Sound house Winter Festival Returns to Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh 2026

Key Points

• The Soundhouse Winter Festival returns to Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre for its third year, running from 26 to 30 November 2026.
• The Soundhouse Organisation produces the five-day event, featuring Scotland-based folk, jazz, indie, Americana, and traditional music acts.
• Scheduled performers include Scots Trad Music Award winner Heidi Talbot with Boo Hewerdine, indie duo Sacred Paws, singer-songwriter Jake Cogan, saxophonist Matt Carmichael, and piper Malin Lewis.
• The festival opens with a free 10th-anniversary concert by the Soundhouse Choir and includes the premiere of Space for Dreaming, a new commission by musician Harben Kay.
• Sophie Bancroft will lead a jazz vocal workshop, and Oi Musica will run a session on street band techniques.
• The event takes place over the St Andrew’s Day and Fair Saturday weekend with support from The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

EDINBURGH (Edinburgh Daily) September 24, 2026 — Edinburgh’s acclaimed Soundhouse Winter Festival will return to the capital’s Traverse Theatre this autumn for a five-day celebration of Scottish musical talent. As reported by Liam Eunson of Midlothian View, the third annual staging of the festival will take place from Thursday, 26 November to Monday, 30 November 2026, bridging the St Andrew’s Day and Fair Saturday weekend with an array of live folk, jazz, indie, and traditional performances.

Supported by public funding from The National Lottery via Creative Scotland, the event aims to highlight both established Scottish headliners and burgeoning local artists.

What is scheduled for the opening of the Soundhouse Winter Festival 2026?

The festival is set to begin on Thursday, 26 November with a special free public performance by the Soundhouse Choir, marking the ensemble’s 10th anniversary. As noted by Liam Eunson of Midlothian View, Heather Macleod, founder and leader of the Soundhouse Choir, stated: “It’s really lovely and fitting that this concert, which celebrates ten years of Soundhouse Choir also celebrates our partnership with the Soundhouse Organisation”.

Macleod added that witnessing the growth of both the choir and the organization into an active part of Scotland’s musical landscape has been a joy, describing the vocal group as “an incredible and ever-changing living organism that moves and breathes with life itself, simply because we sing together”.

Following the choir’s opening show, the main stage performance will feature Irish-born, Edinburgh-based singer Heidi Talbot alongside Ivor Novello-nominated singer-songwriter Boo Hewerdine. Talbot, who secured Composer of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards, and Hewerdine—known for his extensive work with Eddi Reader—will perform a combined repertoire blending folk, Americana, and acoustic pop.

Which headliners and artists are slated to perform at Traverse Theatre?

The multi-genre lineup continues across the weekend with a diverse group of Scotland-based musicians:

• Friday, 27 November: Scottish indie duo Sacred Paws, featuring Ray Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers, take the stage to perform selections from their third studio album, Jump Into Life, incorporating post-punk, chamber pop, and afrobeat rhythms.
• Saturday, 28 November: Edinburgh singer-songwriter Jake Cogan returns with a full backing band. Her performance will showcase songs from her debut album, her Burns project Parcel of Rogues, and preview unreleased material exploring themes of migration and Irish tradition.
• Sunday, 29 November: Award-winning saxophonist and composer Matt Carmichael will host the Edinburgh launch of his album Held in the Dark, accompanied by an ensemble including pianist Fergus McCreadie and fiddler Charlie Stewart.
• Monday, 30 November: The festival concludes on St Andrew’s Night with piper and instrument maker Malin Lewis. Performing on a self-invented two-octave small pipe alongside Sally Simpson and Ali Hutton, Lewis will present music inspired by West Coast traditions, European folk, and contemporary arrangements.

As reported on the official Soundhouse Winter Festival platform, co-producers Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy stated that the festival selection is curated carefully from home-grown talent. The co-producers stated: “Our aim is to bring audiences the music they love and, at the same time, artists that they might not see anywhere else. There will be no act booked that we are not super excited to see playing, and we hope that excitement is infectious!”

What original commissions and community workshops are included in the programme?

In addition to standard concerts, the 2026 festival features the world premiere of a specially commissioned piece titled Space for Dreaming, composed by contemporary musician Harben Kay. Performed by a five-piece ensemble consisting of Kay, Pippa Blundell, Danielle Price, Brodie Laird-Jarvie, and Stephen Henderson, the composition spans multiple genres.

As reported by Midlothian View, Harben Kay expressed enthusiasm for the project, stating: “Soundhouse is such a fantastic organisation—Jane-Ann and Douglas do an incredible amount for musicians and the wider music scene here in Scotland. It’s a real honour to be included in this year’s incredible line-up”.

Kay explained that the commission provided dedicated time to create new material ahead of an upcoming album release, adding: “I’ve called the project ‘Space For Dreaming’, as it really is a dream project—I’ve brought together artists I deeply admire, regardless of genre, and I am so excited to hear what they bring to my compositions”.

Additional acts featured across the weekend include indie outfit The Deep Blue, jazz duo Haftor Medbøe and Konrad Wiszniewski, and Cera Impala performing tracks from her upcoming release Persephone. A spotlight concert will highlight emerging jazz performers Nor (Eleanor Colee), Laura Osa, and Zoe Downs.

Public participation elements run parallel to the stage shows. Vocal educator Sophie Bancroft will lead a jazz singing workshop, while community music organization Oi Musica will host a masterclass focusing on street band techniques.

Background of the Soundhouse Winter Festival

The Soundhouse Organisation was established by Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy to support live independent music in Edinburgh, initially gaining prominent recognition for hosting intimate house concerts and weekly sessions at the Traverse Theatre. The Soundhouse Winter Festival was launched as a broader annual initiative to address a perceived gap in Scotland’s cultural calendar during late autumn.

As stated by co-producers Douglas Robertson and Jane-Ann Purdy in Midlothian View, the festival was specifically designed to offer an alternative celebration around the national holiday. Robertson and Purdy remarked: “It seems to us that no one is very sure what to do with St Andrew’s Day beyond re-enacting a shortbread tin scene with pre-recorded pipers and kilted dancers. We want to do a lot better than that and celebrate the enormous breadth and quality of music being made in Scotland right now”. Now in its third year, the festival has established a permanent residency at the Traverse Theatre, drawing support from Creative Scotland to maintain platform accessibility for local performers and audience members alike.

Prediction: How will this development affect live music audiences and independent artists?

The return and continued expansion of the Soundhouse Winter Festival provides direct economic and creative benefits to several key groups within Scotland’s cultural sector.

For independent musicians and emerging talent, the festival offers crucial paid performance opportunities, platform visibility, and commissioning funding at a time when grassroots venues across the UK face financial pressures. The inclusion of dedicated commissions—such as Harben Kay’s project—gives artists essential resources to develop original work that might otherwise lack financial backing.

For local audiences and cultural tourists, the five-day event expands access to high-quality live music outside the traditional summer festival season. By offering participatory workshops alongside free community events like the Soundhouse Choir anniversary show, the festival fosters deeper public engagement with independent jazz, folk, and indie genres. Furthermore, scheduling the event across the St Andrew’s Day weekend reinforces Edinburgh’s position as a year-round venue for contemporary Scottish arts, providing a measurable seasonal boost to venue attendance and hospitality in the city centre.