Sonica

Cryptic are now on their fifth instalment of Sonica, featuring another programme of top-notch visual sonic arts which plays out across Glasgow over 11 days. This is a truly international festival, too, with nations such as Argentina, Japan, Slovenia, Canada and Mexico all represented. Among the highlights are Turner Prize nominee Luke Fowler, Oslo collective Verdensteatret and musician Max Cooper's Aether, plus modern composers such as Ela Orleans, Nicolás Varchausky and Klara Lewis.
Various venues, Glasgow, Thu 31 Oct–Sun 10 Nov.

SQIFF

The leading Scottish film festival for the LGBTQIA+ community has a series of intriguing shorts, plus movies featuring religion, the Navajo Nation, and lesbian sexploitation.
CCA, Glasgow, Wed 2–Sun 6 Oct.

Dance International Glasgow

This is the third ever DIG with a programme of groundbreaking commissions mixing rising and established stars of dance including Colette Sadler, Trajal Harrell, Scottish Dance Theatre, Deborah Hay and James Batchelor.
Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 4–Sat 26 Oct.

Hannah Gadsby

After the comedy game-changer that was Nanette, the Australian comic sets aside all those plans to quit stand-up with anther gem, this one entitled Douglas (named after one of her dogs).
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 30 Oct.

Electronic Glasgow

The city's electronic music culture gets a hot boost with this festival featuring the likes of Dungeon Acid, Bosco, A Love From Outer Space, and Shaka Loves You.
Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 11–Sun 20 Oct.

Atlantis Banal: Beneath the Surface

The queen of Scottish children's theatre Shona Reppe brings us a new work featuring a character called Atlantis Banal, partly inspired by visual artists who work with found objects, including one Yoko Ono.
Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, Wed 9 & Thu 10 Oct; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, Sat 19 Oct.

Eddie Izzard

Wunderbar is the semi-surreal genius' latest blockbuster show in which he aims to bring the world together in these divisive times with the help of talking dogs and animal superheroes. Of course.
King's Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 2–Sat 5 Oct; Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 19 & Sun 20 Oct.

The Drift

Directed by Eve Nicol, Hannah Lavery's theatrical exploration of Scottish history takes in notions of place, family and loss, steeped in the author's own experiences as a mixed-race woman in Scotland.
Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 11 & Sat 12 Oct.

Watchmen

Could this be the next Game of Thrones-style hit that HBO have been hotly pursuing? Alan Moore's comics classic is given the small-screen treatment in the hands of Damon The Leftovers Lindelof.
Sky Atlantic, Mon 21 Oct.

The Dualers

(Chosen by Ska band Bombskare)
We're very much looking forward to seeing the Dualers when they hit town in September and October. These guys are epic, a nine-piece ska / reggae band from London and something of a role model for us. They have a solid DIY ethic, managing to storm the charts with no label or industry support and selling thousands of albums all on their own. They've even managed to get their tunes into Hollywood films which is impressive by any measure. Added to that, they're a genuinely great live act, although they have been described as the best ska and reggae band in Britain, so naturally we are going to have to fight them. We don't make the rules.
Bombskare, Summerhall, Edinburgh, Fri 25 Oct; The Dualers, SWG3, Glasgow, Fri 6 & Sat 7 Sep; Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Fri 18 Oct.