Florence + The Machine brings the Everybody Scream era to Edinburgh's open-air stage
Florence + The Machine is coming to the Royal Highland Showgrounds in Edinburgh as one of the headliners of Edinburgh Summer Sessions. The concert is scheduled for 24 August 2026, with gates opening at 17:00. It is an open-air performance with a standing audience, at the Royal Highland Centre in Ingliston, immediately next to Edinburgh Airport.
For Florence Welch, this concert comes at a time when the current Everybody Scream album era has already passed through major arenas and summer festivals. Florence + The Machine's sixth studio album was released on 31 October 2025 and brought 12 songs, including Everybody Scream, One of the Greats, Witch Dance, Sympathy Magic, Buckle, The Old Religion and And Love. The album was created with collaborators including Mark Bowen of IDLES, Aaron Dessner of The National and Mitski, and its darker, ritualistic character naturally carried over to the concert stage.
Edinburgh is also getting an expanded concert evening. Alongside Florence + The Machine, Self Esteem and Jacob Alon have been confirmed, so before the headline performance the audience will hear two very different musical approaches. Self Esteem, Rebecca Lucy Taylor's project, arrives following the album A Complicated Woman, while Jacob Alon brings a more intimate alternative and folk sensibility connected with the album In Limerence.
Ticket sales for this event are underway.
From Dog Days Are Over to the band's new, darker phase
Since the 2009 album Lungs, Florence + The Machine has built its identity on a combination of alternative rock, baroque pop, folk and grand melodic climaxes. Dog Days Are Over and You've Got the Love helped the band move beyond the indie framework, while songs such as Shake It Out, Spectrum, Cosmic Love, Never Let Me Go and Free later became an important part of its live repertoire.
What has changed is not so much Florence Welch's ability to turn a song into a massive chorus as the context in which she does it today. Everybody Scream shifts the emphasis toward themes of the body, women's experience, ageing, relationships, death and creative survival. The production remains large enough for enormous venues, but the new songs often rely on tension, repetition and a gradual build-up of intensity.
This is important for audiences who primarily know Florence + The Machine through its most popular singles. The current concerts are not simply a retrospective of the greatest hits. Material from the new era occupies a prominent place, while older songs serve as a bridge between the band's different periods.
Recent performances on the Everybody Scream tour show how well that contrast translates live. On the US leg of the tour in spring 2026, songs performed included Everybody Scream, Witch Dance, Shake It Out, Seven Devils, Big God, Daffodil, Which Witch, Cosmic Love, Spectrum, King, Howl, Heaven Is Here, Dog Days Are Over, Free and a number of songs from the new album. Summer festival performances had an adjusted repertoire, so that list should not be viewed as a preview of what will be performed in Edinburgh.
It is precisely the unpredictability of the format that is useful information before arriving. Florence + The Machine has a large enough catalogue for the repertoire to change between a standalone arena tour and a festival performance. Songs that appear frequently provide a good sense of the concert's direction, but they are not a guarantee for any individual evening.
What Everybody Scream looks like when it leaves the studio
On stage, Florence Welch has for years combined a powerful voice with a highly physical performance style. Running across the stage, dancing, sudden transitions between almost silent moments and huge choruses, and direct interaction with the audience are not decoration around the songs but part of their dynamics.
Reports from concerts during 2026 particularly highlight the theatricality of the current programme. The visual language of the new era relies on darker, almost ritualistic motifs, while dancers and backing vocalists take part in creating scenes that change from song to song. At the same time, the production does not conceal what made the band recognisable in the first place: Florence Welch's voice remains the centre of the performance.
At Mad Cool in Madrid in July 2026, the concert opened with Everybody Scream, and the programme combined songs from the new album with better-known titles from earlier years. Reports from that tour describe frequent transitions between darker, more slowly developing moments and songs that turn the entire venue into a communal singalong.
Because of this, the concert may be especially interesting to two groups of audience members. Long-time fans get the opportunity to hear how the older material fits into the new dramaturgy, while listeners who know only the biggest hits can see the broader picture of a band that has changed considerably over six albums.
It is worth securing tickets in good time.
Self Esteem and Jacob Alon give the evening a broader range
The confirmed guests are not merely a formal addition before the headliner. In recent years, Self Esteem has developed a distinctly theatrical form of pop that combines direct lyrics, choreography, choral elements and a theatrical approach to performance. The 2025 album A Complicated Woman continued that direction with large arrangements and songs that simultaneously use humour, vulnerability and confrontation.
Jacob Alon opens a different space. In Limerence from 2025 moves through a more intimate alternative and folk sound, with an emphasis on voice, atmosphere and details in the arrangements. Within the same evening, this creates a gradual shift in intensity before Florence + The Machine.
This means arriving earlier makes sense for reasons beyond securing a position in the crowd. Gates open at 17:00, while individual performance times are announced closer to the event. Organisational information anticipates the programme ending at around 22:30, with the note that times are approximate and subject to change.
Royal Highland Showgrounds changes the feel of the concert
Royal Highland Showgrounds is not a classic enclosed arena. Edinburgh Summer Sessions is held here as an open-air concert with a standing audience. This means the experience also depends on where a visitor is located: closer to the stage, the emphasis is on the performer and the denser energy of the crowd, while farther toward the back there is a broader view of the production and the mass of people.
The open space also means there is no arena-like feeling of enclosed walls. For a performer who uses large vocal crescendos, choirs and layered arrangements, this creates a different concert framework from the arenas in which the Everybody Scream tour began during winter and spring.
