BBC Scotland at the Edinburgh Festivals – Comedy, Music, Arts, Literature and Family Fun

A cultural feast of top talent, programming and events is being showcased by BBC Scotland at the Edinburgh Festivals this year.

Among the top names are Brian Cox, Miriam Margolyes, Julian Clary, Sir Ian Rankin, Paul Merton and Suki Webster, Ignacio Lopez, Adam Hills, Njambi McGrath, Jack Docherty, Jamie MacDonald, Juliet Cowan, Gavin Mitchell,  as well as Edinburgh’s rising music star Hamish Hawk, Glasgow band The Joy Hotel, and Tide Lines from the Highlands and novelists Andrew O’Hagan, Elif Shafak, Naomi Alderman, Sarah Crossan and Amy Liptrot. 

With further names to be announced, the programming across TV, iPlayer, radio, BBC Sounds and online – including events at the BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals venue – will provide key info and insight for festival goers and audiences at home. 

With a backstage pass to all the best of the Fringe and the wider festival, the popular Edinburgh Unlocked will return with comedian Mark Nelson and bring some major and rising stars to the BBC Scotland channel, while a new six-part series of The Big Scottish Book Club kicks off in August with host Damian Barr, featuring top names from the International Book Festival. The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is performing at the Edinburgh International Festival, including the prestigious opening concert, and BBC One will have highlights from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The BBC venue at the festivals is for a second year at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh’s Science Centre – with major BBC Radio Scotland, Radio Three, Radio Four and Five Live shows including Off the Ball, The Afternoon Show,  Breaking the News, Jazz Record Requests, Loose Ends and Front Row – with other audience events at the Leith Theatre, the Usher Hall and the McEwan Hall .

And there will be key highlights for families and children, with a special Take The Floor Family Ceilidh and an Authors Live event for schoolchildren in late August, plus of course coverage across news tv, radio and online with special reports from Arts Correspondent Pauline McLean.

Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning at BBC Scotland, said: “The Edinburgh festivals is a major cultural landmark in the calendar and we have a brilliant showcase for those who are at the festival and the audience at home, with terrific highlights for lovers of comedy, music – from traditional to contemporary, from classical to jazz – literature and the arts, as well as fresh events for families and children.”

HM

BBC Scotland channel highlights 

Edinburgh Unlocked

Edinburgh Unlocked returns, covering the best, weirdest, funniest and most thought-provoking shows from the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe and beyond. Host Mark Nelson and his team of comedy reporters have scoured the brochures to find the shows that will make your head turn, inspiring you to hit the streets of the biggest arts festival in the world to experience the atmosphere for yourself. Mark is joined by stand-up comedian Jamie MacDonald who can’t help but get involved in the most immersive and thrilling productions, plus there’s a weekly showcase of the best Scottish comedians who have their own Fringe shows in the capital. There’ll be no-shortage of big names either, as the festival attracts the best actors, comedians and musicians from around the world – you can be sure that there’ll be some household names cramped into a bus, tent or shipping container at some point, including national treasure Miriam Margolyes and the newest Patron of the Fringe, award winning Dundonian actor Brian Cox. It’s a fast paced show covering comedy, theatre, shows for the kids and the wonky shows that you just don’t get anywhere but the Fringe – if you can’t make it to Edinburgh this August, Mark and his team will unlock the best of it for you at home. 

The Big Scottish Book Club

The Big Scottish Book Club returns for a sixth series with a special focus on the Edinburgh festival’s own literary celebrations.  Host Damian Barr invites an eclectic range of novelists, poets and book-loving celebrities to share the precious tomes they just can’t put down, and reveal the inspiration and ideas behind this year’s best fiction. Each episode will be recorded at The Leith Theatre in front of an audience during Edinburgh’s International Book Festival, with the series starting its six week run on BBC Scotland in late August.

Lively chat is guaranteed with big names from Julian Clary and Sara Pascoe to Cariad Lloyd already confirmed to join literary giants such as Elif Shafak, Naomi Alderman, Andrew O’Hagan and Amy Liptrot, who is ‘starring’ across the  festivals this year with the movie version of her book Outrun having its UK premiere as the opening film of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the play version having its premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival.   

The BBC venue at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh’s Science Centre

 Over a two week period, the BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals venue will host and array of radio shows from BBC Radio Scotland, Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live, giving audiences a stage-side seat at numerous live and recorded sessions. 

More than a dozen BBC Radio Scotland strands will be featured; Off the Ball with Stuart Cosgrove and Tam Cowan; Breaking the News with Des Clarke; The Quay Sessions with Roddy Hart; Travelling Folk presented by Anna Massie; Out of Doors with Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart; Mornings with Stephen Jardine; BBC Introducing in Scotland presented by Phoebe Inglis-Holmes;  Sunday Morning with Connie McLaughlin; Vic Galloway; Ashley Storrie; The Afternoon Show presented by Nicola Meighan, who will also present For the Record; Take The Floor with Gary Innes, which will also have a separate and additional special Family Ceilidh show; and a special panel event for the inside scoop on Radio Scotland’s phenomenally successful True Crimes podcasts.

Also in the line-up at the venue is a run of Radio 4’s Loose Ends presented by Clive Anderson and co-host Michelle McManus, with further programming from Radio 4 including Kirsty Wark presenting Front Row, Olga Koch: OK Computer, and A Good Read with writer and broadcaster Harriett Gilbert, plus Gordon Smart’s Radio 5 Live show and for Radio 3, Alyn Shipton presents a very special edition of Jazz Record Requests, with guests international jazz virtuoso Martin Taylor, harpist Catriona McKay and Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival producer Fiona Alexander. 

