The Edinburgh Music Map (v.1.0) is part of a longstanding and evolving programme of research around live music and its relationship to locality. The information underpinning the map has its roots in the Edinburgh Live Music Census of 2015, which is being updated for the post-pandemic context, and the methodology draws on the mapping work undertaken in Birmingham.
The interactive map includes music venues in locations in EH postcodes, organised across various venue types and aims to produce a detailed picture of the live music ecosystem in Edinburgh, building iteratively as we add to the functionality and connect with other sources of publicly available information.
Famous internationally for its cultural festival in the summer, Edinburgh also provides a diverse musical offer throughout the year in dedicated music venues and multi-purpose spaces. Its musical spaces cover a broad range in terms of scale – from stadium events at Murrayfield to long-established folk sessions at Old Town pubs like Sandy Bell’s – and in diversity within unique and well-loved venues. Sneaky Pete’s is a grassroots venue with an offering that spans the spectrum of popular music, promoting key touring acts and local musicians alike; the Queen’s Hall and Usher Hall cross genre lines and are renowned spaces for leading artists from classical, through jazz to rock and beyond. The Festival Theatre and innovative spaces at Summerhall, likewise, house an eclectic and experimental mix of acts beyond the Festival.
The city’s musical life extends beyond the centre. From commercial touring stops like the O2 Academy in the southwest to vibrant activity in Leith, to the north, through the renovation of the Leith Theatre, alongside newer grassroots spaces like the Leith Depot, Edinburgh’s musical ecosystem is richly varied and shows huge potential. Mapping and tracking these developments will, we hope, help to account for and unlock that potential.
