Edinburgh is the place to be on Sunday 1st September as the expanded Edinburgh Psych Fest brings bands from all four corners of the UK and beyond to the city for this one-day festival. The 2024 Festival has been expanded to four venues instead of the usual two, The Caves & The Mash House are the additional venues added to host the acts alongside Summerhall & The Queen’s Hall. The Edinburgh Psych Fest is a partner of the Brighton Psych Fest (30th August) and the Manchester Psych Fest (31st August) with both these days also attracting large crowd.
Below are five artists we’re looking forward to seeing at the Edinburgh event.
Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys needs little introduction, the former vocalist of Welsh band Super Furry Animals he left to embark on a solo project to great success, his January 2024 album Sadness Sets Me Free is his 11th solo project to date and we expect to hear some tracks from that album at The Edinburgh Psych Fest. Rhys won the 2011 Welsh Music Prize for his album Hotel Shampoo, he has also been involved with other bands such as electro-pop outfit Neon Neon. Gruff Rhys should attract a big crowd for his performance in Edinburgh so we advise getting down early.
Pigs x7
Pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs (or Pigs x7 for short) are a stoner metal band formed in 2012 and hail from Newcastle Upon Tyne, expect them to bring a mixture of punk and psych rock vibes to the capital playing songs from their four studio albums to date including their 2023 release Land of Sleeper. The quintet are made up of Matthew Baty (vocals), Sam Grant (guitar), Adam Ian Sykes (lead guitar), John-Michael Joseph Hedley (bass) and Ewan Mackenzie (drums).
NewDad
NewDad have been gaining lots of attention since the release of their debut album MADRA in January and gaining an ever-growing fan base with their unique shoegaze style, the sold out UK tour proving that this talented Galway band are here to stay. Various summer festival appearances have put them right on the radar in 2024, we were lucky enough to catch their set at TRNSMT 2024. The quartet are made up of Julie Dawson (vocals/guitar), Sean O’Dowd (lead guitar), Cara Joshi (bass) and Fiachra Parslow (drums).
HotWax
HotWax are a relatively new band only forming in 2020, but in that time they have built a reputation as a must see live band with their unique blend of alternative rock. Alongside their high energy live sets they released two EPs in 2023 – A Thousand Times and Invite Me, Kindly – during a recent interview they revealed to Bring The Noise that they were working on an album due for release in 2025. HotWax have been touring extensively over the last couple of year supporting the likes of Frank Carter and Royal Blood. The Hastings trio are made up of Tallulah Sim-Savage (vocals/guitar), Lola Sam (vocals/bass) and Alfie Sayers (drums). You don’t want to miss this performance!
SOAPBOX
SOAPBOX made their TRNSMT debut in 2024 on the River Stage and we were blown away by their high-energy performance, frontman Tom Rowan certainly knows how to get a crowd worked up! If high energy punk music is your thing then you best not miss this performance from the up and coming Glasgow band. They released an EP in April 2024, HAWD THAT, and we are sure they will play tracks from that. They are made up of Tom Rowan (vocals), Angus Husband (guitar), Aidan Bowskill (bass) and Jenna Nimmo (drums).
La Luz
From further afield band such as La Luz have caught our eye, hailing from Seattle, USA this band will bring the psychedelic energy that we are all looking for, we expect their set to be one of the highlights of the day at Psych Fest.
Check out the line-up in full below!
Tickets for Edinburgh Psych Fest are on sale now, available HERE.
Written by: Alan Brown
