The Edinburgh International Festival has unveiled a diverse programme to take place in the Scottish capital. Taking place between August 5 to 28, the contemporary section of the programme has a number of diverse performances from a variety of acts playing in the city, with some acts returning and others making their International Festival debut.
For jazz fans, the International Festival has a double treat: the legendary jazz pianist and 14-time Grammy Award winner Herbie Hancock returns to Scotland for the first time in over 17 years for a special one-off performance at the Edinburgh Playhouse on August 7. Meanwhile London jazz quartet and Mercury Prize nominees Sons of Kemet play Leith Theatre on August 14, and nu-jazz The Cinematic Orchestra have announced their first live performance of 2022 at Leith Theatre on August 26.
Leith Theatre will also see two electronic icons play in the second week of August. Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) performs a special live show on the 25th anniversary year of pioneering dance album Hard Normal Daddy, whose set will includes the first Scottish performance of tracks from glitchy, colourful and abrasive 2020 release Be Up A Hello on August 11. Fellow electronic musician and composer “The Wizard” Jeff Mills makes his International Festival debut with his latest project Tomorrow Comes The Harvest on August 13.
Making her Scottish debut is Princess Nokia. Following a triumphant double album release in 2020 with Everything Sucks and Everything is Beautiful, she plays Leith Theatre on August 17, while the same venue will see Lucy Dacus make her International Festival debut on August 25.
Returning to the festival for the first time since 2019 is Mercury Prize shortlisted artist Kae Tempest who comes back to Leith Theatre on August 20, following the release of their fourth album The Line Is A Curve, which is due for release in April, while American singer-songwriter Ezra Furman will performs tracks from her latest release Point Me Toward The Real at the same venue on August 23.
French-Cuban duo Naomi and Lisa-Kaindé Diaz of Ibeyi will performing tracks from their upcoming third studio album Spell 31 at Leith Theatre on August 18. 2022 double Grammy Award nominee Arooj Aftab, a rising star who combines traditional Sufi poetry with genre blending musical soundscapes, plays the same venue on August 21.
Scottish indie rock duo Arab Strap make their International Festival debut at Leith Theatre on August 19, following on from their first release in sixteen years As Days Get Dark.
The programme also features traditional music with Romanian folk supergroup Taraf De Caliu opens the Leith Theatre series on August 10 with their authentic folk jams, led by violinist Gheorghe “Caliu” Anghel and other members of the veritable Taraf de Haïdouks.
Finally, Niteworks close out the International Festival Leith Theatre series with their unique fusion of traditional and electronic sound on August 28.
General booking opens on Friday 8 April. A full line-up and information on individual concerts can be found at www.eif.co.uk/music
