From traditional folk in dusty pubs to experimental hip-hop in bare-bones studios in Leith, an illustrated guide to Edinburgh’s legendary venues and local musicians.
Edinburgh is synonymous with culture, and of course, music. It hosts the world’s biggest international arts festival (not bad for a city of half a million people). I like to think of Edinburgh as a big village made up of smaller ones, each with a few well-preserved pubs, and, if you’re lucky, a pub that’s also a live music venue. Though the larger (and louder) Glasgow is considered more of a career-launching gig city, Edinburgh has its own strong, distinctive musical heartbeat. In the past couple of decades, some of the city’s legendary music venues have closed their doors—thanks to lack of funds, the unstoppable march of city development, or catastrophic fires—so Edinburgh’s stalwart musicians and fans are fiercely protective (and proud) of their remaining live music spaces.
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