Music, Performance & Podcasts

Join us for comedy, podcasts, and shenanigans galore as we welcome a host of performers, bards, and broadcasters to raise the roof of the fabulous Spiegeltent.

We’re thrilled to present a sneak peek at hip-hop musical Wallace from the mighty Dave Hook and Rob Drummond, as well as celebrating 50 years of Scottish punk with Caledonia Screaming. Astrid Jorgensen leads the crowd in song (no rehearsal required!) alongside writer Lauren Elkin as they explore the power of our voices, and there’s a special farewell celebration for local indie publishing sensation 404 Ink.

Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen and broadcast legend Nicola Meighan convene a constellation of starry pals for music, chat, and fun, while we play host to live podcast recordings from BookTok sensation Jack Edwards’ Inklings Book Club (with special guest Jem Calder), Australian favourite The Secret Life of Books, and The Ukrainian Shelf with Olesya Khromeychuk and Uilleam Blacker. The hilarious and bookish Cariad Lloyd and Sara Pascoe return for their wildly popular Weirdos Book Club, and to close the Festival, we welcome The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers to murder some tunes.

And back by popular demand, following a sell-out UK tour earlier this year, Hamish Hawk returns for a one-night-only performance of our commission from Festival 2025, Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 0.