St James Quarter Sessions

St James Quarter Sessions is back for its third year this August!

Our free music festival in the heart of the city, offering a range of diverse performances from a whole host of incredible musical talent, will return from Friday 15th August – Sunday 24th August.

Alongside our Sessions stage and venue programme, we’ll welcome back our Busking Spotlight Sessions with stripped-back performances across the entire month of August.

With over 60 acts performing across the Quarter, this year’s line-up includes The Brand New Heavies, Bemz, Cortney Dixon, Dictator and Tamzene.

Grassroots music champions Wide Days will be taking over the Castle View stage with their ‘New From Scotland’ series, showcasing Scotland’s hottest new talent. Festival-goers can enjoy the industry’s top picks of future Scottish stars before they reach the masses.

Elsewhere on the bill will be Dara Dubh, Beth Miller, Ant Thomaz, Indoor Foxes, Justine Beverley and more home‑grown talent taking over stages throughout St James Quarter and intimate shows in partner venues including Gordon Ramsay Street Burger, Joao’s Place at W Edinburgh and The Alchemist.

Please note: The Castle View Stage on Level 6 is an open-air rooftop venue in Scotland, please dress appropriately and be prepared for changing weather conditions.

• Level 6 (Castle View Stage) – Over 16s only. 16-17 year olds must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over in the bar area.
• Level 3 (Yellow Stage) – Under 18s to be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over in the bar area.

All level 6 shows require a £5 reservation fee per ticket which will be redeemed against an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink on the night (via a voucher). In the event of a no-show, the reservation fee will be donated to our nominated charity Gig Buddies.

Gig Buddies with Thera Trust enables adults with a learning disability and autistic adults to live an active social life. The project works across the central belt and takes a holistic approach to enabling people to better access their chosen social lives. They work directly with event organisers to raise awareness of people’s barriers to access, while pairing project members with like-minded volunteers to enjoy their shared passions together, expand their social networks, and get out to more gigs!

Download our app now to get your hands on tickets and to access set times!

St James Quarter Busking Spotlight Sessions

Applications for our Busking Spotlight Sessions have now closed.

We’ll be sharing more from the artists who have been selected soon!