📸 - credit Chris Leslie For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer Alison Irvine to talk about her fascinating and insightful new book about Glasgow's famous Barrowland Ballroom . To give its full title, the book is called Barrowland: The Inside Story of Glasgow’s Beloved Ballroom and it's published by Luath Press . Alison explains that the book's origins are in a previous publication, and the importance of her regular collaborators Chris Leslie and Mitch M

📸 - credit Christopher Bowen For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to Lesley Davidson, who is the co-director of the Beacon Arts Centre , to talk about the inaugural Beacon Book Festival which runs from Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd February. Lesley tells us why now is the right time for the Beacon Arts Centre to host a book festival, and what the challenges were in programming, before talking about that programme - who is on, and when, and taking us through the vari

📸 credit - Ruari Barber-Fleming For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to composer and sound designer Oğuz Kaplangı to talk about his new album RESIST .   Oğuz talks about the inspirations behind the project, the themes of resistance, solidarity, and human connection, the narrative which runs through the album, and his future plans for RESIST , which are very exciting. The two also discuss the importance of collaboration and how he worked with a number of other ar

It doesn't feel like the year has actually got going until Celtic Connections  begins. This year it's on between the 15th Jan and the 1st Feb, and it once again has a varied, vibrant, and eclectic line-up to suit most musical tastes. The festival is a joyous celebration of live music which is as precious and important as ever. To get involved further you can become a Celtic Rover  which supports Celtic Connections and its Education and Outreach Programmes. With so much going

For the first Scots Whay Hae! podcast of 2026, Ali spoke to writer and musician Peter May to talk about his new album Towards The Light , but so much more. Peter admits that despite his fame as a writer of crime fiction (31 novels to date), music was always his first love and he goes on to talk about his early years playing in bands, running away to London to make their fame and fortune, and just what the musical landscape was like at the time. He then talks about the new al

Once again Montgomery Scott raises a glass to see out the old year and ring in the new, and that means it’s time for Scots Whay Hae!’s annual selection of New Year’s Eve treats. It’s an alternative to the Hogmanay telly, so if there’s little you fancy on the box there might be something here to your liking. We kick things off with some music, and last month saw the publication of Grant McPhee's new book Caledonian Screaming (published with Into Books) which looks at Scotland

There were some fascinating non-fiction books published over the last 12 months, and it was a tricky job to whittle a list down to a handy top ten, but we just about managed it. The list below features, music and song, memoir, travel, film, sport, philosophy, sociopolitics, religion, faith, food, and so much more. I was lucky enough to talk to some of the writers whose books feature, and you'll find links to those interviews below, along with links to the books themselves and

For our latest roundup of 2025 we look at the year in music, with Ali joined once again by musician and righteous supporter of Scottish music, Gefahrgeist 's Fiona Liddell . As is now customary, they  each pick 10 tracks to discuss which have left their mark over the last 12 months. As they make clear, they could easily have picked many, many, more examples from what was another incredible year for Scottish music, (and on another day possibly would), but we hope you enjoy the

In what was another incredible year for Scottish music we have somehow managed to whittle our favourite releases down to a manageable Top Ten Albums of the year. Below are videos of tracks from each pick, and we hope you find something to pique your interest. If you do then please purchase directly from the artist or their record labels ( all the titles in orange should take you where you want to go ) because the world, which is difficult enough as it is, would be intolerable

As is traditional, the first of our Best of 2025 podcasts is all about books, when once again Ali is joined by Publishing Scotland 's Vikki Reilly (right) to talk about just a few of the standouts of the year, and to give a heads up as to what's coming in 2026. The two talk fantastic fiction, non-fiction, plenty of prose, and even a little poetry. There are debuts to Last Words , complicated families, celebrations of friendships, love, loss, what it means to be alive, examina

📸 - credit Stephen McGuigan For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer, broadcaster and campaigner Darren McGarvey (also known as rapper Loki ) to talk about his book and live show, Trauma Industrial Complex , and the album Not Funded By Creative Scotland , which are three central strands of the same multi-media project, and the two discuss how they work together, but also stand alone. Darren talks about the challenges of taking the show to the Fringe, but w

📸 credit - Susan Hay For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to choreographer and dancer Himadri Madan to hear all about The Gaze – you, me, us, and them a new interactive installation with live performances which premieres at The Tramway in Glasgow on November 22nd before it goes to The Studio, Capital Theatre in Edinburgh on 28th February in the new year. Himadri expands on the brief description above, before breaking down the title, talking about the themes an

Moving from Spring to Autumn - running from 6th to 16th November - Glasgow’s Book Festival Aye Write offers something for everyone. Lovers of fact, fiction, poetry, prose, autobiography, biography, crime (real and fictional), memoir, music, food, and any other form of writing that takes your fancy, are all well catered for. The festival is mostly split between the Mitchell Library and Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall with plenty of guests from home and abroad, perfectly suiting

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali caught up with Donald Smith , the director and founder of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival , to hear all about this year's programme , which features over 120 events and which will take place in Edinburgh and all across Scotland from 22nd October - 1st November. Donald breaks down the title Lights Of The North and how that relates to the international aspect of the festival, before going through the themes and stran

📸 credit - Mihaela Bodlovic When the nights are fair drawing in, a night at the opera is perfect to take your mind off such things and transport you to a world of wonder, music, theatre and song. This Autumn, Scottish Opera offers a revival of the 2017 production of Puccini's La bohème , which began its run at Glasgow's Theatre Royal on Saturday before it moves around the country ( dates below ). As the curtain rises on Act I (and later Act III) we are in present day Paris,

For the latest, and last, of this year's Scots Whay Hae! Fringe Preview podcasts Ali spoke to musician and storyteller Kirsty Law about...

For the latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast Ali spoke to writer and musician Andy Bollen about his latest book Definitely Maybe: The Birth,...

This year's Edinburgh International Book Festival returns to Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) for the second year, and once again it...

As The Edinburgh Fringe kicks off for another year, you may be unsure as to what to see, or what to see next, so we thought you might...

Aoife Parr and Tom Baines, Ruaraidh Murray, and Connor McKenna The latest Scots Whay Hae! podcast is the second of our Edinburgh Fringe...