- Thursday 28 November to Monday 2 December 2024
- www.soundhousewinterfest.com
The Soundhouse Winter Festival is a brand new music festival which will take place from Thursday 28 November to Monday 2 December in Edinburgh, thanks to support from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Top row left to right: Acolyte (image by Laura Meek); Rachel Walker and Aaron Jones; Fergus McCreadie; Hannah Lavery (image by Kat Gollock). Bottom row left to right: Kate Young; Iona Zajac; Megab Black; Callum Easter; Su-a Lee (image by Mgean Jones).
The festival showcases musicians either from, or based in Scotland, and runs over St Andrews Day and the Fair Saturday weekend. The programme includes some of Scotland’s finest jazz, and trad musicians, a showcase of emerging new musicians, music workshops for adults and young people, a silent film accompanied by live music, and live performance poetry.
Headliners include award-winning pianist Fergus McCreadie performing solo and with fellow leading world musicians Mindaugas Stumbras (guitar), Michelangeol Scanroglio (doublebass) and Mattia Galeotti (drums); rising star Megan Black whose music has been described as 70s blues rock meets queer feminist pop, and whose latest EP ‘Full Circle (Part 1)’ has recently been nominated for ‘EP of the Year’ in Scotland; Su-a Lee and Friends (Duncan Chisholm, Donald Shaw and Hamish Napier) who sold out The Soundhouse’s Rose Theatre Fringe run in 2023; and Callum Easter & the Roulettes, fresh from touring the USA, who will play The Queen’s Hall with special guest Iona Zajac whose powerful voice seamlessly blends folk and indie and alternative genres with an authentic grit that has captivated audiences across Europe.
The festival is also delighted to present a brand new collaboration between outgoing Edinburgh Makar Hannah Lavery and acclaimed composer Kate Young. This one hour show will be based on Lavery’s work Unwritten Women with a new score by Young.
The festival’s programme also includes some unmissable early evening concerts at the Traverse with Gaelic singer songwriter Rachel Walker performing with one of the country’s foremost folksingers and accompanists Aaron Jones; Edinburgh-based poetic psychedelic supergroup Acolyte (Ruairidh Morrison on bass, Gloria Black on synth and backing vocals, Daniel Hill on percussion and led by award-winning poet and spoken word artist Iona Lee); acclaimed singer-songwriter Victoria Hume, joined by long-term collaborator Chris Letcher, playing alt-folk songs from her new album Radical Abundance, about the dying days of capitalism and what might emerge next; and singer Nicole Smit performing some cool jazzy numbers with her Quintet (Vid Gobac on drums, Cameron Bradley on piano, Dave Toule guitar, and Kassandra E’Silva on saxophone).
Other highlights over the weekend include the SWF Spotlight, a showcase of the jazz stars of tomorrow programmed by Helena Kay; and a screening of The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric accompanied by music composed by award-winning multi-instrumentalist Inge Thomson from Fair Isle with Shetlander Catriona Macdonald. The Rugged Island: A Shetland Lyric is a beautiful tender dramatisation of Shetland life, and was originally filmed in 1933 by pioneering Glasgow filmmaker Jenny Gilbertson. It will be opened by a short solo set by award-winning Shetland pianist Amy Laurenson.
Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy, co-producers said: “The Soundhouse Winter Festival presents a snapshot of the very best music produced in Scotland today. There’s no doubt that our small country produces some of the world’s finest musicians and we are honoured to give them a platform at our new festival. Shining a light on our home-grown stars seems an appropriate way to extend the St Andrew’s Day celebrations across this 5-day event. Despite the current gloom in the Scottish arts world, we hope the event will be inspirational and the first of many Soundhouse Winter Festivals.”
Siobhan Anderson, Music Officer at Creative Scotland said: “The Soundhouse Winter Festival looks to showcase some of Scotland’s finest musical talent and brighten up dark evenings with a dazzling array of acts. St Andrew’s weekend is the perfect time to hold such an event and it is great to see the cross section of artists from across different genres with experimental and innovative programming and collaborations.”
Booking link for tickets – soundhousewinterfest.com.
Background
The Soundhouse Organisation is a charitable body that promotes independent music. Since 2015, The Soundhouse Organisation has programmed music concerts at Edinburgh Tradfest (2-12 May 2025) and took over management of the whole Festival in 2019. The organisation is run on a day-to-day basis by Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy and is backed by a group of trustees who are passionate about live music.
www.soundhouse.org.uk.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
Media contact
All media enquiries please contact Emma Henderson [email protected], 07977 134614
Header image is Fergus McCreadie, courtesy of the artist.