New outdoor music festival to be staged in Edinburgh

By The Newsroom
Published 6th Mar 2018, 05:00 BST
Big CountryBig Country
Big Country
A major new outdoor music festival is to be staged in Edinburgh this summer to coincide with the launch of an exhibition charting the history of Scottish pop and rock.

The Rezillos, Big Country, The Skids and Idlewild are among the acts who will be performing in the grounds of the city’s former vet school in June.

All of them will also be featuring in the National Museum of Scotland’s exhibition, Rip it Up, which will chart the evolution of the nation’s musical culture from the 1950s to the present day.

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The Summerhall arts centre, which opened on the site of Edinburgh University’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies seven years ago, will be staging ten days of events in its courtyard.

The Rezillos are among the bands lined up to perform during the festival. Picture: TSPLThe Rezillos are among the bands lined up to perform during the festival. Picture: TSPL
The Rezillos are among the bands lined up to perform during the festival. Picture: TSPL

A host of leading contemporary acts, including Be Charlotte, Emma Pollock, Stanley Odd, Modern Studies, Paws, Man of Moon and Withered Hand will also be appearing at the festival, which will open the weekend before the exhibition is officially unveiled.

Summerhall chiefs say Southern Exposure, which runs from 15-24 June, will be the most ambitious programme that has been put together at the venue outwith the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The full programme includes a screening of the classic concert film Monterey Pop, which is also part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, an outdoor ceilidh and a marathon 12-and-a-half-hour line-up on the Saturday after the exhibition opens.