Full Details Announced for Lau-Land at Edinburgh International Festival

Today the Edinburgh International Festival announced full details for Lau-Land, an all-day celebration of folk music taking place at Leith Theatre as part of Light on the Shore with Edinburgh Gin Seaside.

Lau-Land is an all-day experience presented by award-winning folk band Lau, which sees them take over Leith Theatre with events featuring an incredibly eclectic collection of International Artists and special guests. Beginning in the afternoon and running into the wee small hours of Saturday 18 August, Lau-Land features community folk sessions, musical sharing and performances.

The day kicks off with the Big Tune Machine, a celebration of folk music, its community and the sharing of music and teaching that sustains it. Working with Amy Geddes and Donald Knox of Fyne Fiddles, Lau will lead a performance featuring new arrangements of traditional folk music from the Big Tune Machine Band, a group of community folk musicians from Edinburgh and the Lothians who range in age from 10 through to players in their 60s.

The Big Tune Machine takes place from 2pm - 5.30pm, with a performance from the Big Tune Machine Band from 2.30pm - 3.15pm, followed by an open session from 3.30pm - 5.30pm. The afternoon is free but ticketed, and audience members are invited to stay after the performance to experience or even take part in an informal music session which will follow afterwards.

In the evening, Kris Dever, Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke of Lau will lead a host of friends and collaborators including the American singer-songwriter Joan As Police Woman, Egyptian electronica artist Nadah El Shazly, folk singer Alasdair Roberts alongside Siobhan Milller, the psychedelic sound of James Holden & The Animal Spirits, the traditional pipes of Rona Lightfoot and Brighde Chaimbuel, chamber-folk quartet RANT, acapella traditional singers Landless and the Whitburn Band. Inhabiting different spaces through the Leith Theatre complex, this mini-festival bill features concurrent performances by artists, allowing audiences to move between performances.

Talking about Lau-Land, Martin Green of Lau, said:
'The ethos of Lau-land is for us to share the work of musicians that inspire us. As a band, we listen to a lot of music collectively, and Lau-Land was born out of wanting to bring different music and people together. We live by the idea of more music, for more people.'

Tickets for all Lau-Land events are now on available and can be booked in person at Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh, EH1 2NE; via phone on 0131 473 2000, or online at eif.co.uk.

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