Music in Edinburgh seems to be of high importance and abundance, much more so than in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a large city with music festivals and events occurring frequently, but not so much daily. In Edinburgh, you can hear live music every single night. Street performers fill the Royal Mile and Princes Street during the day. Almost every pub around Old Town has an open mic night at least once a week. My flat mate Alyssa has continually gone to and sang at an open mic every Tuesday at the Golf Tavern. What is interesting to me is that the pub offers her a free drink after she sings. Not only does Scotland promote music, they encourage it. I guess it is just a part of the lively night culture here.
Even on a peaceful Sunday, I wandered into a pub near the castle called the Black Bull. The sound of a banjo called me in. The pub was having a special, traditional Scottish music night for free. Everything here that is fun can be done so with no money if you look hard enough. It is wonderful. I walked in and the whole pub was singing along to the folk music of Scotland. I have noticed that a few reoccurring songs keep popping up in bars, restaurants, and even ‘YES’ rallies during the referendum. One of them is ‘500 Miles’. That is a sure crowd pleaser. Another is “I’ll Take The High Road” and finally “Wonder Wall” by Oasis. All three of these songs are constantly surrounding me. Young and old join in to sing them whenever they’re playing too.
The spirit of Edinburgh is definitely connected to music in some ways. I heard that if you like music that Glasgow is the city to be in in Scotland, but I cannot even imagine what that means because of how swamped I am by the amount of music already in Edinburgh. Singers and songwriters and performers are everywhere. I prefer to stay in a nice pub hosting a musical act than a club. The crowds there are often mixed depending on age and gender as well. Music is a universal love and everyone here, alike, are glad to hear it whenever they can. So far, I have heard blues, folk, bagpipes, rock, and acoustic covers of Miley Cryus. All of these by the way were done by normal people who decided to go into a pub one night. I have heard everything here and it is only just beginning for me.
