It may be a heatwave, but we’ve amassed an arsenal of cultural recommendations that might just coax you back indoors. Evie Glen is championing Glasgow’s vibrant zine scene, Danny Munro (despite recovering from Kelburn Garden Party) has found some tantalising small gigs, Suzy Pope is flying the flag for veganism, and plenty more besides. We’re also excited to welcome Drexler to our cultural hot seat for his weekend recommendations. If you’ve yet to delve into his touching ambient album Olympia-5, rectify that immediately; it’s a touching haven of calm, beauty and empathy. Anyway, whatever you end up doing, don’t forget to apply some factor 50. 

AROUND TOWN 

Author: Evie Glen 

This weekend is a big one if you’re a Glasgow-based zinester, with the back-to-back launch of Bumper Magazine on Saturday 11 July and Piscine Magazine on Sunday 12 July. The former is the inaugural launch of a project by local art-world BNOCs, Caitlin Merrett King, Christopher Law and Leo Bussi that began with an email titled, ‘Glasgow needs an art magazine’. Considering the latter is also an underground publication for art and writing, now in its second iteration, might this be a sign of some old-school ink and print competition to buoy the city’s culture and criticism? We can hope.

If you’re in Edinburgh, head to the Assembly Rooms for a Craft And Flea Market (Sunday 12 July) featuring a melange of independent makers, collectors, designers and other crafty folks selling their wares. Expect ceramics, illustrations, candles, jewellery and vintage goods,  all of which pass the organisers’ high quality-control test so you can shop in peace.

MUSIC

Author: Danny Munro 

I think my boots have just about dried from the annual four-day mud appreciation conference commonly referred to as Kelburn Garden Party, meaning it's time to look ahead to another weekend of live music. 

The good people at The Hug And Pint have commenced their Endless Summer celebrations, unleashing a stellar line-up of emerging artists on Glasgow’s west end throughout July and August. If you head to the cosy Woodlands basement this Friday, you’ll be treated to the stripped-back sounds of local singer-songwriter Sadie!. For a little more than a tenner, you could well find your new favourite artist, while supporting an invaluable local venue. Happy days!

On the east coast, techno veteran Dave Angel is preparing for a Friday night in Leith Arches. This prolific rave pioneer certainly knows his onions, having performed and produced electronic music since the early 80s. Friday’s set will mark his first appearance in the capital for a good while, and the 60-year-old will be sure to receive a warm Leith welcome.

STAGE 

Author: Rachel Morrell

It’s getting philosophical on stage as we kick down the fourth wall in the opening weekend of I Can Die Too at Pitlochry Festival Theatre (until Sunday 2 August), a ‘play within a play’ musical. It’s set in the front row of a disastrous rehearsal as Lily, played by Tony-winning actress Frances Ruffelle, realises this particular script feels a little close to home. 

And if you’re wondering why it feels like the walls are closing in, you might be in the comfortable embrace of the Pianodrome’s concave wooden seats, watching Jamie Watson’s technicolour reflection on overconsumption, A Stack Of Chairs (Saturday 11-Sunday 12 July), which is designed to make you ponder your own surroundings. 

Then, after going coconuts with all of that speculation, take a trip with Eric Idle and some knights who say “Ni!” as Spamalot hits Edinburgh (Thursday 9-Saturday 11 July). Based on Monty Python's absurdist subversion of Arthurian legend, our second Tony award recipient on this list promises a slice of Broadway magic in Porty Town Hall.

SCREEN 

Author: Kevin Fullerton

As summer blockbuster season veers into view, allow me to point you away from the multiplex and towards Agitations, an intriguing experimental film showcase taking place at Glasgow’s GMAC this Friday. All films screened will be shot on 16mm, and will feature work from a range of Glasgow-based students, artists and filmmakers. Cinema is so often a compromise between business and art, so it’s refreshing to see the flag flown for the avant garde.

