FESTIVAL MUSIC | Top Tips
NYO-USA JAZZ WE ARE
Usher Hall, 5 Aug, 8pm, £10–£24. Big band favourites to contemporary jazz and maybe even a bit of hip hop and R&B from Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Directed by trumpeter / composer Sean Jones with special guest vocalist Dianne Reeves.
CHOIR OF MAN Assembly Rooms, 2–26 Aug (not 13), 8pm, £13–£17.50 (£11–£16.50). A night of unadulterated entertainment that combines high-energy dance, live music and foot-stomping choreography with the talent of nine ordinary guys who perform everything from sing-along classics to classic rock.
BON: THE MUSICAL Greenside @ Nicholson Square, 3–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 8.45pm, £12 (£10). Previews 3–5 Aug, £10. Hard rockin’ musical telling the story of legendary AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott. Brought to life by Kingdom Theatre Company and starring ex-Nazareth vocalist Linton Osborne.
9PM
UKULELE DEATH SQUAD Leith Depot, 3, 5, 7–9, 12 Aug, 9pm, £11 (£10). Taking ukulele music to new heights with a rousing and fiery take on folk, mariachi, flamenco and rap all played on tiny four-string ukes (with back up on sax).
Just Festival at St John’s, 7–25 Aug (not 12, 19), 9pm, £15 (£13). LA band Adaawe provide uplifting singing, drumming and dancing as they share stories from women around the globe.
BLUESWATER PRESENT: QUEENS
OF THE BLUES theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 3–25 Aug, 9.10pm, £10 (£9). A celebration of all the great female blues singers through the years led by vocalist Nicole Smit.
10PM
THE FLYBOYS: A POSTMODERN SWING SENSATION!
Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 4–24 Aug (not 13), 10.30pm, £11.50–£13 (£10.50–£12). Previews 1–3 Aug, £8. Imagine a night where Pharrell Williams croons with Judy Garland, Ricky Martin scats with Cab Calloway, and Maroon 5 groove with Ella Fitzgerald. Four masters of mash-up will whisk you back to the golden age of big bands but with an incredibly unique twist.
11PM
FLY PRESENTS JASPER JAMES & THEO KOTTIS
Cabaret Voltaire, 3 Aug, 11pm, £12. Underground house and techno selections from James and Kottis at this festival opening party boasting a 5am licence.
TOM JONES The Welsh crooner is back doing what he does best. Mr Jones knows how to work a crowd not only dishing out big hits (including singalong favourites ‘What’s New Pussy Cat?’, ‘Delilah’ and ‘Green Green Grass of Home’) but in recent years he’s returned to his roots celebrating the best of soul, blues and gospel. The perfect way to kick start the Summer Sessions series of open-air gigs. Princes Street Gardens, 6 Aug, 6pm, £55–£80.
SOULSVILLE Summerhall, 3, 26 Aug, 11pm, £5. Bookending the festival with a hot selection of soul, funk, rare groove, deep disco, Latin, world beats and global grooves.
MASSAOKE MIXTAPE Assembly George Square
Gardens, 2–5, 9–12, 16–19, 23–26 Aug, 11.30pm, £12–£16. For anyone who gets nervous at the thought of getting up on stage for karaoke but loves a big singsong, Massaoke is for you. No star turns, just big belting tunes with lyrics onscreen that the entire audience sings together.
102 THE LIST FESTIVAL 1–8 Aug 2018