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With “poignancy and heart” (★★★★ The Scotsman) Looking For Me Friend has spread nostalgia and laughter throughout the UK and has the seal of approval from Victoria’s very own school-chums and colleagues. Featuring the star of BBC1’s All Together Now, Paulus The Cabaret Geek with Michael Roulston (Fascinating Aïda) on piano, it is an evening of pure joy filled with Victoria’s best-loved songs, including the iconic ‘Ballad of Barry & Freda’ (Let’s Do It). This show is for fans of Victoria and for those yet to discover her, to come together and relish her breathtaking wizardry with words. In telling Victoria’s story, Paulus unfolds his own. A relatable story of a 1970s childhood and what it really means to find your tribe. So, pair your stilettos with an oven glove, zip up your cocktail slacks and get booking!

The idea of what the show might be created a demand for it to be left unseen. A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here is a show about censorship and freedom of expression. This piece of theatre - part autobiography, part fiction - questions the limits of performance: what we make it for, what we go to it for and what we are willing to stand up for.

From Glasgow to the world, new Scottish romanticism; a little bit of this and a whole lot of that, A New International are on a quest for a new pop music. With three critically-lauded cult albums, hit theatre show The Dark Carnival and a string of Radio Scotland singles of the week behind them, singer/songwriter Biff describes ANI’s ethos below – “I always loved the idea of a band that didn’t sound like a band: a band that sounded like, let’s say, a movie or a circus or a funeral or a riot; anything but another dreary band“. For one night only, to celebrate the release of their new single (title still under wraps at time of writing), A New International present a rare full-band set featuring back catalogue classics and a sneaky peek at new, never-before-seen songs from their soon-to-be-released fourth album inspired by espionage, epic voyages, tango and trombones.

And speaking of strathspeys, you can be part of the global music celebration! Part of #WorldPlayAStrathspeyDay involves musicians worldwide sharing their love of Scottish music by recording themselves playing a strathspey and uploading the video online . Simply record yourself playing a strathspey on any instrument, then share your video or audio recording to social media using the hashtag #WorldPlayAStrathspeyDay.

Divergence is so named because the band seeks to employ non-traditional instruments in traditionally-inspired music. These include the silver boehm system flute, the clarinet and tongue drum. Their aim is to encourage inclusivity, progression and acceptance. The trio take Freya's own melodies and twist them into sets and riffs, giving them a zest for life that is delightfully infectious.

Leveretis a unique collaboration between three of England's finest folk musicians. Andy Cutting (button accordion), Sam Sweeney (fiddle) and Rob Harbron (concertina) are each regarded as exceptional performers and masters of their instruments. Together their performances combine consummate musicianship, compelling delivery and captivating spontaneity. Leveret’s music is not arranged in the conventional sense and the trio rely on mutual trust and musical interaction to create new settings of their repertoire in the moment, with no two performances alike. Their playing is relaxed and natural, drawing audiences in and inviting them to share in music making that is truly spontaneous and yet deeply timeless.

Martyn Bennett was an artist ahead of his time. Piper, violinist, composer, producer, DJ – his radical blend of tradition and technology created an audacious new sound that was uniquely his own. When he died tragically young at just 33 his professional career was little over a decade long, and he fought serious illness for half of it. Despite this Martyn left a remarkable body of work which continues to inspire the musicians who knew and worked with him, and the younger generation of artists growing up in awe of his genius. But this kind of legacy does not survive without others to take up the baton, those who encourage others to listen, to learn, to play and take the music further. Join us for this special hour of chat (and the odd tune) in the company of two people who have, in their own ways, made sure that Martyn Bennett’s music lives on. They are Gary West, author of Brave New Music – The Martyn Bennett Story, and BJ Stewart trustee of the Martyn Bennett Trust.

Hartwin (Trio Dhoore, Siger) is a diatonic accordionist and composer from Belgium. His instrumental music has been moving people worldwide for many years. He is known for his simple and melancholic melodies that leave much room for the listener's imagination. With Flavia Escartin (cello) and Pavel Souvandjiev (violin), Hartwin surrounds himself with two talented and extremely creative musicians who are not averse to combining elements from different styles with each other. The trio's music is a sort of tightrope dance between classical, folk, and world music orchestrated by three outspoken characters who constantly challenge and complement each other musically. The recognisability of Hartwin’s melodies, combined with the driving and surprising arrangements by Flavia and Pavel, form a dazzling play of sounds you can discover live during a concert by this 'atypical' trio.

It's 20 years since Lauren MacColl – a wide-eyed 19 year old fiddler from the Scottish Highlands – was crowned the winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. It was to be a springboard for a varied couple of decades, founding both fiddle quartet RANT and song-trio Salt House, and collaborating with countless singers and instrumentalists. The thread through it all has been no less than five solo releases to date, showcasing her rich, darkly-toned fiddle sound and increasingly, her own writing.

Teho. is a Finnish power-fiddle duo that explodes musical boundaries while having roots deeply in the tradition. Teho’s fiddlers Esko Järvelä and Tero Hyväluoma grew up in Central Ostrobothnia, an area known for its extremely virile and rich folk music scene. UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee designated the Kaustinen fiddle playing tradition on their list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of humankind in 2021.