It wouldn’t be the Edinburgh Festival as we know it without the presence of Camille O’Sullivan. The “queen of the Fringe” is back for her 20th year with a new show, Loveletter, at Assembly Roxy in which she pays tribute to her dear departed friends Shane MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor alongside her usual repertoire from Bowie to Brel. She’s not the only dramatic diva on the block – Fringe regular Christine Bovill also returns with a tribute to the life and songs of Edith Piaf entitled No Regrets at the EICC while, for one night only at the Queens Hall, German singer and actress Ute Lemper invites us to Rendezvous With Marlene in a show inspired by a three-hour phone call she had with Marlene Dietrich at the start of her career.
Pianist Will Pickvance combines playful performance with engaging storytelling in his latest show, Wonky, at Summerhall, while the irrepressible Tinderbox Orchestra return to the grand environs of Edinburgh Central Library for Outwith Words, a collaboration with Loud Poets, which brings hip-hop and orchestral music together in thrilling communion.
Orange Juice guitarist James Kirk and Del Amitri keyboard player Andy Alston forged lockdown links as the wittily named Alston/Kirk Overdrive. Their debut Fringe show, Broadside Ballads, at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose features interpretations of Scottish folk songs from the archives of the National Library of Scotland as interpreted by some of their Scotpop peers. Meanwhile, the nationwide phenomenon that is Rock Choir is in residence at theSpace Triplex, where a revolving line-up of community rock choirs perform sparky choral renditions of pop repertoire, and Oxford University’s acappella boy band Out of the Blue return in their latest iteration to Assembly George Square for a jolly good show.
The Edinburgh International Festival continues to attract some of the most acclaimed names in contemporary music. Cat Power brings her Dylan ’66 show to the Playhouse, meticulously covering Bob Dylan’s 1966 Albert Hall show from acoustic first half right through to sacrilegious second half with full electric band. Sticking with the alternative pop divas strand, Bat For Lashes appears at the Queens Hall with material from her latest album, The Dream of Delphi, a musical reverie inspired by pregnancy and motherhood, while Nadine Shah tackles themes of grief and therapy in visceral fashion at the same venue.
Showman and virtuoso Chilly Gonzales, who holds the world record for longest piano recital, confines himself to one evening concert at the Usher Hall, while Magnetic Fields require two nights at the Queens Hall to perform all of their classic album 69 Love Songs on its 25th anniversary.
Like Chilly and Magnetic Fields, Senegalese legend Youssou N’Dour is an EIF returnee. Hailed as the greatest living African singer, expect a rollercoaster of emotions and an irresistible blend of traditions at his Usher Hall show. Or take a chance on Balimaya Project, making their EIF debut at Queens Hall, blending the music of their West African roots with the urban jazz of their London home.
