MUSIC

Twin Atlantic, Stranraer Library, Stranraer, tomorrow

After a flying visit to Benicassim in Spain, Scots alt-rock outfit Twin Atlantic are in Stranraer tomorrow to play a stripped-back, unplugged matinee show in the local library. A treat in itself but you could always combine it with a wee trip to Belfast.

The Herald: Twin AtlanticTwin Atlantic

 

Edinburgh Blues & Jazz Festival, various venues until July 23

Difficult to cherry pick the best from this year’s fulsome programme for the Edinburgh Blues & Jazz Festival which kicked off yesterday. Brian Kellock, Mobo-winning pianist Zoe Rahman, American saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, Fergus McCreadie, Georgia Cecile and Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra are just some of the names playing Edinburgh over the next nine days. But if you’re time-poor, we reckon that either Ibibio Sound Machine at the Queen’s Hall on Thursday or the excellent Nubiyan Twist who play George Square Spiegeltent next Saturday would be a good investment. And if you’re looking for fun, American country blues outfit The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, pictured, are playing next Thursday and Friday.

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Eve Simpson, The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, Monday

If you haven’t heard Eve Simpson sing before you’re in for a treat. The voice is clear and supple, the songs smart and honest. She’s proof that there is a future in the old-school singer-songwriter tradition, with a touch of folk thrown into the mix too. Originally from South Shields, she’s now based in Edinburgh, but she’s travelling along the M8 for this Glasgow gig which is part of the Endless Summer Festival. 

 

ART

Space to Breathe, Bowhouse, St Monans, Fife, from today to August 6

Art advisor and curator Sophie Camu Lindsay  (formerly of Sotheby’s) and her husband photographer Alex Lindsay today launch a new annual art exhibition and festival in Fife. Space to Breathe brings together four artists and photographers - Harry Cory Wright, Susan Derges, Andy Goldsworthy and Lindsay himself - who offer a fresh take on visual representations of the landscape. No one ever needs an excuse to visit the East Neuk, but this sounds like a fine addition to any trip there.

 

BOOK

The Second Murderer, Denise Mina, Harvill Secker, £18.99

Glasgow’s Denise Mina is the latest author to step into Raymond Chandler’s shoes. The Second Murderer sees her take on Philip Marlowe in a mystery that takes in Beverly Hills and Skid Row, a missing heiress and the odd tough dame. The result is pleasingly convoluted though the real fun is reading Mina’s take on Chandler’s hardboiled style:  “He looked like a headache in a suit.” 

The Herald: Denise MinaDenise Mina

CLASSICAL

iuchair Ensemble, Govan Old Parish Church, Govan, Thursday

Here’s an early evening (6pm) treat. Glasgow’s iuchair Ensemble ,who specialise in early Renaissance and medieval vocal music, perform Pertus de Domarto’s Missa Spiritus Almus in the suitably historic surroundings of Govan old Parish Church. Tickets only cost £1, so you are quids in, as it were.