Kid Canaveral count down festival in Portobello

This will be the fourth year that Edinburgh indie-pop crowd Kid Canaveral have run their seasonal mini-festival Christmas Baubles, and it promises to be unique given that they’re decamping to Portobello Town Hall this time.
Kid Canaveral prepare for their annual Christmas bash, this time in Portobello Town Hall. Picture: ContributedKid Canaveral prepare for their annual Christmas bash, this time in Portobello Town Hall. Picture: Contributed
Kid Canaveral prepare for their annual Christmas bash, this time in Portobello Town Hall. Picture: Contributed

With previous editions having made use of The Lot, Summerhall, and the Caves, their quest for the perfect offbeat venue has taken them to the seaside, and a venue twice as large as last year’s.

“The hall is gorgeous and it has other rooms and areas that we can use to make sure people aren’t standing in one spot all day,” says the band’s David MacGregor. “We’ll have a grotto, a bar, (Fife baker) Fisher and Donaldson selling their delights and a few special intimate performances dotted around the building.”

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He agrees that the town hall as a venue is very much like those spaces used by their former label Fence for the Homegame festival in Anstruther, and it comes as little surprise to hear that KC’s new Lost Map label boss and sometime Fence joint head Johnny Lynch is involved with this edition of Christmas Baubles. Given the location, the whole thing promises a decidedly Fence-in-winter feel, and he also helped book Edwyn Collins, this year’s special headline guest.

“Johnny had been introduced to Edwyn and Grace Maxwell (his wife and manager) by a mutual friend,” says Kid Canaveral’s Kate Lazda, “and it turned out they had a lot in common as Edwyn and Grace have recently set up their own DIY record label AED. I think this aspect of what we and Lost Map do appealed to them. They try to work with independent promoters for most of their gigs and also look for interesting and unique venues, so I think it was a really good fit.”

MacGregor and Lazda are also enthusiastic about hearing reformed Glasgow post-rockers De Rosa play, as well as a rare Scottish set from This Many Boyfriends and local group Tuff Love, while KC will also be on stage. Already, it has the feeling of all the best Fence events – that the bill has been chosen because these are bands the organisers want you to hear.

“Christmas Baubles started because we wanted to have a Christmas party and get lots of bands we liked to play,” says Lazda. “Luckily everyone who came along seemed to enjoy it too. Even after the first year it immediately seemed like something that almost had to happen every Christmas from then on. We’re keen to stick to the original concept – a relaxed party in our home town, and hopefully a celebratory end to a successful year. It’s the one thing that people ask us about all year round, I don’t think there’s any way we could not do it now.”

• Kid Canaveral’s Christmas Baubles, Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh, tomorrow, www.kidcanaveral.co.uk