Speaking of the push-pull between art and commerce, Alfred Hitchcock’s most experimental thriller Vertigo will screen at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse this Sunday in a glorious 4k restoration, allowing you to see the glimmer of James Stewart’s pervert eyes in crystal clarity. It’ll be introduced by Caroline Young, author of Fashioning Hitchcock, with a post-film Q&A.

If you can hold off on a film-going adventure until Monday 13 July, Glasgow’s Old Hairdresser’s is showing Tucker & Dale Versus Evil, a hilarious subversion of cabin-in-the-woods horror. Centring on two kind-hearted hillbillies who’re mistaken for axe-wielding maniacs by a group of teenagers, it’s gory, silly and well-meaning fun. 

EAT & DRINK 

Author: Suzy Pope

The first of the Edinburgh Food & Drink Academy sessions at Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh launches on Saturday 11 July. An expert from the Botanics takes you through their kitchen garden before settling into a 90-minute workshop on pickling and fermenting with a cookery teacher. 

In Glasgow, La Bodega on Bellgrove Street is hosting a fundraiser for the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. Arepas for Venezuela (Sunday 12 July) will feature live music, an exhibition by artist Valeria Guaimare and, of course, fresh arepas for all. 

And the Glasgow Summer Vegan Festival is on at Easterhouse Sports Centre (Sunday 12 July), offering a barrage of plant-based stalls including soft serves, doughnuts from Considerit and berry wine from Scotland’s only winery. 

VISUAL ART 

Author: Greg Thomas

In Katie Paterson, Scotland can boast one of the most thrillingly inventive and internationally feted artists working on the themes of ecology, deep time and human relationships with the non-human world. Past shows have seen her fill an urn with dust from every geological age of the universe, send a Beethoven sonata to the moon and back in morse code, and rig up a phone line to let audiences listen to a melting glacier in Iceland.

For her current show Afterlife (until Sunday 6 September), at Edinburgh’s Collective Gallery, the Fife-based artist has recreated almost 200 amulets from worldwide religious traditions, crafted from materials sourced from fragile ecosystems and stored in a specially designed sculptural installation.

From big names to emerging voices, check out Eilidh Weir’s bug and worm-themed textiles at her exhibition Show Me How You Love, opening this weekend at Six Foot Gallery and running until Friday 24 July.

THE HOT SEAT

He’s the founder of ESEA Creatives, a network of East and Southeast Asian Creatives based in Scotland, as well as a feted composer and onetime tune-selector on NTS. And to top it all off, his plans for the weekend are much cooler than yours. So, what’s Drexler up to this weekend? 

One of my favourite venues in Edinburgh is Pianodrome. They’ve found a permanent home in a beautiful church in Bruntsfield, and on Friday night Canadian singer-songwriter Old Man Luedecke is performing. I’m expecting an evening of folk songs, banjo and storytelling. Not quite a weekend event, but carnyx specialist John Kenny will also be performing there on Wednesday 15 July, The carnyx is an Iron Age trumpet that produces an incredibly haunting sound, featuring an open-mouthed animal head that moves as it’s played!

On Saturday, my family and I will probably head to Bowhouse Market in the East Neuk. Alongside excellent local produce and makers, there’s always amazing food and interesting crafts on sale. I never miss an opportunity to pick up cakes from Baern.

On Sunday I’m planning to head to Glasgow Tramway to see Rae-Yen Song’s (宋瑞渊) exhibition - •~TUA~• 大眼 •~MAK~•. The show transforms Tramway into a sub-aquatic world that weaves together history, memory and imagination, immersing visitors through sculpture, textiles, printmaking, sound, light and moving image. I was really gutted to miss Rae-Yen’s collaboration with musician Hatis Noit at the start of June, so I’m keen to catch this before it finishes in August.

Drexler will play Fringe By The Sea, North Berwick, Sunday 9 August; his album Olympia-5 is out now; find out more about ESEA Creatives here. 

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