A new ‘Meats & Beats’ festival, themed around ‘meatylicious’ street food, and music from the past five decades, hits Edinburgh this weekend, 20th – 22nd October.
The event will transform Edinburgh’s Assembly Roxy into a carnivores’ paradise, where attendees can feast on a smorgasbord of street food – mainly the sticky, juicy, barbequed variety – while getting their grove on to all their favourite tunes from the past five decades.
Organiser Richard Servranckx told The Edinburgh Reporter: ‘Meats & Beats is a mash-up of my two favourite things – great food and great music. The festival is as much about music as it is about the food – so be sure to bring your appetite and your dancing shoes – but most importantly it’s about having a great time friends. I like to think of it as a street food festival with a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ soundtrack.
We’re ditching the knives & forks and throwing our table manners out the window, this festival is all about eating with your hands, tearing strips of meat from the bone, and wiping away the BBQ sauce moustache away with the back of your hand, while busting moves on the dance floor.’
Sizzling steaks, sauce-dripping tower burgers, racks of sticky ribs, meat-topped mac ‘n’ cheese and meat-packed Quesadillas are just some of the dishes festivalgoers can tuck into at feasting tables in the main hall, each perfectly portioned so multiple dishes can be tasted without bursting attendees’ trousers or bank balance. Confirmed street food vendors include The Pitt, Kilted Lobster, The Mac Shack, Bruadair and Wild & Smoky, promising a mouth-watering menu to choose from.
Every hour the bell rings and the musical decade changes, as Disc Jockeys and a live band take festivalgoers on a journey through the pop classics of the 70s, the 80s Disco anthems, dance tunes of the 90s and pop band hits of the noughties, right up to 2017. Playlists are compiled from festivalgoers’ song requests before and during the event and in partnership with The Shack Retro Bar & Club (located on Rose Street) to ensure each session is packed with the biggest party anthems of all time.
Pop-up bars from Stewart Brewing, Fyne Ales, The Cocktail Kitchen, Poco Prosecco, Kitsch and Villeneuve Wines will serve craft beers, cocktails, wines and all-natural sodas, while chicken-wing-eating competitions, dance-offs, Music Quizzes and retro TV Game Shows such as Blind Date, Catchphrase and Blankety Blank in the upstairs theatre provide a trip-down-memory-lane entertainment. Visitors are also encouraged to dress in the style of their favourite decade, with a ‘Best Dressed’ award given out by The Shack Retro Bar & Club during each session.
Tickets from £5 are on sale now here
Author of The Team for Me - 50 Years of Following Hearts. Runs Mind Generating Success, a successful therapy practice in Edinburgh. Contact me if you want rid of any unwanted habits. Twitter @Mike1874
