PIANODROME Returns To Edinburgh Fringe

Pianodrome, the award-winning, sonically rich piano amphitheatre, presents a bumper programme of music, theatre, dance and live film scores, with more than 10,000 tickets on offer throughout August. Following a hugely successful inaugural year at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2018 the much loved playable venue pops up in a warehouse in Leith at trending street-food market The Pitt.

The 100-seater amphitheatre, made entirely from 50 upcycled pianos, which has garnered interest from festivals and gardens worldwide, will feature a newly commissioned site-specific light sculpture. The music element of the programme will focus on contemporary, world, jazz, folk and classical bands and artists from across the UK as well as performers from across the world including Morocco, China, Chile and the USA.

The programme features the return of flagship evening event Pianodrome Live, hosted by Pianodrome's in-house band S!nk and running Wednesdays to Sundays 7pm to 10pm, with a cross-genre line-up including the Hebrides Ensemble, Mesadorm, Kate in the Kettle, the Babylon Arabic Band, Omar Afif Gnawa Trance Fusion and improvising jazz pianist Matt Bourne.

Producer Matt Wright said: "Pianodrome became the talk of the town during the Fringe 2018 run. This year we're joining forces with Leith's finest purveyors of quality street food and local drinks, the Pitt Street Market, to bring the Fringe's biggest small venue back for 2019. With an extraordinary line-up of music, dance and theatre - all performed in the round and surrounded by tiered seating built from over 50 re-purposed pianos - we hope you can make it down for the most intimate and at once epic of fringe experiences."

Pianodrome designer Tim Vincent-Smith said: "We are excited this August to open a space for so many excellent performers but also to make space for fringe audience inundated with information and seeking space to reflect, commune and create themselves."

2019 highlights include a host of Made in Scotland showcase events featuring Lizabett Russo, Kirsty Law, Raymond MacDonald and friends (with works inspired by Scottish writer Muriel Spark) and the Tinderbox Orchestra. Joining forces with Soundhouse and Scottish Jazz and Beyond this year, the Pianodrome will host acclaimed folk groups Moishe's Bagel, John Goldie and the High Plains, the Kinnaris Quintet and Scottish Jazz luminaries Tom Bancroft, Graeme Stephen and Fergus McCreadie.

Afternoon events will include live film scores from Pianodrome's in-house band S!nk for Nanook of the North and Prince Achmed, international dance, music and theatre performances, workshops and family focused events. The Pianodrome will continue to offer a selection of drop-in daytime events from 11am - 3pm, including a series of lunchtime concerts featuring artists such as Amy Duncan, Cafe Spice, Weird Cousins, Slow Gear and award-winning Welsh singer songwriter Harry Harris.

Pianodrome is the vision of Edinburgh-based artist Tim Vincent-Smith, designer and builder of the Vanity Fair approved Atlantis Books in Oia, Greece, and producer Matt Wright who regularly produces events for the Edinburgh International Science Festival. Last year the unique venue saw impromptu performances from Amanda F*cking Palmer (who loved Piandrome so much she performed twice), and presenters Jo Whiley, Guy Garvey and Simon Mayo all popped in for a chat for BBC radio 2's Drivetime Show. The unique venue has captured the interest of international festivals and gardens worldwide.

Full performance and ticket information can be found at: www.pianodrome.org and at the edfringe.com website here or by searching for venue 391 and selecting "Pianodrome at the Pitt" from the drop down menu and clicking the GO button.