AROUND TOWN

Bringing you a packed programme of traditional music, storytelling, film, workshops, talks and ceilidhs, Edinburgh Tradfest (Friday 2 – Monday 12 May) returns to venues across the city, including Traverse Theatre and The Queen’s Hall.

At St Andrews Botanic Garden they’re hosting The Big Spring Bash (Saturday 3 May) featuring live music, food, activities from The Woodland Trust and RSPB, tours of the gardens, a campfire and more.

Landing at the Westside Centre, Wester Hailes, is space-themed fairground Galactic Carnival Edinburgh (Friday 2 – Sunday 25 May), boasting everything from traditional and family-friendly attractions to gravity-defying hijinks.

MUSIC

You can dance till you drop at Glasgow’s Queen’s Park Recreation Ground this weekend during two days of fun, no-frills house, techno, disco, dub and more from some of the best DJs and live acts in the business. The monster Spring Weekender (Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 May) features Folamour, Mr Scruff, Horse Meat Disco and The Blessed Madonna.

Back in Edinburgh, Wide Days: Scotland’s Music Convention presents New From Scotland (Thursday 1 & Friday 2 May), with a line-up of Scotland’s most exciting new acts at La Belle Angele, Sneaky Pete’s, Summerhall and more.

And Glasgow’s City Halls is the setting for Tectonics Glasgow 2025 (Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 May), a boundary-breaking two-day music festival from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, curated by Ilan Volkov.

STAGE

One of the top-rated shows at last year’s Fringe, Trygve Wakenshaw: Silly Little Things (Wednesday 7 May) sees the pioneering mime conjure up some slapstick magic as he lets his impressive imagination run wild.

The Scottish cult classic is resurrected with songs as Restless Natives: The Musical (until Saturday 10 May) hits Perth Theatre and Concert Hall, directed by the original’s Michael Hoffman and with lyrics from the film’s screenwriter, Ninian Dunnett.

Comedian and Strictly favourite Ellie Taylor (Friday 2 & Saturday 3 May) is out on tour with her new show, Palavering! and she’ll be swinging by Glasgow Pavilion Theatre and Edinburgh International Conference Centre this weekend.

SCREEN

Superhero fans will be delighted at this return to form from Marvel who gather a motley crew of reluctant heroes in Thunderbolts*, assembling an eye-catching cast that includes Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Harbour.

Following the excellent Hand Of God, Italian movie maestro Paolo Sorrentino is back with something more superficial but equally eccentric and stunning in Parthenope. He follows a beautiful young woman who leaves admirers trailing in her wake. Celeste Dalla Porta impresses in the lead.

And Glasgow Film Theatre (until Saturday 31 May) will be celebrating its birthday this month with a special season of classics, starting with screenings of North By Northwest, Singin’ In The Rain and Mulholland Drive this weekend.

PODCASTS

In Strange But True Crime Rima Ahmed takes a lighter look at true crime, focussing on the bizarre over brutal, exploring audacious heists, drugs bunkers and stolen identities.

Acclaimed actress and political activist Maxine Peake presents In It Together: The Joint Enterprise Podcast, a four-part series exposing the scandal of joint enterprise convictions, where multiple people are held responsible for the same crime.

And for those of you that love to learn, Curious Cases has recently made its return, with Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain ready to solve more of your scientific mysteries. Dinosaurs, love, laughter, crows, fungus, invisibility and diamonds are all under the microscope.

VISUAL ART

Kicking off this weekend at Edinburgh’s Compass Gallery is James McDonald: Two Weeks Last Summer (Saturday 3 – Saturday 24 May). James’s style focuses on photo and hyper realism, and merges ancient traditions with a modern outlook, creating a poetic world of his own.

Also opening this weekend is Soo Burnell: At The Onsen, A Journey Into Stillness (Saturday 3 – Sunday 11 May) at Edinburgh’s Saorsa Art Gallery, showcasing the work of the Scottish fine art photographer who takes the viewer on a journey to Japan.

And finally, over at the city’s Scott Lawrie Gallery is PLINTH, a confronting meditation on state-sponsored killing and the redundancy of protest consisting of a 19th-century guillotine, standing starkly with no intro or explanation.