AROUND TOWN

Following a successful first year, this Saturday sees Lughnasadh Music & Art Festival return to Forgan Arts Centre in Newport-On-Tay. It’s a family-friendly afternoon and evening of live music and art activities, with extras like local food and drink, and tours of the centre’s garden. Live acts include corto.alto, Becky Sikasa and Sacred Paws.

It’s Edinburgh Festival season and Inverleith Park welcomes the return of Edinburgh Foodies Festival (Friday 1 – Sunday 3 August), the UK’s biggest celebration of food and drink. Head down on Sunday for music from Scouting For Girls and an array of cooking and baking shows, alongside street food and activities for kids.

Glasgow’s Southside has its own returning festival, Sub Club’s Southside Weekender (Saturday 2 & Sunday 3 August). Expect all-day dancing and tunes from Moodymann, Derrick Carter and DJ Minx, among other favourites.

MUSIC

Summer Nights returns to Kelvingrove Park for a tenth year, with shows kicking off earlier this week. On Friday night, Natasha Bedingfield takes to the stage, while Saturday features Scottish pop duo Hue And Cry returning to Glasgow. Shows continue throughout August, including from Elbow, Jack Savoretti and Billy Ocean.

There’s more summer fun with Endless Summer (Saturday 2 August) at The Hug And Pint in Glasgow. With performances from Pinc Wafer and special guests, it’ll be a shimmering, summery show. There’s more shows with new and local music throughout August.

American singer-songwriter BC Camplight plays La Belle Angele (Sunday 3 August) in Edinburgh with his new, and seventh, album, A Sober Conversation. It’s personal indie pop that manages to be uplifting. 

STAGE

If you’re overwhelmed by the Edinburgh Festival season and the array of different shows it has to offer, then Forth 1 Radio’s Forth On The Fringe variety show at the Edinburgh Playhouse (Friday 1 & Saturday 2 August) might make deciding what shows to see a little bit easier. There are performances across comedy, music and dance, with appearances from Alan Davies, Miriam Margoyles and Baby Wants Candy, among others.

Glasgow arts venue Tramway will host the immersive stage performance A Journey Of Flight on Friday 1 August. Created in Shetland and inspired by the migration of birds, the show is thought-provoking and intriguing.

If you missed it in Edinburgh last year, smash-hit musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat is taking to the King’s Theatre, Glasgow (Wednesday 30 July - Sunday 3 August). Starring X-Factor winner Joe McElderry as the Pharaoh, it’s one of the most beloved musicals.

SCREEN

Edinburgh’s newly reopened Filmhouse has a good list of exciting things to see. Most intriguing is the Oslo Stories Trilogy: Dreams (Friday 1 – Thursday 7 August). A Berlin Golden Bear Winner (2025), Dreams is a coming-of-age story about Johane, who falls in love for the first time with her teacher.

Over in the city’s Cameo Picturehouse there’s a new restoration of six of David Lynch’s short films. The Short Films Of David Lynch (Saturday 2 August) includes The Alphabet, The Grandmother and Six Men Getting Sick and is part of a year long tribute to the director. 

It’s 30 years since the release of French classic film La Haine, and you can celebrate with screenings at cinemas across Scotland, including Glasgow’s Film Theatre and Edinburgh’s Picturehouse. 

PODCAST

The Kooks, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys: three of the most popular bands from the early 2000s. If you have questions about the highs and lows of this indie scene, the BBC’s The Rise And Fall Of Indie Sleaze, presented by Kate Nash, might have the answers.

In new podcast The Lab Detective Journalist Rachel Sylvester investigates the case of 'Australia's worst female serial killer', discovering that the story isn’t quite what it seems.

For the questioning minds out there, Why The Fork? looks at the hidden stories of everyday objects in your home and uncovers their interesting pasts.

VISUAL ART

Opening this Friday at Edinburgh’s Stills photography gallery, Siân Davey – The Garden (from Friday 1 August – Saturday 30 August) is an exploration of community, love and connection from the award winning photographer and psychotherapist.

Over at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios is Victoria Crowe: Shifting Surfaces (until Saturday 11 October). One of Scotland’s most distinguished contemporary artists marks a milestone in her career with collaborations with artists and Dovecot Studios.

The high tech experience Tutankhamun: The Immersive Exhibition (until Friday 24 October) heads to Glasgow’s SEC, following a sell-out 14 week run in London. Opening earlier this week, the experience invites guests to step back in time and uncover myths and mysteries from ancient Egypt.