Other BBC productions at the venue include a BBC Northern Ireland event of stand-up comedy featuring some of the biggest names from this year’s Fringe,  the Newscast and Access All podcasts. 

BBC Radio Scotland highlights 

The Afternoon Show 

Nicola Meighan presents a special series of The Afternoon Show from the BBC venue with comedy, theatre, and music from across the festivals. Guests including Juliet Cowan, Jack Docherty, Adam Hills, Njambi McGrath, Gavin Mitchell and Ginger Johnson and renowned Scottish theatremakers Cora Bissett, Kieran Hurley, and Gary McNair join Nicola for lively chat and performances showcasing the very best of the Edinburgh Festivals.  

And Nicola will also be at the venue in conversation with Scottish crime writer Sir Ian Rankin who will share the soundtrack to his life for a recording of For the Record, which will feature on The Afternoon Show at a later date. 

Off the Ball 

Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove are at BBC Edinburgh Festivals venue with two special shows of Off the Ball and guests including Paul Merton and Suki Webster

Breaking the News

BBC Radio Scotland’s multi-award-winning topical comedy panel show Breaking the News is returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for two special recordings. Hosted by Des Clarke, Breaking the News invites a heady mix of Festival favourites like Andrew Maxwell and Neil Delamere and Breaking the News regulars like Jay Lafferty and Marjolein Robertson, to take a satirical swipe at the week’s news in Scotland and around the world.  We’re also adding some international flair with host of Australia’s award winning satirical show The Cheap Seats, Melanie Bracewell, and Spain’s finest export since Rioja, top comic Ignacio Lopez

The Quay Sessions with Roddy Hart 

The Quay Sessions with Roddy Hart presents an Edinburgh Festival special, showcasing great homegrown talent.  Folk pop quartet Tide Lines are summer festival favourites.  Formed in the heart of the inspiring Scottish Highlands, the popular band – comprising Robert Robertson on vocals and guitar, keyboardist Ross Wilson, drummer Fergus Munro, and Alasdair Turner on electric guitar and bagpipes – are known for their warm, vibrant genre-bending take on indie-folk.  Also joining the bill is soulful singer-songwriter Tamzene.  The Cromarty singer-songwriter has supported the likes of Adele, Katie Melua and James Bay and is preparing to head out on her own autumn headline tour.

Take the Floor

Gary Innes brings his irrepressible enthusiasm for traditional Scottish music to two special festival Take the Floor shows. The first on August 10 will showcase performances from the John Burns Dance Band  and Iain MacPhail and his Scottish Dance Band. The second show on Aug 11 is a dedicated Family Ceilidh with Gary at the helm and music from The Liam Stewart Band.

Travelling Folk 

 Anna Massie presents a night of live music from the heart of the Edinburgh Festivals, featuring some of the best folk and roots acts Scotland has to offer including the Ciarán Ryan Band, Joseph Peach and Rhona Stevens. 

Out of Doors 

Covering all aspects of the countryside and outdoor activities, Out of Doors comes to the Edinburgh Festival with Mark Stephen and Rachel Stewart in conversation with a range of guests whose passion is to be out of doors. Guests lined up include mountaineer and adventurer Mollie Hughes, presenter of the Grand Tours TV series around Scotland Paul Murton, James Crawford, author of ‘Wild History – Journeys into Lost Scotland’.  Also Maggie Sheddan who is a Custodian at the Bass Rock.

True Crime Podcasts

 Whether you’re a seasoned podcast detective or you’ve just binged your first true crime series and you’re looking for your next listen, come and join the audience for BBC Radio Scotland’s True Crime podcast panel with presenter Fiona Stalker.  Producers and Presenters from titles such as ‘Who Killed Emma?’, ‘The Missing Madonna’, ‘Dead Man Running’ and ‘Assassin Comes to Town’ tell us the stories behind their top podcasts with Myles Bonnar,  Sam Poling, Calum McKay, Mona McAlinden, Jack Kibble-White and Emily Esson taking part.

Vic Galloway

Vic Galloway has a packed two hours filled with great live music and alternative hits. This year Vic has two special live sessions from Scotland’s most exciting music talent, Hamish Hawk and The Joy Hotel. 

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

On Sunday 4 August, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra performs the Opening Concert of the Edinburgh International Festival. Chief Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth assembles the much-loved Edinburgh Festival Chorus, as well as six world-class soloists – Elizabeth Watts, Sarah Connolly, Laurence Kilsby, James Atkinson, Ed Lyon, and Neal Davies – for Johann Sebastian Bach’s majestic oratorio ‘St Matthew Passion’

For its second concert at the Edinburgh International Festival, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra reunites with its former Chief Conductor Sir Donald Runnicles to explore the works of Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner. Runnicles is now the leading Scottish conductor of his generation, but his connection with the Edinburgh International Festival goes back much further. His first performance at the Festival was in 1965, aged just 11, when he sang in the Edinburgh Festival Chorus for Mahler’s epic ‘Symphony of a Thousand’. Runnicles went on to conduct the Chorus in 1994, performing the very same score. Now for this concert on August 23, Runnicles turns his attention to Mahler’s setting of the German folk poems of Des Knaben Wunderhorn. The BBC SSO also performs Bruckner’s magnificent final symphony. 

Both concerts are at the Usher Hall and will be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

 Authors Live

Authors Live, which BBC Scotland runs in partnership with Scottish Book Trust, will have a special event in August in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Book Festival. With around 800 pupils in attendance from 27 schools around Scotland at the McEwan Hall, this Authors Live will be presented by Bryan Burnett and will feature writer Sarah Crossan – widely regarded as one of YA’s most compelling voices – discussing her novel Where The Heart Should Be, with the session available on BBC iPlayer from August 28.