Preview: Winter music at Summerhall

The venue’s live music programme Nothing Ever Happens Here finds a bumper roster of local, national and international bands queuing to perform in then 450-capacity Dissection Room.

Summerhall’s Jamie Sutherland, promises, “Nothing Ever Happens Here is proud to present its winter 2016 programme. The line-up features a mixture of worldwide breakout artists, such as Julia Holter (USA) and Girl Band (Ireland), as well as the homespun talents of Withered Hand, Pictish Trail & James Yorkston and Hector Bizerk.

“We are delighted to be including the truly iconic King Ayisoba and Ayuune Suul and Optima Espacio. There is a whole host of talent coming to Edinburgh in the opening months of this year.”

It all kicks off on Friday when King Ayisoba, who mixes kologo music from the upper east region of Ghana with the energy and flavour of the ‘Modern Ghanaian’ dance scene, is joined on stage by fellow Ghanaian kologo player, Ayuune Sule, as well as Zea (aka Arnold de Boer), the vocalist/guitarist of world fusion inspired punk legends, The Ex.

The following night there is a unique chance to see three of Scotland’s finest songwriters in one room, local singer-songwriter Dan Willson best known as Withered Hand, Pictish Trail aka Johnny Lynch, and James Yorkston, one of the original members of The Fence Collective, will be trading stories and collaborating on each other’s music.

On January 29 DJ duo Optimo take over The Dissection Room for a one off Optimo (Espacio) event. JD Twitch and JG Wilkes are renowned for their visionary and exploratory musical approach, as well as throwing some of the ‘best parties on the planet’.

In February, Mojo and Uncut album of the year winner Julia Holter plays a one off gig on the 20th at which she will no doubt visit her latest album Have You In My Wilderness, the fourth full-length album from the Los Angeles artist.

February 22 brings one of Scotland’s most hyped bands, Tuff Love, to the venue to promote their new album, Dregs. Tuff Love - Julie Eisenstein (guitar, vocals) and Suse Bear (bass, vocals), drummer Iain Stewart - write dazzling, sun-streaked guitar pop

Co-headlining with them are The Prettiots, New York’s no-nonsense ukulele wielding ‘It Girls’. With effervescent melodies faultlessly combined with colourfully up-front dialogue, The Prettiots paint an exceptionally vivid portrait of what it’s like to be young and living in New York City, using unabashed and no-nonsense song-writing as directed by frontwoman Kay Kasparhauser.

If hip-hop is more your thing then watch out for Hector Bizerk who bring their unique brand of experimental hip-hop to the Dissection Room on February 25. Hector Bizerk’s live show combines front-man Louie’s razor sharp poetry with the incredible tribal rhythms of Audrey Tait to create a crescendo of thought-provoking music.

On a more traditional note, flautist Michael McGoldrick, fiddler John McCusker and guitarist John Doyle , three members of the BBC’s Transatlantic Sessions, play Summerhall on February 26. With both McGoldrick and McCusker having toured for the past year with Mark Knopfler, this is a rare chance to see three of the world’s finest musicians share a stage together.

Still in February, on 27, it’s the turn of Dublin’s Girl Band to entertain. Loud, intense and energetic, Dara Kiely, Alan Duggan, Daniel Fox and Adam Faulkner make up one of the hottest guitar bands out at the moment.

Support comes from Dublin quartet Jet Setter who are fast making a name for their fuzzy, straight-to-the-point, indie-rock.

Into March and the music continues as Adam Stafford holds his Taser Revelations Album Launch with Robbie Lesiuk. Stafford returns with his first album in nearly three years following the widely acclaimed Imaginary Walls Collapse in 2013.

Finally, electronic music legend Ulrich Schnauss visits the Dissection Room on March 13. At once uplifting and otherworldly, the music of Schnauss combines multilayered synthesizers with beats and ethereal vocals.

There’s something for everyone at Summerhall this winter.

For further information of all Nothing Ever Happens Here gigs, visit www.summerhall.co.uk