Arusa Qureshi

Our Annual Report highlights the stark truth that 59% of grassroots music venues no longer receive regular national touring shows. Whole regions - towns and cities with millions of people - have effectively vanished from the UK’s touring map.

Between the bars: theatrical gig about life after prison reveals hard truths of homecoming A Giant on the Bridge, performed by a ‘Scottish indie folk supergroup’, draws on dozens of interviews about the confines former prisoners experience on the outside

Love the sound of this 'Scottish indie folk supergroup', written up here by @arusa.bsky.social Qureshi

www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/j...

Thanks so much for sharing Libby! It really is an incredible show – can’t recommend it enough!

It was a joy to speak to Jo Mango, Liam Hurley and Phil Crockett Thomas about the wonderful A Giant on the Bridge for @theguardian.com. It's on tour soon – don't miss it!

In today’s @scotnational.bsky.social chatting to the folks behind @henhoose.bsky.social and their new album The Twelve 💖

The last thing to read before you switch off for Christmas🎄

Our wonderful blogger @arusa.bsky.social talks to Kirstin Abraham about facilitating multi-sensory outdoor workshops for neurodivergent families.

A thoughtful read for the festive season✨

🔗 www.independentartsprojects.com/blog-theres-...

A wee end of year music round-up for @scotnational.bsky.social feat. legends like Jacob Alon and @henhoose.bsky.social ✨

The 45 best albums of 2025 – as voted by The Forty-Five You need to hear these gems

Pleased to have contributed some words to @thefortyfive.bsky.social’s great AOTY list 🌟

thefortyfive.com/opinion/best...

Image including an abstract for an academic journal article titled 'Note to scene: Gender, race and rose-tinted nostalgia in emo': Abstract Twenty years on from its mainstream breakthrough, the popularity of emo music has resurged, offering new opportunities to appraise its cultural legacy. While acknowledging the creative and cathartic qualities of emo as fans, we reflect on how the intersections of race and gender have (not) been thoroughly engaged with in prior research on the genre. We also demonstrate how improvements concerning representation in emo are still constrained, with people of colour (POC) – particularly Black women – carrying heavy self-advocating responsibilities. Through a two-part case study – first, the marketing and booking of When We Were Young festival and second, a reflexive first-person analysis of music journalism surrounding emo’s ‘new wave’ acts – we explore how emo has been (re)branded for old(er) and new(er) generations in the 2020s, how musical belonging and expertise is negotiated within the culture, and how nostalgia narratives can serve to romanticize emo’s exclusionary past at the expense of its more inclusive future. Keywords: Black alt, emo, gender, music festivals, music journalism, nostalgia, popular music, punk, race, subculture

🎸 🖤 🤘 New publication just dropped, and this time it's open access! 🎸 🖤 🤘

Williams, J. N., & Sobande, F. (2025). Note to scene: Gender, race and rose-tinted nostalgia in emo. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 0(0). lnkd.in/eMmjq6ue

Lamaya

Uninvited

Last Amplifi of the year at @thequeenshall.bsky.social 🥰 Big thanks to Lamaya and headliners Uninvited
@weareherescot.bsky.social

The 45 best albums of 2025 – as voted by The Forty-Five You need to hear these gems

Our cohort of some of the country's most opinionated music writers have voted – it's our albums of the year

Anger as Waterstones snaps up prime site on doorstep of independent bookshop UK's biggest bookselling chain under fire over plans for new store beside Edinburgh tram line.

We need your help.

@waterstones.bsky.social, without any direct communication with us, will be opening their 6th Edinburgh branch less than 100 metres from our front door at the Foot of the Walk in Leith.

Please read on for more information

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908...

(1/2)

It was a real joy to chat with Roony for @thequietus.com 🙌

Gaia

Azamiah

Theon Cross

The first Big Amplifi at @thequeenshall.bsky.social last night was really special 💌 thanks to Theon Cross, Azamiah and Gaia for kicking things off

Spoke to the lovely Lizzie Reid for @scotnational.bsky.social 💖

www.thenational.scot/news/2553591...

Official HAMISH HAWK Store Pre-Order LIFE IN A SCOTCH SITTING ROOM, VOL 0 now on EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITION vinyl

Life in a Scotch Sitting-room, Vol. 0 will be released on FRIDAY 5TH DECEMBER, 2025.

