New Edinburgh music festival this May – The Great Eastern

The Great Eastern is a brand new all-day music festival that will take place in Edinburgh on Saturday 9 May 2020.

Continuing the theme of musical exploration and discovery from The Great Western, which began in Glasgow’s West End in November last year, The Great Eastern will have over 40 acts at venues including The Queen’s Hall, King’s Hall and several rooms at Summerhall.

Among the first batch of artists announced is Bristol trio Beak> featuring Portishead’s Geoff Barrow who have a compelling mix of Krautrock/John Carpenter-inspired spookiness. They were one of the highlights at Doune the Rabbit Hole last summer, before entertaining their biggest Scottish crowd to date at QMU in December.

Joining them will be Glasgow electro-spiritual power couple Free Love, who will be bringing their extra-terrestrial synth salutations back to the capital for a spring celebration.

Newly-recovered London post-punks Warmduscher are now fighting fit again and will come to Edinburgh. They were forced to pull out of The Great Western Festival last year due to singer Clams Baker Jnr. breaking his arm.

US multi-instrumentalist B.C. Camplight, will take part alongside Icelandic experimentalist JFDR and Welsh indie-rock stormers Boy Azooga. Bella Union indie-pop troupe Penelope Isles, sprawling Glasgow post-punk crew Kaputt and Edinburgh indie-folk heroes Broken Records and Rachel Sermanni will also appear.

There will be a mix of new music from BABii, Swim School, Super Inuit, Quiche, Rory James, Kubitaru and Hamish Hawk.

The Great Eastern is the latest venture from promoters 432 Presents, in association with Summerhall/Nothing Ever Happens Here and The Queen’s Hall.