The front standing area operates on a first-come basis until it reaches capacity. Visitors who want to be in that zone should plan to arrive before the largest wave of the audience. A wristband allows people to leave the front area for food, drinks or toilets and return, but re-entry is not guaranteed if the zone reaches its permitted capacity in the meantime.
An important rule for the entire event is that once a ticket has been scanned and a visitor leaves the festival grounds, re-entry is not permitted.
Practical information before entering
- The concert takes place outdoors and the venue is standing-only.
- Gates for Florence + The Machine open at 17:00.
- The expected end of the programme is around 22:30, and times may change.
- People under the age of 14 cannot enter this concert.
- Visitors aged 14 to 15 must be accompanied by a person aged at least 21, subject to a limit on the number of minors per accompanying adult.
- A valid original photographic identification document is required.
- The venue operates cashlessly, so payment is made by card or contactless methods.
- Security checks are carried out at the entrance.
- Non-professional cameras, portable chargers, earplugs, sunglasses and empty bottles that comply with the event's specified rules are permitted.
- Larger bags and backpacks, professional photographic equipment, chairs, and glass, metal and hard-plastic bottles are not permitted.
Because the entire concert takes place outdoors, it is sensible to adapt clothing to the weather and check the current entry rules again before departure. Organisers specifically warn that weather conditions can change quickly. Umbrellas are not permitted, so lightweight waterproof clothing is a more practical choice.
Getting there from Edinburgh and via the airport
Royal Highland Centre is located in Ingliston, next to Edinburgh Airport and close to the M8 and M9 road routes. The location is therefore different from concert venues in Edinburgh's historic centre: visitors arriving from the city centre need a transport plan for before and after the concert, while for travellers arriving by plane the area is very close to the terminal.
The tram is one of the main options. The nearest stop is Ingliston Park & Ride, from where there is a walking section to the Royal Highland Centre. Under normal conditions, trams connect the area with Edinburgh Airport, Edinburgh Gateway, Haymarket and central parts of the city. Because traffic arrangements can change during major summer events and construction work, it is worth checking the timetable and route again on the day of the concert.
For arrival by train, Edinburgh Gateway is the nearest station. Haymarket and Edinburgh Waverley offer much broader intercity connections, after which it is necessary to continue by local transport toward Ingliston.
Bus routes also connect the city and airport area with the venue. When leaving after the concert, it is practical to decide in advance which option you will use to return, because a large number of visitors head toward the same tram and bus stops in a short period after the programme ends.
Royal Highland Centre has extensive parking areas, but for Edinburgh Summer Sessions parking is organised according to the rules of each individual event and needs to be planned in advance. For people with accessibility needs, there is a separate application system for suitable facilities and parking.
Florence + The Machine's return to Edinburgh Summer Sessions
Edinburgh is not a new location in Florence + The Machine's performance history. The band performed on two consecutive evenings in August 2019 as part of Edinburgh Summer Sessions in Princes Street Gardens. At that time, the stage was in the very centre of the city, beneath Edinburgh Castle.
The return in 2026 takes place in an entirely different setting. Royal Highland Showgrounds provides a larger open-air framework outside the historic centre and places the concert within the multi-day Edinburgh Summer Sessions programme. During the same period, Biffy Clyro, The Cure, Lorde, Deftones and The Prodigy have been announced at the venue, so Florence + The Machine performs in the middle of a concentrated week of major concerts.
For the band itself, the difference is also musical. In 2019, the current album was High as Hope, with more intimate songs such as Hunger and Big God. Seven years later, the tour is built around Everybody Scream, an album that once again intensifies the theatrical and ritual side of Florence + The Machine. Edinburgh is therefore not getting a repetition of the earlier Summer Sessions performance, but a concert from a completely different creative period.
What to do before heading to the showground
The most useful thing before the concert is to check three things: the current schedule, transport status and entry rules. Gates are announced for 17:00, but performance times for Self Esteem, Jacob Alon and Florence + The Machine are published closer to the event. At open-air concerts with large audiences, arriving earlier reduces pressure at the entrance and provides a better opportunity to choose a position.
A phone is particularly important if a digital ticket is being used, so it should be charged before arrival. Portable chargers are permitted under the event's current rules. Since the venue is outdoors and away from the central city walking routes, it is also useful to agree in advance on a meeting point in case the group becomes separated.
For audience members who want the front standing area, a simple rule applies: the later the arrival, the greater the possibility that the zone will already be full. For those who care more about a view of the whole stage and production than immediate proximity to the performer, the rest of the showground offers a more flexible approach without the need for long waits at the front barrier.
Tickets for this event are in demand.
Florence + The Machine comes to Edinburgh at a time when Everybody Scream is no longer merely a new album but an already established concert era. During 2026, audiences have been able to see how material from that album connects with songs that have accompanied the band from Lungs and Ceremonials through to Dance Fever. Edinburgh Summer Sessions adds an open-air setting, two confirmed guest performers and the city's return to the band's concert story after the 2019 performance.
Sources:
- Florence + The Machine - confirmation of the Edinburgh performance and information about the album Everybody Scream.
- Summer Sessions - performers for the evening, concert format, opening and finishing times, age rules, entry, front standing area and entry regulations.
- Royal Highland Centre - location in Ingliston, road access, tram, bus, railway, airport and parking.
- Forever Edinburgh - current guidance for reaching summer concerts at the Royal Highland Centre and planning public transport.
- Setlist.fm - recent Everybody Scream tour setlists used as an example, without assuming that the same list will be performed in Edinburgh.
- NME and El País - reports from Florence + The Machine's summer performances during 2026 and descriptions of the current live approach.
- Apple Music - information on the albums A Complicated Woman by Self Esteem and In Limerence by Jacob Alon.