Homegrown talent dominates popular street-art festival, and April has plenty more besides.
Hey you,
We have a cracking edition of the POST Newsletter for you this month, all building towards the return of Nuart Aberdeen at the end of the month. The street art festival returns after taking a break in 2025, so the anticipation is even stronger than usual. People have genuinely missed this event.
The festival will feel a little different this year. The majority of the artists in the line-up are Scotland-based. The production team spans three Scottish cities too: KMG in Edinburgh, Ciarán Glöbel in Glasgow, and Martin "Tazzy" Widerlechner here in Aberdeen. Home-grown talent, front and centre.
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The theme this year is Poetry Is In The Streets. As always, it will be down to the artists to interpret that theme however they want. We always enjoy how giving artists a theme tends to lead to wildly different work on the walls. This year we have a walking artist, a sculptor, a paste-up poet and a sign-painter alongside muralists. We expect to see much more street-level work this time around, giving you the chance to see more up-close. You might even get the chance to have a go yourself. It’s going to be fun!
Nuart Aberdeen has always given the city a lift. Traditionally it felt like the kick-off to the warmer days in the city, and back in its end-of-April slot, we hope that’s reflected in the weather. It’s great to see folk out on the streets, exploring art, and rediscovering the city. We’re excited to see artists from closer to home, including our friend V2k, who has been creating strong work on Aberdeen walls in recent years. We can't wait to see what he'll produce on this bigger platform.
Of course, Nuart isn’t everything that Aberdeen has to offer in the weeks ahead. We’re being treated to comedy, theatre, music and more. We’re looking forward to seeing a very old favourite, The High Life, on stage. Aisling Bea is on our radar too. The BAFTA-winning comedian has produced brilliant comedy, including This Way Up. We'll also be covering the Unity March on the 18th, when Aberdeen will show up to firmly reject racism from our streets.
So enjoy the month ahead. We’ll be covering Nuart Aberdeen as it happens. Expect to see our social channels flooded with street art. We're also looking forward to seeing what you are up to.
See you on the streets,
Chris + Kevin
What’s on in April
Kris Drever
1 Apr | The Lemon Tree
Orkney-raised singer and guitarist Kris Drever brings his solo work to Aberdeen, stepping away from his role in award-winning trio Lau. His songwriting draws on place, memory and the Scottish folk tradition without treating any of them as fixed points.
Drever's guitar playing and warm voice have earned him a reputation as one of Scotland's most accomplished acoustic musicians. His songs feel rooted in tradition whilst remaining unmistakably his own, never bound by the past they reference.
Eat the Rich 5
3 Apr | The Lemon Tree
The fifth annual Eat the Rich brings together performers from across the queer arts scene for an evening that refuses to stay in one lane. Drag, dance, music, spoken word and performance art collide in a show co-produced by Aberdeen Performing Arts and Sanctuary Queer Arts.
Since its first edition, the night has carved out a cool space for inventive, unapologetic work that doesn't fit neatly into other boxes. A loyal following returns each year to see what gets thrown into the mix this time.
Deadfire + Eld Varg + Tempilstiks + Deary Me
3 Apr | Drummonds
Aberdeen's Deadfire headline a four-band bill at Drummonds with support from Eld Varg, Tempilstiks and Deary Me. The hometown band deal in sleazy, hard-hitting rock with riff-heavy guitars, thumping bass and pulse-pounding drums backing commanding frontman Charlie.
A night of Aberdeen rock built for sweaty rooms and late finishes. Doors at 7pm for an evening that promises energy and swagger in equal measure.
Live at the Tivoli: Milton Jones and Friends
3 Apr | Tivoli Theatre
Milton Jones brings his trademark surreal one-liners to the Tivoli, backed by wild hair, loud shirts and years of Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo appearances. His comedy moves fast, built on wordplay that leans heavily into the absurd. Sometimes you are back home before you realise how clever that punchline was.
Three comedians from across the UK circuit join him on the bill, mixing rising talent with established names. A varied lineup designed to keep the energy high and the laughs coming from different angles all night.
Curated Market Launch
3 Apr | Bon Accord Centre
Curated returns to the Bon Accord Centre with an expanded format, now divided into three distinct areas: a market with hireable stalls for local producers, a gallery space for exhibiting and selling artwork, and a workshop area for creative sessions. Five Aberdeen organisations including Deemouth Artist Studios, Edit and Charlie House have come together to develop the space.
Open Fridays and Saturdays, 10am to 5pm. Stall spaces remain available to hire, with the gallery already scheduling its first exhibition and an initial programme of workshops planned. All stallholder fees support Charlie House's work with families across the North East.
