Folk music runs deeper in Edinburgh than in any other Scottish city. Sandy Bell's has drawn musicians since the 1920s, The Royal Oak has been a centre of the folk scene since the 1960s, and labels like Greentrax Recordings, founded by Edinburgh Folk Club member Ian Green, have spent decades curating traditional Scottish music on record. The fiddle, accordion, flute, and Celtic drum remain the instruments of this tradition, audible any night of the week at venues like The Captain's Bar, The Black Cat, and Whiski Bar. The city has also produced artists who moved well beyond that tradition. The Proclaimers were born in Leith. KT Tunstall, Shirley Manson of Garbage, and Young Fathers, who won the Mercury Prize in 2014, all came out of Edinburgh. Idlewild formed here in 1995, and Django Django took shape when its members met at Edinburgh College of Art. Edinburgh's record label history adds further weight. Fast Product, established in December 1977 by Bob Last and others, released early post-punk records and launched bands like Scars. Sneaky Pete's won a UK-wide award for Best Grassroots Music Venue in 2019. Usher Hall, Scotland's only five-star concert hall, opened in 1914 and still anchors the larger end of the live calendar. St Cecilia's Hall, built in 1762, is Scotland's oldest purpose-built concert hall and remains open today. Edinburgh also holds the strongest enclave for drum and bass in Scotland, a side of the city that rarely gets the attention it deserves.
