Alive in the West End brings a pop-up music festival to Edinburgh
Love music, but find yourself struggling to find the time to get to gigs? A new festival, Alive in the West End, offers the perfect solution - pop-up gigs in unconventional locations like shops and restaurants.
The new festival will take place in Edinburgh’s West End this weekend, from 26 to 28 October. Pubs, venues and more unusual locations across the neighbourhood are all putting on a series of performances as part of the event.
The music sessions are organised by Edinburgh’s West End Business Improvement District (BID) and will run across more than 16 venues, incorporating 28 bands in 29 gigs.
The dramatic vaulted hall of Ghillie Dhu will play host to an eclectic lineup of 12 concerts over the weekend, including gigs from Edinburgh-based Kirsten Adamson Duo, ceilidh favourites Nicky McMichan band, blues musician Sandy Tweedale and Irish folk singer Damien Quinn.
Enjoy sessions from singers Michael Cochrane, an Irish acoustic singer, and Craig Finnie, an Edinburgh based songwriter who composes introspective folk/pop songs in the traditional pub, in Teuchters on William Street, on Friday 26th.
A gig from Edinburgh rock/pop duo Bleeker will take place in the bustling Indigo Yard on Saturday 27th, or for more unusual venues check out the sessions from jazz guitarist and singer Dave Toule in Roots Deli & Salad Bar (Sunday 28th) and Frontiers clothing store (Saturday 27th).
You can also catch a performance in Vesta, a restaurant and bar, from multi-instrumentalist Esperi, whose music ranges from acoustic storytelling to colourful electronica looping and combining different sounds with his acoustic guitar, on Sunday 28th.
Angel’s Share bar will also transform into a live music venue for Alive in the West End, with performances from Chapman Billies, an energetic three piece pop band, Matt Dunn, who plays a mixture of subtle background songs from jazz stylings to full on rock and pop sing-alongs, and local singer/songwriter Danny McGeever.