Moody Moody
4 Apr | Drummonds
Aberdeen four-piece Moody Moody bring their blend of shoegaze and dream pop to a hometown headline show. Songwriters Levi Kelman and Jack Nisbet layer noisy guitars into sonic tapestries whilst Marc Culley's bass and Phil Collingbourne's drums provide a warm, powerful backbone through the haze.
DJ Yogi's daytime sessions series is on in the afternoon too. A daytime set spanning shoegaze, dream pop and electronica, running from 2pm to 6pm.
Shane Todd: Hold Me Back
5 Apr | The Lemon Tree
Belfast comedian Shane Todd brings his fourth tour to Aberdeen. He's built a following through observational storytelling and a complete refusal to take himself seriously, and hosts the Tea With Me podcast.
Todd has opened for Kevin Hart across Europe and holds the record for a solo run at Belfast's Grand Opera House at 24 nights. He also wrote and starred in BBC sketch show Chancers in 2024.
A Play, a Pie and a Pint: Outskirts
7–11 Apr | The Lemon Tree
A young grandmother gets locked inside a Glasgow gay bar during a thunderstorm and ends up on a cocktail-fuelled evening of self-discovery with the bartender and kitchen porter. Written by Bethany Tennick, it's a musical comedy with original songs.
Tennick, a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate who was nominated at The Stage Debut Awards for her role in Islander, blends 2000s pop with Scottish folk. The show tours from Òran Mór in Glasgow before arriving in Aberdeen.
The Shawshank Redemption
7–11 Apr | His Majesty's Theatre
Stephen King's novella about a wrongly convicted banker and his friendship with a prison fixer comes to the stage. Adapted by Owen O'Neill and Dave Johns, this version stays closer to King's original text than the 1994 film.
Joe McFadden leads as Andy Dufresne, with Ben Onwukwe reprising the role of Red he first played in the 2016 touring production. The staging focuses on friendship, endurance and one very patient escape plan.
Medea
8 Apr | The Lemon Tree
Bard in the Botanics' award-winning retelling of Euripides' Greek tragedy, adapted by Kathy McKean. Medea helped Jason win the Golden Fleece, only to be abandoned for a new wife in a city where she has no belonging.
Nicole Cooper returns in the title role, co-opting the audience as confidants as the revenge takes shape. The production won Best Production and Outstanding Performance at the 2022 CATS Awards. Ninety minutes, no interval.
International Roma Day Concert: Ando Glaso Collective
9 Apr | Tunnels
Ando Glaso Collective brings together master musicians from Scotland's Romanian, Polish, Slovak, Czech and Hungarian Roma communities. Their repertoire draws on each participant's own musical heritage, rooted in authentic Gypsy music traditions.
Founded in 2019, the group has performed at Celtic Connections, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Perth Concert Hall. They were Glasgow Life's Artists in Residence for Southside Central in 2021.
Susie McCabe: Best Behaviour
9 Apr | Tivoli Theatre
Scottish comedian Susie McCabe returns to Aberdeen with her latest touring show. Her stand-up mixes everyday observation with political sharpness, and she hosts a podcast alongside Frankie Boyle.
Best Behaviour follows a run of sell-out tours. McCabe has built a strong reputation on the Scottish comedy circuit for sets that balance honesty and warmth with properly pointed material.
Step Back in Time: Celebrating 20 Years
10–11 Apr | Aberdeen Arts Centre
Theatre of Dreams, Mathieson School of Dance and Acro mark 20 years with an anniversary showcase. Students from tiny tots to teenagers perform alongside past and present pupils across ballet, tap, hip hop, acrobatics, lyrical, jazz and more.
The school has been a fixture in Aberdeen's dance community since 2006. Friday and Saturday evening shows are at 7pm, with a Saturday matinee at 1pm.
Anatomy of an Art School Forum
10–11 Apr | Cowdray Hall
A two-day public forum co-organised by Gray's School of Art and Look Again, bringing together artists, educators and researchers from across the UK to examine what defines an art school. Gray's serves as the starting point for a broader conversation about studio culture, artistic lineage and the future of creative education.
The programme spans keynote talks, panel discussions, provocations and performances, and marks the culmination of the exhibition Never Make a Head Bigger than a Melon.
The Velvet Room + Pale Joy + FENCES\\\\ + Tiger Drive
11 Apr | Drummonds
The Velvet Room headline a hometown show put together by Bonnie Scotland Presents. Paris-based alt-rockers FENCES\\\\ make their first Scottish appearance, and Pale Joy and Tiger Drive round out a four-band bill.
FENCES\\\\ have previously shared stages with The Xcerts in Paris and take cues from the Scottish rock scene. A proper local gig night with Aberdeen bands and a French connection.
Seb Lowe
13 Apr | The Lemon Tree
Yorkshire singer-songwriter Seb Lowe has racked up 40 million streams on the strength of his indie-rock and alt-folk writing, all before a debut album. His live show is a step up in intensity from the recordings.
