When is Leith Late festival 2023? Events programme, tickets and all you need to know

Leith Late festival is back this summer with events set to take place over a weekend jam-packed with live music performances, DJs, film screenings and much more.

From street poetry to walking tours there’s plenty to get involved in during the multi-venue event, which takes place over three days on Friday 30 June, Saturday July 1 and Sunday, July 2. Events are taking place at various venues across Leith, including record shop Elvis Shakespeare, the Leith Walk Police Box and the Biscuit Factory. All events are free except the opening and closing parties, which cost from £5 to £15.

Work by local artists is also on display at venues and businesses around Leith, featuring painting, photography and sculpture. The low-key DIY festival which started in 2011 as a one-night celebration of Leith community has earned its place as a highlight in the Capital’s cultural calendar, especially among artists and students in the area.

Organisers said this year’s event which has a theme of ‘Outside the box' is about trying new things, shaking up routine and celebrating connection through fun. Here’s the full programme, including free and ticketed events. To take part in the School of Pedestrian Culture Walk walking (anti) tour in Leith and Bonnington is free but you need to register.

Leith Late Festival lineup Friday 30 June

Seance performance in Granton at Mote102, 102 Ferry Road from 6-8pm. The free event is open to all ages. Interdisciplinary artist Megan Rudden performs to coincide with her solo exhibition, Granton Séance.

Free, live music at Elvis Shakespeare record store on Leith Walk from 6.30-8pm. Errant Media will feature live original pop music from the local record label featuring Errant Boy and Stephen McLaren.

Arty Party is the festival’s official opening party. The shindig for over 18s is on at the Biscuit Factory in Leith from 7pm and tickets cost £5-£10. Music will be provided by maniatrix and .paperman, with a performance from Alicia Tryde and Guy Liner, tunes from Femmergy DJs, as well as food trucks and projection art.

Leith Late Festival lineup Saturday July 1

Music workshop 9FOOT-909 at Lava studios on Arthur Street is a free, drop-in afternoon of sound-making from Ray Interactive. Have a go at creating rhythms with an interactive scale model of the legendary 909 drum machine. Suitable for all ages.

Join a facilitated walking (anti)tour in Bonnington and Leith exploring the ‘complexities of studentification’. The walk starts outside St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral on York Place and ends at the foot of Leith Walk. The walk will take between 2-3 hours and is free but registration is required.

Short film screening Hens on Film is on at Sett studios on Leith Walk on Friday at from 5pm to 7pm. The free event is curated and hosted by The Hen Collective, and will show the work of Emma Bowen, Megan Davies, Frieda Ford, Mary Hanna, Lin Li, Missy McNaught, Celia Phillips, Sara Stroud, and Iona Rose Wheeler.

Mystery Box exhibition party is on at Sett studios from 7 to 9pm. The free BYOB party is a celebration of ‘Sett Studios Presents: Mystery Box’ exhibition, with work and practice of Sett’s studio holders, featuring open studios for the first hour, followed by live experimental sounds from musician and composer, Nicholas Kirk-Canny.

Leith Late Festival lineup Sunday July, 2

An afternoon of acoustic music performances from Pippa Kinneen and Elsie MacDonald is on at the Settlement projects on Haddington Place from 1.30 – 3pm. Snack Mag presents Settlement Sounds is a free event and open to all ages.

Police Box Poetry will see festival goers treated to live poetry curated and hosted by Jj Fadaka, with performances from Louise Holland, Leyla Hussain, Pernina Jacobs and Hazel Peters. The free, all-ages event is on at Leith Walk Police Box from 3-5pm.

The festival will close with Sunday Mass, a variety evening of music, poetry, comedy, storytelling and performance. Performers include Eleanor Morton, Alycia Pirmohamed, Graeme Johncock (Scotland’s Stories), Pally, Uncle Kid, and more. The adults only event is on at Leith Arches from 6pm and tickets cost £10 – £15.

Leith Late Festival art exhibitions

Sett studios presents Mystery Box at Sett Studios, Leith Walk

Opening event: Saturday 1 July, 7-9pm and general viewing: Sunday 2 July, 1-4pm

This showcase of visual art features work from studio holders including Fiona Beveridge, Theo Cleary, Chris Coatham, Josh Corkill, Joel Davidson, Rory Dixon, Natalie Doyle, Frieda Ford, Page Hardie, Connie Hurley, Abi Lewis, Emily Margaret, Aimee McCallum, Ot Pascoe, and Rehan Yousuf, and an installation of work created over a five-year period by Sett Studios associate artist Alex Weir, aka SMEX.

Settlement Projects on Haddington Place featuring Flore Gardner, THEre is no END Niamh Hughes & Ferdia Foley, Gintis Group Promotional Pack

Stephanie Whitelaw, weed window. Open on Friday and Saturday from 10am-5pm and Sunday 1-3pm

At Mote102, 102 Ferry Road, you can see the Megan Rudden, Granton Séance exhibition. It’s on Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10am-4pm

The Sly Fox cafe, on Henderson St, has Reflections on the Water of Leith by Eleanor Buffam, i can fall in love with 110 experiences by sunday from Flo Hargreaves, and DOG by Lily Hicks. It’s on Friday and Saturday from 10am-6pm and Sunday 10am-5pm

Under the Arch cafe & bar, on Leith Walk, is displaying the Edgelands series by A J Kinroy, Dreamland I and II by Jagoda Natalia Zwiernik. It’s on Friday and Saturday 11am-11pm, and Sunday 11:30am-6:00pm

LeithLate is supported by the City of Edinburgh Council and Baillie Gifford