Experience Glasgow's Merchant City Festival

The Merchant City Festival is back for it sixth year and better than ever. Running from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 September, the Festival attracts more than 40,000 people over Glasgow’s four day bank holiday weekend with an exciting programme of theatre, music, fashion, visual art, film and comedy.

Councillor Steven Purcell, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, commented: “The programme for this year’s Merchant City Festival puts into sharp focus the quality and diversity of Glasgow’s cultural scene. From classical music and comedy to opera and theatre – it’s all there, and played out in the magnificent venues of Glasgow’s historic mercantile quarter.”

Neil Butler, Artistic Director of the Merchant City Festival, said: “I am delighted with the breadth of activity taking place in this year’s Merchant City Festival programme. This is an excellent opportunity to sample the best of Scotland’s cultural scene as well as many acclaimed international companies with performers from seventeen different countries giving this year’s festival a real international flavour.”

Only a stone’s throw from George Square, the Merchant City is Glasgow’s cultural quarter. Home to the former warehouses of the ‘Tobacco Lords’ - the 18th century entrepreneurs who built Glasgow’s wealth through international trade - the Merchant City has been transformed into a hip assortment of designers shops, bars, galleries and venues which perfectly compliments Glasgow’s cosmopolitan city centre.

Highlights of this year’s festival will include: Spymonkey’s acclaimed black comedy “Stiff”; Glasgow Rocks, a glamorous fashion show from the cutting edge label, All Saints and DotComedy’s “Get Lost”. Folk and Latin fusions will be supplied by the acclaimed Salsa Celtica and comedy picks include local newcomer Limmy and scene stalwart Fred MacAulay. Scottish Opera will be taking to the streets with popular arias and duets from the likes of Mozart and Puccini while Iain Clarke’s Capture will display portraits of famous faces such as Muriel Gray and Brian Cox.

Spymonkey’s “Stiff” is an anarchic, hilarious play directed by Cal McCrystal who worked with The Mighty Boosh. Performing every night at 8pm, this dark comedy of the great tragedian Forbes Murdston and his tribute to his dear departed wife has had audiences across the world crying with laughter.

Glasgow Rocks with All Saints is the label’s debut fashion show in Scotland. Taking place in the Corinthian on the festival’s opening night, the show will feature celebrity models, live music and cutting edge DJs. The fashion show starts at 9pm but the after-party is sure to keep the beautiful people rocking until the wee small hours!

DotComedy presents “Get Lost”, one of the most visually striking theatre pieces to hit Glasgow. Performed inside a giant maze in the city’s George Square, the audience will navigate their way around whilst being greeted by a wide assortment of strange and colourful characters. This interactive piece has been a huge success wherever it has been performed and will run for the duration of the festival.

Fresh from sell-out performances, Salsa Celtica will appear at Old Fruitmarket on Friday, 21 September with special guests Kissmet. Salsa Celtica is a highly original gathering of musicians who produce a truly unique sound, blending Latin and Celtic music to create an explosive, high-energy musical exploration.

Presented by the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival is Limmy’s Show, performed twice on Thursday at Blackfriars on Bell Street. Fresh from his sell-out shows at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe, Limmy, whose World of Glasgow podcast burst into the iTunes Top 10, will enthral audiences with his hilarious videos and monologues. Fred MacAulay, will bring his brand of contemporary observations and caustic sarcasm to the Old Fruitmarket on Saturday night.

The Merchant City Festival is funded by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau & Glasgow City Council, the European Regional Development Fund and the Scottish Arts Council. It is produced by UZ Events.

Full events listings and information on the festival is available from Merchantcityfestival.com.