Shine on you diamonds
By Gilbert West · 08 September 2026
Dust off your dancing shoes, September is shaping up to be a month of live music and festivals in Dumfries. Here’s a roundup of just a few.
Shine Fest – Friday 11th, 1pm to 7pm at the Plainstanes
Shine Fest is a free music and magic celebration by Dumfries Town Board to cap off a week of local folks helping clean up the town. It’s family friendly and all performances take place at the Plainstanes by the Midsteeple.
On stage throughout the afternoon are Franc Karpo Magic Shows, Troqueer Primary School Choir, Cenote Sounds, Ade Pringle, Kissing The Flint, Samba Sisters (drumming) and Rhelm Band.
Make a day of it, bring a pal or two, grab an ice cream from Sadie’s or take a breather in one of the nearby cafes.
Hidden Gem – Saturday 12th, 12.30pm til late
Hidden Gem is back. One ticket, 5 venues and 20 sets. Top that off with however many performers take up the open mic for the 2 hour slot at The Coach & Horses and we’re looking at a pretty decent music festival happening across the town.
The set list for each venue is listed in our events section, but in summary you’ll be able to catch a gig at Hopper Records, Riverside Tap, The Open Arms and the White Hart. Coach & Horses will host the open mic session from 3pm to 5pm.
Expect a good crowd from around Scotland as this is now becoming an established music event and they’ve had good coverage in The Herald, DNG News, DGWGO, BBC Radio and Alive Radio.
Four Play – Saturday 12th, 7.30pm to 1am
Next up, nestled in amongst the Hidden Gem venues along Brewery Street, we have The Grainstore where, for one shiny £10 note, you’ll be able to get down to Four Play. That’s five and a half hours of live music by Chivo, Shuttle Cart, Bash and All Data Now.
Bash + The Sound Rays – Sunday 13th, 3pm to 5pm
Sunday is more chill. Across the river in the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Popcorn Gigs are mixing live music and cinematic visuals. Dumfries’ psychedelic explorers Bash and Edinburgh’s interplanetary groovers The Sound Rays will be accompanied by spectacular visuals on the cinema screen.
Bash + The Sound Rays event details
That’s a lot in one weekend. Thankfully you’ll get to catch your breath before Pride kicks off on Saturday 19th. We’ll do a part II on the Pride events to wrap up this month of music and festivals.