The limited edition LP features illustrations by yours truly, and will be available exclusively from our online store. It is available for pre-order NOW:

tinyurl.com/4dfcs76d

Big thanks to @thequietus.com for entrusting me with this month’s Low Culture Essay 🥰

I wrote about how instrumental the @tonyhawkproskater.bsky.social soundtracks have been to my entire musical identity 🤙

Subscribers | The Quietus Support independent journalism and culture Help The Quietus continue bringing you the best in cultural criticism by joining one of our subscription tiers. Cancel easily anytime.

Music journalism was once funded by labels advertising. In 2025, barely any record labels advertise, instead paying influencers to gab on. If you believe in cultural criticism and long-form writing, becoming a tQ subscriber is one vital way to ensure it survives:

thequietus.com/subscribers/

Next show is a big one! 😍 don’t miss it: www.thequeenshall.net/whats-on/amp...

Lucian Fletcher

Kevin Leomo

Bell Lungs

Last night, we had another incredible Amplifi at @thequeenshall.bsky.social 🥳 Big thanks to Lucian Fletcher, Kevin Leomo and Bell Lungs!

Amped Up: AMPLIFI returns to The Queen's Hall - The Skinny We hear from the creators and stars of the fourth season of AMPLIFI about the breadth of the Scottish music scene, taking over The Queen’s Hall main stage and the night’s importance.

"Scotland's music scene exists in conversation with the world, not in isolation"

We hear from the creators and stars of the fourth season of AMPLIFI, including @arusa.bsky.social and @brownbearofficial.bsky.social, about taking over The Queen’s Hall

Picture showing the finalists of The McIlvanney Prize 2025 - Tariq Ashkanani. Liam McIlvanney, Callum McSorley, Denise Mina and Ian Rankin

Announcing our McIlvanney Prize finalists:
@tariqashkanani.bsky.social - The Midnight King
@liammcilvanney.bsky.social - The Good Father
@callummcsorley.bsky.social - Paperboy
@damedenisemina.bsky.social - The Good Liar
@ianrankin1.bsky.social - Midnight and Blue
Winner revealed next Friday!
👏👏👏

The Quietus is 17! We're Celebrating With New Playlists for our Subscribers | The Quietus It’s now five years since we launched our subscription platform with Steady in a last-ditch attempt to save The Quietus during the desperate Covid crisis. Thankfully, we raised enough to temporally keep the wolves from the door, and the website is still here to celebrate its seventeenth birthday. SEVENTEEN! We can barely believe that we’ve […]

They only like you when you're... SEVENTEEN!

Happy birthday to The Quietus!

Please, please, please consider taking out a sub. We've introduced a new playlist perk. Sign up today and get 45 this month! Pls share & ask sugar mummies & daddies to dig deep.

thequietus.com/news/the-qui...

Just perfect. 🖤🖤🖤🖤

Review: No Apologies A defiant and arresting show from Emma Frankland about wishful thinking…

"No Apologies delves into the act of wishful thinking, deftly questioning the impact of what might have been."

@notyetarobot.bsky.social brings a defiant show to @pleasance.co.uk this #EdFringe – read @arusa.bsky.social's review

Edinburgh Fringe 2025 – Top Picks: Comedy From imposter syndrome to meme-heavy powerpoints, these comedy shows will have you in stitches

The Fest preview issue is out NOW! Our top picks for comedy shows this #EdFringe include @barryferns.bsky.social, @kimblythe.bsky.social and more!

💪💪💪

2025 #EdFringe preview issue out TODAY; #polytoxic on the cover, 148 pages of interviews, previews and our top picks from across the festivals

festmag.com

Apply now — Scottish Music Centre

MUSIC JOB with me and my lovely team
@scottishmusic
📯

I'm looking for a part-time Membership Officer to join us in our Candleriggs office, working directly with composers, musicians and music organisations.

Deadline Sunday July 27th, details are here:
www.scottishmusiccentre.com/membership-o...

Inklings submissions open from 1st to 31st August - Saraband Inklings submissions open from 1st to 31st August

In case you miss it amongst the news, we're delighted that @saraband-books.bsky.social will be continuing the Inklings series and they open for submissions in August! The process is very similar to our own but check out the guidelines and get your pitches ready.

saraband.net/2025/07/11/i...

There’s a lot going on at the moment but here’s a future thing me and @halinarifai.com are super proud of at @thequeenshall.bsky.social

www.thequeenshall.net/whats-on/amp...