Published in The Scotsman, 29 July 2013

We recently saw Sparrow And The Workshop perform at one of the Dewar’s House Experimental Batch gigs, hosted in Edinburgh’s Caves venue, and were highly impressed.

The Glasgow trio combine female vocals with some fantastic guitar sounds and crashing drums. Their album Murderopolis was released earlier this summer on Song, By Toad Records. The single The Faster You Spin is one of the finest tracks we have heard this year and boasts an excellent video poking fun at Britain’s leading politicians. See the band perform at Henry’s Cellar Bar in Edinburgh on 10 August.

Gone are the days when music found itself sidelined at the EdinburghFringe, with key venues renting themselves out to a host of other performers. This year several independent labels and promoters will be hosting a wide range of shows featuring both local talent and artists from further afield.

Among the most ambitious is the Pale Imitation Festival hosted by Song, By Toad Records which is set to promote nine evenings at Henry’s, beginning with William Henry Miller on 1 August, and ending with eagleowl on 31 August. The gigs have a strong focus on Scottish talent, as well as hosting several acts from further afield.

Glasgow-based Armellodie Records will also be using Henry’s to host two label nights featuring some of their excellent roster. Taking place on 7 and 15 August, participating acts include Le Reno Amps, the excellent punk of Cuddley Shark, Gastric Band and Saint Max & The Fanatics.

For those who prefer dubstep and bass, the White Knuckle Collective will host an extravaganza at the Collective night in Sneaky Pete’s on 11 August including several acts on Edinburgh label Abaga Records. These include TeKlo, Tactus and Dunt. The night is free and is on until 5am.

Catering for anyone who prefers to enjoy their music in the daytime, Electric Circus is programming a mini festival titled Born And Bred, which takes place from 12-15 August and features a series of lunchtime performances by acts including Carrie Mac, Sienna and Donald Macdonald & The Islands.

Meanwhile, the organisers behind Edinburgh’s multi-venue Haddowfest are to host a series of gigs under the banner of Haddow On The Fringe. Broken Records are among the Scottish headliners, as are Kid Canaveral who will be performing with the amazing Cairn Quartet. The latter will also be appearing in their larger guise, the Electric String Orchestra, when they perform with Edinburgh hip-hop stars, Stanley Odd, at the Queen’s Hall on 2 August.

Staying in the capital, music will again be incorporated into the Edinburgh International Book Festival with numerous artists participating in this year’s event. For followers of the Scottish scene we recommend two of the Jura Unbound events. On 14 August John Lemke and Poppy Ackroyd perform as part of the Writers’ Block evening, which includes spoken word recitals inspired by their debut albums. On 20 August, veteran Radio Scotland presenter, Vic Galloway, reads from his debut book Songs In The Key Of Fife, which focuses on growing up with the East Neuk scene which spawned the likes of KT Tunstall, the Beta Band and the Fence Collective.

Several well-known Scottish bands and artists, including Biffy Clyro, KT Tunstall and The Proclaimers have been showing their support for the creation of a Scottish Music Hall of Fame to be built in Glasgow. The stars have filmed nomination videos detailing acts they believe deserve to be inducted, and the public can vote by visiting www.myhof3.co.uk

Long-standing Glasgow label Chemikal Underground has been given Creative Scotland support to run a diverse range of music activities for the next 12 months to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The initiative will focus on the city’s Bridgeton area, where the company has been based since it was formed 16 years ago, and promises to use a wide variety of unconventional locations including parks, train stations, sports centres, town halls, pubs, bandstands and schools, as well as regular venues. A combination of international, emerging and unknown acts will feature.