Fringe By The Sea, the ten-day multi-arts festival taking place in North Berwick this August, has added a brand-new film strand to its programme. Titled Wavelength, it’ll celebrate the sounds and soul of Scottish music.

With support from Screen Scotland, the festival will welcome Trainspotting luminary Irvine Welsh to its grounds for a screening of some of his favourite music videos as part of a family-friendly rave. Also on the bill is a conversation with music video director Tim Pope, who worked alongside David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Queen, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Cure and Strawberry Switchblade. Meanwhile, Mogwai’s career-spanning documentary Mogwai: If The Stars Had A Sound will be shown alongside a Q&A and indie disco with bandleader Stuart Braithwaite. This year’s SAY award winners Redolent will screen Dinny Greet, which charts their rise to prominence, alongside a post-film chat. Looking at the history of girl bands in Scotland, Since Yesterday: The Untold Story Of Scottish Girl Bands will be shown alongside a discussion with writer Carla J Easton on hand discuss the film’s themes and to perform as part of Hen Hoose. Striking a different note, the festival will also host a night of James Bond theme tunes, performed by The Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 

Commenting on the creation of Wavelength, Fringe By The Sea's festival director Rory Steel said: ‘With the launch of Wavelength, Fringe By The Sea is bringing a brilliant new film element to our ten day extravaganza. It’s only through the support of Screen Scotland and Samsung, and collaboration with other local organisations and businesses that we are able to continue to evolve our wonderful seaside festival while retaining the strong community values that make Fringe By The Sea so special.

‘As well as the very best of Scottish culture coming alive on screen, in gigs and through chats, our extensive community work will see young, local bands mentored in music video-making and on-site activities and animated screenings for children during the festival.’

‘As a music film festival, Wavelength seamlessly integrates into the wider program at Fringe By The Sea and adds a unique cinema experience to the already successful multi-arts festival.'

Added co-curator of Wavelength Lewis Gourlay: ‘We’ve curated a selection of films relevant to our audience, with work featuring some of Scotland’s biggest bands and highly creative work from local film makers. Music and film lovers of all ages and backgrounds are in for a treat, not just with the films themselves, but also the surrounding events that amplify the experience with in-depth Q&As, live performances and guest curated music video playlists.’ 

Said Vic Galloway, who also helped curate the festival: ‘I'm delighted to be involved with the inaugural Wavelength music and film festival as a co-curator and event host in 2025, part of the excellent Fringe by the Sea programme. Music and the moving image have been intrinsically linked for many decades, and Wavelength is about celebrating that magic in different ways. I'm looking forward to films concentrating on heritage Scottish acts and new music, as well as onstage discussions, live performances, pop video playlists, animations and more. Being beside the seaside makes the whole event more memorable, unique and fun too. Beautiful North Berwick always comes to life with Fringe by the Sea each year, and Wavelength is another fine addition.’

It’s been a busy year of announcements for Fringe By The Sea already, in a line-up consisting of Air, The Bluebells, The Boomtown Rats, Ezra Collective, Hamish Hawk, Cloth, Del Amitri, Caitlin Moran and Artie’s Singing Kettle. 

One act visiting North Berwick is Billy Nomates, who’ll be joined by Hamish Hawk and Cloth for a night of new indie music on Friday 8 August as she promotes her third album Metalhorse. When we interviewed her about the album, which was written in the immediate aftermath of losing her father, she told us, ‘There was a part of me that just held onto the album for dear life as this positive thing. Recording an album is quite high-pressure and stressful in its own way, but in comparison to what I’ve just been through, it was light relief. By going through with it, I was kind of honouring him. Even though there were parts of me that wanted to turn everything off and go “do you know what? I’m going to take a year off and walk into the mountains or something”. But the idea of not finishing the album just wasn’t an option.’  Read the full interview here. 

Fringe By The Sea, The Lodge Grounds, North Berwick, Friday 1 – Sunday 10 August.