Festival Dukes Weekender Dundee Mountain Film Festival Dundee Women’s Festival Edinburgh Festival of Cycling Edinburgh Marathon Festival 78
59 20 40 41
45 61 68 30 43 42
Beyond Borders International Festival Dundee Women’s Festival Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh International Book Festival Refugee Festival Scotland Women’s Festival
60 30 57 59 46 30
About Us Big Bang Dandelion Dreamachine Edinburgh Science Festival Glasgow Science Festival: Glasgow Connects Green Space Dark Skies Orkney International Science Festival UNBOXED
30 32 18 13 34 43 13 60 12
THEATRE & DANCE Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival 55 Dance International Glasgow 30 Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival 40 Dundee Summer (Bash) Streets Festival 54 Dundee Women’s Festival 30 The Eden Festival 43 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 57 Edinburgh Horror Festival 68 Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 40 Edinburgh International Festival 57 Findhorn Bay Festival 64 Fringe by the Sea 58 Haddo Arts Festival 67 Lochwinnoch Arts Festival 32 Lorn Drama Festival 39 Millport Country Music Festival 59 Nairn Book and Arts Festival 64 National Festival of Youth Theatre 48 Newton Stewart and Minnigaff Traditional Music and Dance Festival 48 Party at the Park 47 Perth Festival of the Arts 40 Solas Festival 45 Sonica 32 St Magnus International Festival 46 Terminal V Festival 34 WoFF: World of Film International Festival Glasgow 68 LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVALS
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THE GUIDE TO SCOTLAND’S FESTIVALS 2022
Creative Scotland is proud to support the nation’s festivals as they reunite audiences and performers across the country. We look forward to being able to gather in cultural spaces to enjoy Scotland’s rich, diverse and world-renowned art and creativity, celebrating the many ways that they enrich our lives.
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Photo: Farah Saleh in PAST-inuous interactive performance. Copyright Lucas Kao.
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