Last week Alec teased us with the first half of his top 20 Scottish cover versions. This week he finally runs down his top ten which includes classics from Belle and Sebastian, Travis and Biffy Clyro.

Isobel Campbell has spent much of 2009 writing and recording in Arizona, Shreveport and Denmark. Though plans for US shows with Mark Lanegan fell through, Isobel will be back in Denmark to play some very special shows in Aarhus later this month. Ticket details and interview below.

Burnley were in Southern California recently for a friendly with PDL side Ventura Fusion. After the game Regan Jackson spoke with Owen Coyle about scouting in LA, Scottish managers and how it felt to be offered the Celtic job.

Eddi Reader is in Dublin later this week with Luka Bloom and will play in Tokyo and Osaka next month. Eddi has also been a supporter of the campaign to keep the Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock and recently talked about how the whisky might have saved her life during a prior trip to Japan.

Vic opts for Hostage in Helsinki this week as his choice of the 19 Scottish bands and artists touring abroad this week. Edinburgh DJ Alan Hostage has been in demand all over Europe this summer and has  just announced more shows in Singapore and Australia for later this year. Full details and ticket information below.

Each Sunday we present some of the best new photos of Scotland in the gloaming, the magical time before sunrise or after sunset. This week featuring images of Barra, Lewis and the Firth of Clyde.

Glasgow’s Trembling Bells are Alex Neilson’s song-based group that Matthew has described as a “madly over the top version of the kind of psych-folk that was around in the sixties and seventies, like Liege & Lief by Fairport Convention meets Frank Zappa”. Trembling Bells will be in Aarhus next week at the Jazz Juice Festival.

Though The Waterboys may find themselves in a future “Are They Really Scottish?” list, it is unarguable that Mike Scott was born in Edinburgh and now lives up north in Findhorn. Mike is a prolific twitterer and blogger and recently recounted a great story about an old friend from the 70s Edinburgh punk scene. The […]

Like all the greatest authors, Brookmyre is generally now known as “Brookmyre” to those familiar with his novels, and that population group is rapidly expanding. Today sees the launch of his 13th book Pandaemonium in the UK and with Christopher’s permission, we present the final part of an early Brookmyre classic: Playground Football.