50 ELECTRIC FROG SPAWNING A
MONSTER YEAR The Glasgow clubs outi t hit a new peak this year
with a Fatboy Slim / Sven Väth-headlining Riverside Festival. Other phenomenal guests from 2016 included Candi Staton, Todd Terje, Bonobo and Hot Since 82, with Jazzy Jeff still to come. (NB)
49 DUNDEE LITERARY FESTIVAL
CITY OF DISCOVERING WORDS ‘The best writers in the world, in Dundee’. So says the festival’s tagline, and it’s got the goods to back it up. This year’s programme featured Alan Cumming, James Kelman, Don Paterson and Jenni Fagan, and had literary events for all the family. (RM)
48 ROBBIE COLTRANE
A NATIONAL TREASURE
Robbie Coltrane made a bold return to TV, bringing
depth and nuance to a challenging role as a former 70s star accused of sexual assault and paedophilia in Channel 4’s darkly disturbing National Treasure. His complex and captivating performance kept you guessing until the i nal moments. (HN)
47 DOMINIC HILL
DIRECTING THE FUTURE Dominic Hill’s continued success in the CATS awards rel ects his ambitious and distinctive approach to directing theatre. With Zinnie Harris’ script for This Restless House, he took on Aeschylus’ Oresteia and re-imagined it in a determinedly contemporary style. (GKV)
46 GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL GOLDEN SCREEN
Screening Con Air (on a plane) to an audience in prison jumpsuits would’ve been Hot 100-worthy on its own. Aidan Moffat’s Where You’re Meant to Be, Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room and Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa cemented an astounding 2016 programme. (NB)
45 LEITHLATE PORT OF CALL
Edinburgh’s dei nitive neighbourhood festival returned to its usual format of
a bustling one-night art and music walk this year, with talks and gigs continuing over the following weekend. It remains the leading force in a sense of grassroots cultural resurgence across the port district. (DP)
28 THE LIST 3 Nov 2016–31 Jan 2017
44 FERN BRADY BETWEEN ONE FERN
After an impressive Fringe debut in 2015, the England-based Scot went one better with the superb Male Comedienne. Her frank, fearless and very funny hour about class, gender, religion and inept tabloid picture editors included a darkly compelling canine-based closing sequence. (BD)
43 BUZZCUT
HAIR-RAISING FESTIVAL
Buzzcut’s annual event in Govan supports an unrivaled range of
exciting and emerging artists. Having added a programme of ‘doublethrills’ at the CCA to its portfolio, Buzzcut remains Glasgow’s champion for experimental performance that can draw large, inclusive crowds. (GKV)
42 STEVE MASON
A SAFE BETA Ever-reliable as a musician and polemicist, the sometime Beta
Band singer was back with Meet the Humans, his most successful album yet, which mingled warm pop anthemics and a sense of radiant positivity. Live dates also followed. (DP)
41 WHITE
RICH VEIN OF FORM ‘Cuts That Don’t Bleed’ is the beautifully macabre name for WHITE’s hotly- anticipated debut EP, released in late October. In early 2016 they embarked on their i rst headline tour, which was quickly followed by a co-headline jaunt with Baby Strange. (RM)
P H O T O
: J A M E S R O B E R T S O N
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