Navigating your way into Edinburgh’s Summer Sessions at Highland Hall feels like a trial by dampness. The Scottish weather isn’t just a feature—it’s a headliner, threatening rain at every corner like it’s got a personal vendetta against joy.

The walk from the main road is less of a stroll and more of a test of your commitment to live music, as you trudge through the kind of terrain that makes you question if your festival footwear was more optimistic than practical. Mine was indeed not.

First on the lineup, far too early for their own good, was Alabama 3. Here’s a band that’s as British as afternoon tea but pretends they’re straight out of a Southern dive bar. They kicked things off by taking a cheeky swipe at Taylor Swift, perhaps trying to win over a crowd who looked more ready for a pint than a pop star put-down. And yet, despite the early slot, there was something about their Southern-fried charm that fit perfectly with the afternoon’s relentless gray.

Their set was a mix of tongue-in-cheek anthems and bluesy bangers. “You Don’t Dance to Tekno Anymore” got people nodding along, resigned to the fact that their techno days might actually be behind them. “Ain’t Going to Goa” and “Bam Ba Lam” brought a little fire, but it was “Woke Up This Morning” that really got the crowd going. The female vocalist was nothing short of hypnotic, her voice cutting through the drizzle like a beacon in the fog. You couldn’t help but get sucked into their world, even if you were still secretly wondering why they were playing in daylight.

As the afternoon rolled on, Embrace took the stage with the enthusiasm of a band that knows exactly what they mean to their audience. If Alabama 3 was a sly wink, Embrace was a warm hug. Their crowd was sizeable, drawn in by the promise of nostalgia wrapped in singalong choruses. And the band delivered, looking like they were genuinely thrilled to be there—possibly more thrilled than anyone else in the audience.

“All You Good People” kicked off their set, and it was like someone turned up the serotonin. “Nature’s Law” hit the emotional sweet spot, and by the time they got to “Come Back to What You Know” and “Ashes,” it was clear that this was a band who had found their sweet spot years ago and stayed there, comfortably, ever since. They closed with “Gravity,” a song that felt like a collective exhale after a set full of feel-good highs.

Then came The View, the Dundonian upstarts who arrived like a gust of wind strong enough to knock over your pint. These guys weren’t just playing to the crowd; they were challenging it. With a uniform of short shorts and shirts that screamed “we’ve been doing this since school,” they blasted into “Same Jeans” with an energy that could only come from a band who still believes in the power of loud guitars and relentless hooks.

“Wasted Little DJs” and “Superstar Tradesmen” followed, each track a testament to their scrappy, never-grow-up attitude. And as they rounded off their set with “Grace,” it was clear that The View might have been the storm we’d all been waiting for, the kind that makes you forget about the weather.

Finally, Ocean Colour Scene sauntered on stage to the kind of applause reserved for local legends. If the earlier acts were about shaking off the rain, OCS was about basking in the warm glow of collective memory. They started with “The Riverboat Song,” a track so ingrained in British rock culture that it might as well be piped through the speakers at every pub across the UK.

“Hundred Mile High City” cranked up the energy, with a guitar riff that could wake the dead, while “The Circle” and “Travellers Tune” played like a greatest hits of every pub back room gig you’ve ever stumbled into. And then came “The Day We Caught the Train,” a song so universally beloved that you could almost forget the walk, the weather, and the wet.

As the night drew to a close and the trek back to reality loomed, you couldn’t help but smile. Highland Hall, with all its quirks and challenges, had turned into a refuge from the everyday. And in a place where the rain is always a breath away, sometimes a great gig is all the sunshine you need.

Words Angela Canavan & Daniella Latina

Photos Angela Canavan