Arts diary: Andrew O'Hagan's big Bob Dylan miss and the SNL Fringe fund auction

Massive congrats to singer Kai Fitzharris who scooped the top accolade of Scottish Young Musicians Solo Performer of the Year.

The 18-year-old from Greenock wowed judges with his performance of The Roadside Fire by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Die Nacht by Richard Strauss and saw him taking home not only the overall winner’s trophy but also winning the voice category and the collaboration award for his interaction with accompanist Claire Haslin.

Kai receives £1,000 to further his musical career and the Maid of Morven trophy crafted by Alexander Stoddart, the King's Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland, as well as coaching from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Meanwhile, bass guitarist Jake Kenny from North Ayrshire had the hall jumping with his virtuosic performance of Muse’s Hysteria and Primus’s Tommy the Cat, while accordionist Daniel Small from Falkirk gave a brilliant performance of Yuri Dranga’s The Seagull, and Scottish traditional tune the Millers Reel. Both were awarded runners up prizes.

Moneybags

Edinburgh arts venue Summerhall has revealed plans for its second year under its current structure to “significantly” increase the scale and depth of support available to artists working across theatre, live performance, interdisciplinary practice and visual arts.

The venue, which operates year round as well as being a key part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, will this year offer more artists five days of dedicated venue time to develop early ideas.

The programme expands in 2026 with 11 free space weeks; 12 supported weeks with £500 bursaries and eight new enhanced residencies offering £1,000 support.

Meanwhile, thousands of pounds have been raised for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s Keep it Fringe fund through an auction of items relating to the inaugural UK series of Saturday Night Live.

Fans bid on standout items inspired by and featured in the show, including signed vinyls by Kasabian and Foo Fighters, designer fashion, as worn by cast members, and a “Live From London” cue card signed by all the hosts from the series, from Tina Fey to Jamie Dornan, raising £5,584.

With headline hosts including Nicola Coughlan, Aimee Lou Wood and Jack Whitehall, SNL UK launched in March. Adapted from the popular US version, the show's famous opening catchphrase, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", was altered to "Live from London, it's Saturday Night!"

Bob Dylan played in Glasgow last year. Picture: Kevin Winter | Local Library

The Keep it Fringe Fund, launched from a grant from Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, has distributed £1 million in grants since 2023.

Disappointment over Dylan

The legendary Bob Dylan turned 85 on Sunday and is still touring, with a string of US dates booked in for the coming weeks. However, having played in Scotland in November, performing two consecutive nights at Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo, he looks unlikely to make it this side of the Atlantic again any time soon.

I live with a die hard Dylan fan who constantly lives in fear that the most recent gig he has seen could have been his last chance.

So imagine the disappointment faced by Scottish author and another Dylan obsessive, Andrew O’Hagan, who last week told me how he’d narrowly missed meeting one of his all-time idols.

Andrew, who wrote bestsellers Mayflies and Caledonian Road, owns a cafe, Sam’s, in London’s Primrose Hill, which he started with a friend, Sam Frears, who is largely blind.

“I got a text saying “Bob Dylan is in at the cafe and none of the young waiters know who he is,” Andrew told me. “I went running down the street but when I got there, he’d just gone.”

Gutted.