He's joined by violinist and vocalist Kate Couriel + drummer Joel Goodwin, a trio lineup that brings a different texture and drive to the material.
The High Life
14–18 Apr | His Majesty's Theatre
Thirty years on from the original BBC sitcom, the Air Scotia cabin crew are back. All four original cast members return: Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson, Siobhan Redmond and Patrick Ryecart, with Andrew Panton directing.
The musical picks up where the series left off, with Air Scotia sold and the crew facing an uncertain future. Cumming, Masson and Johnny McKnight wrote the script and lyrics; Masson composed the music.
Henning Wehn: Acid Wehn
16 Apr | Tivoli Theatre
Henning Wehn has spent years applying deadpan German logic to British habits, and his new show turns that same lens on climate change, working through recycling culture, rainfall statistics and the general absurdity of the conversation.
On panel shows he plays the baffled outsider; on stage he has more room to move, mixing pointed cultural commentary with enough silliness to keep things from getting predictable.
Aisling Bea: Older Than Jesus
18 Apr | Music Hall
Aisling Bea brings her first headline stand-up tour to Aberdeen, with new material spanning travel, home, immigration, history and relationships. It's a wide brief, but that range is very much her territory. Expect sharp personal storytelling that moves between the political and the intimate without losing its footing.
The show is called Older Than Jesus, which gives you some sense of the territory - big themes, personal stakes, and probably a few questions about what you're supposed to have figured out by now.
Aberdeen Unity March
18 Apr | Assemble at Rubislaw Terrace
Aberdeen takes to the streets on 18 April to show the city as it wants to be: warm, welcoming and firmly closed to hatred. Local campaigners, trade union branches, trades councils and faith groups are all turning out together.
The march is one of a series coordinated by Stand Up to Racism Scotland ahead of the May Holyrood election. Sustained community organising has already pushed down far-right turnout in the city. Come and be part of what Aberdeen actually stands for.
Aberdeen's Blitz: Anniversary Walking Tour
21 Apr | Kittybrewster
Hidden Aberdeen Tours marks the anniversary of the Luftwaffe raid of 21 April 1943, when 130 bombs fell on the city in a single hour. The route follows the bombers' path through the residential streets of Bedford and Elmbank, past St Stephen's Church and into the industrial districts of Berryden and Broadford Works.
Archive photographs and personal accounts from the time accompany the walk, which ends at Charlotte Street and the site of the only concrete air raid shelter to be hit.
Bold Girls
22–24 Apr | Aberdeen Arts Centre
Studio Theatre Group brings Rona Munro's play about four women living through the Troubles in Belfast to the Children's Theatre space, directed by Rachel Watt. It moves between sharp comedy and real weight, examining what its characters hold onto and what they keep hidden.
A work centred on friendship and the cost of survival, it has lost none of its force since its first staging.
Cove Actually: Student Show 2026
22–25 Apr | His Majesty's Theatre
Aberdeen Student Show returns with a Scots-language romantic comedy taking in friendships, families, football fans and the landmarks and lore of the city. This year's focus turns south to Cove, with the company bringing a Scots Language Award pedigree to the material.
Performed entirely in Doric, it works as both a love story and an affectionate portrait of Aberdeen, the kind of show that tends to go down well with people who know the city and people who are just getting acquainted with it.
Nuart Aberdeen 2026
23–26 Apr | City Centre
This year's Nuart Aberdeen takes the theme "Poetry Is In The Streets," with 13 artists working across the city in forms ranging from hand-sized paste-ups to building-scale murals. The majority are Scottish, a deliberate shift by curator Martyn Reed toward homegrown talent.
The lineup is broader than muralism alone, taking in a walking artist, a sculptor, a signpainter and a paste-up poet alongside the spray-can work. Free to follow at street level across four days.
Eddi Reader
23 Apr | Tivoli Theatre
Eddi Reader plays the Tivoli as part of a spring run of Scottish dates, her first home appearances following a major Irish tour. Hawick-based folk musician Miwa Nagato-Apthorp joins her on the night.
Her show draws on forty years of material and doesn't follow a fixed shape. The between-song conversation tends to carry weight alongside the music, and the Tivoli's intimacy suits both.
Wrest
25 Apr | The Lemon Tree
Edinburgh indie-folk band Wrest have built enough of a following to sell out Glasgow Barrowlands and Edinburgh Usher Hall, and now bring that momentum to Aberdeen.
The Lemon Tree date is the kind of show that tends to feel significant in retrospect. Worth catching them at this scale while it's still possible.
Until next time...
That's it for March. We're looking forward to the return of Nuart Aberdeen next month, so keep an eye out for that.
If you've enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to a friend. And as always, thanks for all your support. It means a lot.
K+C xx
