What's On in Edinburgh

Chopin by Candlelight — There is nowhere quite like St Giles Cathedral after dark, its ancient stonework flickering in candlelight while Chopin's most tender and turbulent works fill the air. This is the kind of concert that slows your heartbeat and reminds you why live classical music is so irreplaceable. Doors at 6:15pm, tickets from £15 to £42 — an early-evening treat that feels genuinely ceremonial.

Annasach's Ceilidh at The Counting House — The Counting House Ballroom is a spectacular setting for a ceilidh, and Annasach know exactly how to get a room of strangers linking arms and spinning until they are dizzy with joy. You do not need to know a single step — the caller will guide you through every reel and jig, and the band will do the rest. Kicks off at 7:30pm for just £15, and frankly one of the best-value Friday nights in the city.

Vivaldi Four Seasons by Candlelight — If the earlier Chopin concert sells out or you simply want to make a full evening of it at St Giles, this 8:00pm performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons is a stone-cold classic rendered in a setting that feels almost impossibly romantic. The soaring violin lines of Summer and the crisp, brittle energy of Winter are the sort of thing that stays with you for days. Tickets run from £15 to £45, and every seat feels like a good one in this extraordinary space.

The Comedy Cellar Edinburgh Live Stand-Up Comedy — Canon's Gait Pub is the kind of unpretentious, brilliantly atmospheric venue where comedy tends to land hard — no fuss, just funny people doing their thing in front of a Friday-night crowd that is ready to laugh. The Comedy Cellar runs two shows on the night, at 8:00pm and again at 10:00pm, so there is no excuse not to fit one in. At £12 a ticket, it is sharper value than most things you will do this weekend.

I Am A Raver — The Buccleuch Pub might not be the flashiest address on the map, but I Am A Raver has built a devoted following by keeping things honest, loud, and genuinely fun — this is for people who love the music first and the posturing not at all. From 9:00pm, expect the kind of energy that makes you forget you have work on Monday. Check the website for ticket details and go in with an open mind and comfortable shoes.

So Fetch - 2000s Party (Edinburgh) — La Belle Angele at 11:00pm with a room full of people losing their minds to early-2000s bangers is, quite simply, one of life's great simple pleasures — and So Fetch has been delivering exactly that with gleeful consistency. Think Destiny's Child, early Kanye, Justin Timberlake in his prime, and a crowd that knows every word. At just £7 to £9, it is the kind of night that sneaks up on you and ends several hours later than you planned.