Music festivals in Edinburgh

Since its establishment in 1996, The Scots Fiddle Festival has brought together worldwide performers to promote, sustain and celebrate traditional Scots fiddle music.

The festival takes place at the Pleasance in the city’s Old Town.

15 to 17 November 2024.

A project that repurposes empty Edinburgh buildings and brings them back to life by filling them with live music, performance and art, Hidden Door is a truly unique experience for music and arts fans.

Past venues have included an abandoned vault, a hidden courtyard, an old theatre, a former cinema, a gasworks tower, a school and an office complex.

22 to 23 November 2024.

A fixture on Edinburgh’s music festival calendar since 2018, Edinburgh Summer Sessions will be setting up stage at the Royal Highland Centre.

Sting will be headlining, alongside Simple Minds and Stereophonics.

25 to 28 June 2025

Perfect for a day out from Edinburgh, and within easy travelling distance, the East Neuk Festival takes place across the River Forth in the Kingdom of Fife.

Founded in 2004, it regularly attracts thousands of visitors, keen to soak up a programme of live music. Events take place in the coastal towns of Crail, Anstruther, Kilrenny, St Monans and St Andrews in a range of atmospheric venues, from stately homes and gardens to churches, caves and even an ex-nuclear bunker!

2025 dates tbc

Now over 40 years old, the joyful and flamboyant Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival is one of the largest jazz festivals in Europe.

Attracting major international names as well as those from the growing Scottish contemporary jazz scene, visitors are able to enjoy a wide range of styles, from 1920s traditional jazz to electronic blues.

The Festival also includes the epic Mardi Gras and the gloriously colourful Edinburgh Festival Carnival. Watch the cavalcade of dancers, acrobatics, drummers and musicians weave their way from the Mound to the west end of Princes Street, before finishing with a spectacular concert of colour and sounds.

11 to 20 July 2025

Set against the backdrop of the mighty Edinburgh Castle, concert venues don’t get more majestic than this. Normally filled with daytime visitors, the castle’s esplanade is transformed into a nighttime venue for a series of concerts.

From ska and indie to pop and Celtic rock, 2024’s programme offered an electric mix of artists, including Madness, JLS, Manic Street Preachers and Suede, The National, Skipinnish and Paul Weller.

July 2025

Around 20 minutes by train, Party at the Palace at Linlithgow is within easy commutable distance from Edinburgh.

2024’s line-up included UB40, Lulu, Heaven 17, Go West, Ronan Keating, Bananarama and The Farm.

August 2025

Each year the Edinburgh International Festival attracts a worldwide audience of around 500,00 people to the city and is a cultural celebration of all performing arts.

Its music programme is renowned for attracting huge names from all genres. Past guests have included the likes of Kae Tempest, Mogwai, Ezra Furman and Herbie Hancock and you can be guaranteed that the 2025 programme will be equally eclectic.

01 to 24 August 2025

2025 sees FLY Open Air once again soaring into Edinburgh.

Featuring electronic dance entertainment keep an eye on their website and social channels for act announcements.

September 2025

While visiting Edinburgh for a festival, have a listen to the city’s thriving online community radio station, EHFM.

Since its set up in 2018, the station broadcasts 24/7 and local presenters offer an eclectic range of shows, from underground electronic music to punk rock, spoken word and even live debates and discussions.