MUSIC | Student Guide IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Live music in EDINBURGH
From classical concerts to grungy gigs, Edinburgh’s diverse collection of venues caters to all tastes. Laura Ennor introduces the capital’s favourite places for gigs and concerts
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P H O T O © P. N E S B T T / M U S C L E S O F J O Y
USHER HALL
SNEAKY PETE’S THE LIQUID ROOM
Lothian Road, 0131 228 1155, usherhall.co.uk
73 Cowgate, 0131 225 1757, sneakypetes.co.uk
9c Victoria Street, 0131 225 2564, liquidroom.com
Magnii cent but unfussy, the Usher Hall guarantees a sense of occasion, whether you’re there to see the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (making use of
their great £6 student ticket deal) or the likes of Nick Cave, Laura Marling or Efterklang. In typically diverse
A classic tiny sweatbox (holding around 100),
Sneaky’s is the place to see touring up-and-comers of all stripes, from alt folk to chillwave and noise rock. More uniquely in Edinburgh, it’s also a stop-off for
some of the world’s most exciting DJs and producers:
style, it celebrated its 100th birthday in 2014 with concerts from Mogwai, Rufus Wainwright and the Glasgow’s LuckyMe collective are frequent visitors (see feature, page 20), and Daniel Avery, Erol Alkan
One of the capital’s medium-sized gig venues, the Liquid Room is mainly a rock, pop and indie joint. The more mainstream likes of Kasabian, Vampire Weekend and Deadmau5 have passed through, and there have been appearances in the past couple of years from the hipster-friendly offerings of Shellac, Swans, Simian Mobile Disco and 65daysofstatic.
Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra.
and Drums of Death have all dropped in. They do cheap and cheerful student indie nights too.
SUMMERHALL
THE QUEEN’S HALL HENRY’S CELLAR BAR
Summerhall Place, 0131 560 1581,
85–89 Clerk Street, 0131 668 2019, 16 Morrison Street, 0131 629 4101,
summerhall.co.uk
thequeenshall.net henryscellarbar.com
Where once would-be vets dissected small animals, The Queen’s Hall has a certain grandness – it’s a
these days you can drink, watch and listen your concert space with a balcony, pillars and a great big
Another gig-venue-cum-club, Henry’s is the place to go for a taste of Edinburgh’s DIY scene. Big names
way through one of the country’s most idiosyncratic arts venues. It’s not just about music: there are art studios, a brewery, tech start-ups and goodness knows what else on site. But it’s dei nitely your best
bet for the outlandish, the experimental and the cross-artform on Edinburgh’s sound scene.
stage – but it’s also possessed of a certain cosy, are fairly rare, but there’s a steady and diverse stream
shabby chic. This former church was converted into of local and touring acts passing through, hand-
a music venue in 1979 and its programme mixes rock and pop, classical, folk and jazz. It recently hosted Low and Mark Lanegan and is a favourite venue for feelgood ‘local band made good’ shows.
picked by passionate, small-scale promoters. Local record label and promoter Song, by Toad brought
Paws, Adam Stafford and Law here for Fringe- antidote Pale Imitation Festival during August 2014.
120 THE LIST 18 Sep–16 Oct 2014