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Sandy Bell's

Edinburgh's world-famous traditional folk pub — live sessions nightly from 9pm.

Venue at a glance Sandy Bell's · Edinburgh
c. 70
Capacity
standingsmall
6 nights
Live music
Mon · Tue · Wedper week
21:00
Start time
doorsnightly
PA
Backline
PA + micsgear
Folk
Books
originals+3 more
Verified
Directory status
openGX directory
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Last updated: 4 June 2026

Sandy Bell's — Quick Facts

Edinburgh's world-famous traditional folk pub — live sessions nightly from 9pm.

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this venue on GigXchange
The Details

Everything you need before you book

Capacityc. 70 standing
Live nightsMon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Curfew
Sound limiter
Outdoor stageNo
OriginalsYes
View on map

Where

Sandy Bell's 25 Forrest Road
Old Town
Edinburgh EH1 2QH

Genres

Folk
Traditional
Scottish Traditional
Acoustic

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Booking Information

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What's on Stage

Equipment and backline available at this venue. We verify and update this section regularly.

PA system
Drum kit
Guitar amp
Bass amp
Keys / keyboard
2 vocal mics
In-house engineer

About Sandy Bell's

Sandy Bell's is a grassroots music venue in Old Town, Edinburgh with a standing capacity of approximately 70. PA system and vocal mics are provided; bring your own instruments and amps.

Sandy Bell's books Folk, Traditional, Scottish Traditional, Acoustic acts. Both original music and covers are welcome. This listing is part of the Edinburgh venue directory.

Sandy ‌​‌​‍Bell's is one of Scotland's most famous traditional pubs, a tiny folk bar on Forrest Road in Edinburgh's Old Town with a standing capacity of around 70. Traditional music sessions have run here since 1942 and the pub played a major part in the folk revival; today sessions are held daily — nightly from 9pm, with a slow session every Monday at 6pm, the Scottish mouth-organ group every second Monday, and afternoon sessions on Saturdays and Sundays. It pours an extensive range of Scottish malt whiskies and cask beer and serves homemade pies, soup and toasties through the day. The format is informal acoustic session playing, so it's ideal for folk, Scottish-traditional and acoustic musicians who want to join in.

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun

Nights Sandy Bell's usually has live music — typical start 21:00

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Find Sandy Bell's

25 Forrest Road, Old Town, Edinburgh, EH1 2QH

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The Edinburgh League

Sandy Bell's isn’t in the Edinburgh top 10 yet — these are the front-runners of its 34 ranked rooms, by gigs on the calendar over the next 30 days, refreshed nightly.

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  9. #9 NEW Usher Hall 3 gigs
  10. #10 La Belle Angele 2 gigs

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Common Questions

Seven things people ask about booking Sandy Bell's.

PA system and vocal mics provided. BYO instruments and amps. Need a venue with full backline? Filter Edinburgh venues by backline.
Sandy Bell's books Folk, Traditional, Scottish Traditional, Acoustic. Both original music and covers are welcome. Browse artist profiles by genre on GigXchange.
Sign up free on GigXchange to view Sandy Bell's’s booking contact, fee range, and submission process. Most grassroots venues accept email submissions with a link to your music or EPK. Check current UK fee benchmarks before quoting.
Sandy Bell's has a standing capacity of approximately 70, classed as a small venue. See all Edinburgh venues for size comparisons.
Open mic information is not currently listed for Sandy Bell's. Browse the Edinburgh Open Mic Finder for nearby open mics.
25 Forrest Road, Old Town, Edinburgh, EH1 2QH. See the map below for directions. Browse more Edinburgh venues nearby.
Fee ranges are available to signed-up artists on GigXchange. Grassroots venue fees in Edinburgh vary by event type, band size, and whether the deal is a flat fee or door split. The GigXchange Rate Calculator shows current UK percentiles.

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