Lau-Land

Lau-Land is an all-day experience presented by award-winning folk band Lau, which sees them take over Leith Theatre with events featuring an incredibly eclectic collection of international artists and special guests. Beginning in the afternoon and running into the wee small hours of Saturday 18 August, Lau-Land features community folk sessions, musical sharing and performances. The day kicks off with the Big Tune Machine, a celebration of folk music, its community and the sharing of music and teaching that sustains it. Working with Amy Geddes and Donald Knox of Fyne Fiddles, Lau will lead a performance featuring new arrangements of traditional folk music from the Big Tune Machine Band, a group of community folk musicians from Edinburgh and the Lothians who range in age from 10 through to players in their 60s. The Big Tune Machine takes place from 2pm ? 5.30pm, with a performance from the Big Tune Machine Band from 2.30pm ? 3.15pm, followed by an open session from 3.30pm – 5.30pm. The afternoon is free but ticketed, and audience members are invited to stay after the performance to experience or even take part in an informal music session which will follow afterwards. In the evening, Kris Dever, Martin Green and Aidan O’Rourke of Lau will lead a host of friends and collaborators including the American singer-songwriter Joan As Police Woman, Egyptian electronica artist Nadah El Shazly, folk singer Alasdair Roberts alongside Siobhan Milller, the psychedelic sound of James Holden & The Animal Spirits, the traditional pipes of Rona Lightfoot and Brighde Chaimbuel, chamber-folk quartet RANT, acapella traditional singers Landless and the Whitburn Band. Inhabiting different spaces through the Leith Theatre complex, this mini-festival bill features concurrent performances by artists, allowing audiences to move between performances.

Edinburgh International Festival. This event takes place at Leith Theatre, Leith Library, 28-30 Ferry Road, Edinburgh EH6 4AE