The best EIF contemporary music shows - Scotsman critic Jim Gilchrist previews the 2025 programme
Scotsman critic Jim Gilchrist picks his contemporary music highlights from this year’s EIF programme
Vołosi Part of the Festival’s Focus on Poland concert season, Vołosi are a powerful string quartet steeped who draw on styles as wildly diverse as rock, punk, folk, jazz and film music. Inveterate global troubadours, their performances can range from the lyrical to the wildly improvisational. The Hub, 9 August
Triptic Three former members of the much-loved Scottish-based quintet Moishe’s Bagel reunite to continue their exploration of global music. Award-winners all, violinist Greg Lawson, pianist-accordionist Phil Alexander and double-bassist Mario Caribé range with zest and passion through klezmer, Balkan and tango styles and beyond, as well as playing their own material. The Hub, 11 August
Ímar Having emerged from Glasgow’s traditional session scene, Ímar, named after an ancient Viking leader, are an award-winning pan-Celtic quintet of Scottish, Irish and Manx musicians. Expect sparkling high energy sets from fiddle and Irish pipes, concertina, bouzouki and bodhran. The Hub, 14 August
Østerlide Norwegian nu-folk trio Østerlide bring a fresh and often strikingly beautiful slant to their native folk heritage, with vocalist Liv Ulvik’s soaring, ethereal tones cusped by guitarist Andreas Haddeland and percussionist Ulrik Ibsen Thorsrud. The Hub, 16 August
Up Late with Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith The synth-driven soundscapes of American composer, performer and producer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith have variously described by critics as “sublime” and “dreamy”. Key to her work – in addition to her own ethereal vocals – is the Buchla modular synthesiser, which she credits with creating “happy accidents”. The Hub, 16 August
Catrin Finch & Aoife Ní Bhriain The duo of Welsh harpist Katrin Finch and Irish violinist-fiddler Aoife Ní Bhriain is both a marvel of contrasting yet empathetic timbres and a fine colloquy between cultures. Both musicians transcend genres, Finch adventuring well beyond classical while Ní Bhriain, lauded as a classical soloist, grew up in Dublin surrounded by traditional music. The Hub, 18 August
Canvas of Sound with Tazeen Qayyum Pakistani-born Canadian artist Tazeen Qayyum initially trained in miniature painting at the National College of Arts in Lahore, but her practice now spans a wide range of media and often incorporates live performance. In Canvas of Sound, she will create a calligraphic drawing in real time to music blending Middle Eastern rhythms and jazz from Basel Rajoub (saxophone, dulcimer and percussion) and qanun player Feras Charestan. The Hub, 21 August
William Barton The indigenous Australian composer, multi-instrumentalist and didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton is also appearing as a soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Here he performs solo, featuring intriguing sounding compositions informed by elements as diverse as his Kalkadunga heritage and a youthful love of Elvis Presley, AC/DC and Vivaldi. The Hub, 23 August
Up Late with Endea Owens The charismatic Detroit-raised jazz bassist and composer makes a return visit to the EIF with her powerful sextet The Cookout, featuring trumpet, saxophone, piano and vocalists. Expect exuberant treatment of jazz standards as well as her own compositions, in what should make for a distinctly upbeat last night at The Hub. The Hub, 24 August
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