Mary King’s Ghost Fest 18 – 23 March 2010
Paranormal investigations, celebrity ghost hunts and other spooky goings on at The Real Mary King’s Close.

Ceilidh Culture 26 March – 18 April 2010
Edinburgh’s traditional arts festival, featuring music, dance, storytelling and more.

International Science Festival   9-25 April 2011
The International Science Festival features a host of fun and educational events, lectures and attractions celebrating all things scientific.

Beltane Fire Festival   30 April 2010
Beltane is an ancient Celtic festival and Edinburgh plays host to some colourful and exciting celebrations to mark the date.

Imaginate Festival  10 – 16 May 2010
The Imaginate Festival is Edinburgh’s children’s festival and has loads of plays, activities and fun things to do for youngsters of all ages.

Leith Festival   11 -20 June 2010
Come and celebrate all things Leith at this festival, featuring music, dance, art and other exciting events.

Edinburgh International Film Festival  16 – 27 June 2010
The Edinburgh Film Festival is an internationally-renowned event on the movie festival circuit and attracts premieres and stars from all over the world.

West Port Book Festival 24 – 27 June 2010
An annual independent book festival taking place in 11 venues across Edinburgh’s West Port district.

Edinburgh Art Festival   29 July – 5 September
Edinburgh Art Festival celebrates the visual arts in all its diversity, from world-class exhibitions to strikingly original installations.

Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival   30 July – 10 August 2010
Get your gladrags on and party to the sounds of the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, a popular event which attracts international talent.

Edinburgh Mela Festival   6 – 8 August 2010
Celebrating the cultural diversity of the city, the Mela Festival brings colour and exotic flair to Edinburgh in August.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival  6 – 30 August 2010
Getting bigger, better and – some may say – weirder every year, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the highlight of many a festival-goer’s calendar.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo   6 – 28 August 2010
Selling out months in advance, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a spectacular event taking place on the Castle Esplanade.

The Edge Music Festival      August
Adding alternative music to the August festival mix, The Edge Music Festival attracts A-list bands as part of its programme.

Festival of Spirituality and Peace  7-29 August
The Festival of Spirituality and Peace features music, dance, talks and other events highlighting humanitarian issues and causes.

Edinburgh International Festival   13 August – 5 September 2010
The one that started it all, the Edinburgh International Festival is a feast of world-class music, dance and theatrical performances.

Edinburgh International Book Festival  14 – 30 August 2010 
This literary event attracts major names in the writing, publishing and political fields to the serene Charlotte Square Gardens setting.

Scottish Story Telling Festival    22-30 October
Celebrating the great Scottish oral tradition, the Story Telling Festival showcases the talents of national bards, poets and tale-spinners.

Edinburgh’s Christmas    Date TBC – late November
Edinburgh sparkles at Christmas and features events, attractions and shows for all the family to enjoy during the festival season.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay   29 December 2010 – 2 January 2011
End the year with the biggest street party in the world!

However, I picked Capercaillie almost as a brief respite from the rest of the Festival mayhem, and on the strength of last night’s show, I’m glad I did.

The 8-piece band play a tight and well-blended mix of traditional Scottish Celtic music, world influences and contemporary sounds, all topped off with the beautiful and at times haunting voice of Karen Matheson. I’ve been a fan of their uniquely Scottish sound for over 20 years now, and it was great to see them play to a mix of fans and first-timers, drawn to the Queen’s Hall by their official Fringe appearance.

Because of that, Capercaillie’s set was slightly curtailed due to timing and the audience reaction was a little muted, given many people’s unfamiliarity with the band. However, the music shone through, and the collection of uplifting and melodic reels, waltzes – as well as some beautifully moving laments and ballads – gave us all a welcome opportunity to hear one of the best Scottish folk acts in the business.

Capercaillie play the Queen’s Hall again this evening.

In 2000, the T on the Fringe breakout festival injected things with a welcome and healthy shot of live rock music, bringing the likes of Radiohead, Snow Patrol, Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails in previous years to shake things up a bit (and annoy some of the residents who lived near Meadowbank).

Since the promoters and Tennents (T) have gone their separate ways, this was replaced in 2008 by the Edge Festival. Still with a commitment to bring alternative music to the Fringe, the Edge is back again this year with another strong line-up.

As is the nature of live music gigs, some – such as a rare show from Faith No More – have already sold out, but tickets still remain for some cracking bands and artists. Highlights include indie faves Biffy Clyro, ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, post-punk pioneers Magazine and, my own personal favourite, Amanda Palmer.

The Edge Festival (and its previous T incarnation) has made live rock music a permanent fixture on the Edinburgh festival scene, meaning that I now can’t think of a single artistic genre that isn’t represented (although the Film festival has since moved dates to June, but one could argue that just got in the way of everything else anyway…!)