| The Edge Festival | |
|---|---|
 The Edge Festival in 2009 | |
| Dates | varies; normally August of each year |
| Location(s) | various venues,Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Years active | 2000 (2000)–2012 (2012)[1] |
| Founders | DF Concerts,Tennent's Lager |
| Website | http://www.theedgefestival.com |
The Edge Festival was an annualmusic festival held inEdinburgh, Scotland, during August of each year. Formerly known asT on the Fringe, The Edge was part of theEdinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largestartsfringe festival (to the largerEdinburgh Festival).[2] Unlike other music festivals, The Edge did not take place at one location, with performers instead playing numerous venues across the city during the month.[3] The festival was founded under the T on the Fringe name byDF Concerts andTennent's Lager, with DF continuing to promote the festival after the departure of Tennent's from 2008 until 2012.[4]
The festival began in 2000, with fifteen concerts in its first year. It was founded by Dave Corbett, after realising the lack of contemporary music taking place at the Edinburgh Festival.[5] Since 2000, T on the Fringe has played host to some of the most commercially successful artists as well as the best in alternative and emerging talent. Over the years the event has seen performances by the likes ofPixies,Muse,Morrissey,Nancy Sinatra,Franz Ferdinand andArcade Fire.[6] The 2007 festival featured three concerts taking place at the 25,000 capacityMeadowbank Stadium, a record for the festival at the time.
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[7]Embrace's performance at the Liquid Room was named "Best Gig of T on the Fringe 2004" by a judging panel consisting of theSunday Mail, DF Concerts and Tennent's.[8]
The 2005 festival took place between 5–31 August, with more than forty acts performing across five venues.[9] The festival's main highlight was a performance byPixies on 28 August 2005, playing as part of their reunion tour following a 12-year hiatus.[10] The band performed at the city's Meadowbank Stadium, the first outdoor performance for the T on the Fringe festival, with support fromIdlewild andTeenage Fanclub.[9] The festival's other main draw was two homecoming performances byFranz Ferdinand in Princes Street Gardens on 30–31 August 2005, supported byArcade Fire. The dates were the band's first performances in the country since December the previous year.[11] Other headline T on the Fringe shows includedThe Prodigy,Alabama 3,The Zutons,Weezer,Basement Jaxx andRazorlight. During August, Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire venue hosted a number of free concerts, featuring formerSqueeze lead vocalistGlenn Tilbrook,Michael Franti,Saul Williams,Trashcan Sinatras andRachel Fuller performingacoustic sets between the 15—26 August.[12] Idlewild would also play acoustically at the venue, appearing on 27 August prior to supporting Pixies. Idlewild's concert was later steamed online for three months following the festival, under the moniker of "T on the Fringe Radio". The broadcast also included a feature on the Best of T Break.[13]
The festival was deemed a success by critics, withLynsey Hanley ofThe Observer stating that "..[the festival's line-up] encompassed the past, present and future ofalternative rock".[10]
2006 saw 100,000 tickets sold for almost 60 gigs featuring 134 artists.Snow Patrol rocked the 22,000 Meadowbank Stadium crowd in what was their biggest headline gig yet, while at the same time breaking a record already held by T on the Fringe for the biggest show at theEdinburgh Fringe. Radiohead performed at the same venue supported by Beck and Muse played the following night supported by My Chemical Romance.
The 2007 festival took place on 4—28 August across four venues,[14] with more than 60 events taking place.[15] The festival was marked by the announcement of three large outdoor concerts taking place at Meadowbank Stadium, which had increased in capacity to 25,000 for the event. Two of the headlining acts were announced asFoo Fighters andKaiser Chiefs,[6] withRazorlight later confirmed to play the stadium. The three concerts marked the biggest performances in the festival's history.[15] Support acts for Foo Fighters and Razorlight were later confirmed asNine Inch Nails andSilversun Pickups, andEditors, respectively.[16] As well as this,independent record labelChemikal Underground announced a showcase at the Liquid Room featuringMother and the Addicts,Aidan Moffat andDe Rosa, in honor of the record label's 100th release.[17] The festival's full line-up, announced on 7 June 2007, was as follows:
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[18] Guillemots were originally scheduled to perform at the Corn Exchange, but chose instead to play two separate smaller performances, at the City Cafe and later in the Liquid Rooms.[19] Greg Forbes of festival websiteeFestivals said that Editors' supporting concert at Meadowbank Stadium "blew them away", outperforming headliners Razorlight.[20] In 2008,The Independent reported the 2007 event had sold 130,000 tickets, highlighting that the total number of events taking place had now quadrupled from the festival's inaugural year.[5]
In 2008, it was announced that T on the Fringe would berebranded as The Edge Festival, following the end of DF Concerts' partnership with Tennent's.[21]
The 2009 event took place between 1–31 August, with more than fifty artists performing across seven venues.[22] Organisers secured a number of high-profile revival acts, includingDavid Byrne,Magazine andFaith No More, the band's first Scottish performance in over a decade. As well as this, performers included ex-Lightning Seeds frontmanIan Broudie,The Bluetones,Mumford & Sons,[23]Biffy Clyro,Frightened Rabbit,Andrew Bird,Unicorn Kid and Young Fathers,The Streets,Amanda Palmer,múm,Broken Records andCalvin Harris.[24]The List named Unicorn Kid and Young Fathers in their Top 20 Festival Shows list for 2009, the only appearance by an Edge Festival performance.[25]
The 2010 event took place between 5—31 August.[26] It marked the return of the Cabaret Voltaire venue, which had suffered fire damage the previous year. The first acts were announced in June 2010, withDizzee Rascal confirmed to play theCorn Exchange.[27] Further acts announced includedMika,Professor Green,Tinchy Stryder,Eels,Modest Mouse,Beirut,The Coral,The Divine Comedy,Doves,Steve Mason andColin MacIntyre,The Phantom Band,Pearl and the Puppets,We Were Promised Jetpacks, Kassidy,Broken Records,The Low Anthem,Little Feat,General Fiasco,Gomez, Tom Gray,Phoenix,Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly,Stornoway anddan le sac vs Scroobius Pip. The festival featured a performance byMichael Rother, formerly ofNeu!.[28]
..venues [..] including the Edinburgh Playhouse, HMV Picture House, Sneaky Pete's and Studio 24, as well as .. Cabaret Voltaire, Queen's Hall and the Corn Exchange.
Major music events and festivals of Scotland | ||
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| Benefit concerts |
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| Dance/Electronic | ||
| Folk/Traditional | ||
| Indie | ||
| Jazz | ||
| Rock/Alternative rock | ||
| Others | ||
