Lots of big, in-your-face events this month, with Nicki Minaj, WWE and an Inflatable Fun City needing little or no introduction or explanation. That said, there's plenty of more subtle cultural activity to balance out the excess, with Behaviour, Dance International, Counterflows, Aye Write and Outskirts flying the flag for thought-provoking, challenging or otherwise quieter artistic expressions.
Things to do
Easter, Fri Apr 3-Mon Apr 6
There’s a whole lot going on across Glasgow during the Easter weekend – navigate your way around it all (plus schedule in a couple of nice places to eat out) with our cunningly-named Easter in Glasgow feature.
Inflatable Fun City, Glasgow Green, Fri Apr 4-Sun Apr 19
Conveniently popping up (or should that be blowing up?) for the duration of the Easter break, this settlement of bouncy castles, bungee runs and gargantuan hamster balls will give your hyperactive wee ones somewhere to hurl their candy floss in safety.
WWE Live – Wrestlemania Revenge, The SSE Hydro, Wed Apr 8
It’s soap opera theatrics, it’s choreographed athleticism, it’s barely a sport – it’s the most pro of pro wrestling organisations, and it’s bringing the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton and Kane to the suitably mega-sized Hydro.
CBeebies Live: Mr Tumble's Circus, Hydro, Sat Apr 11
Justin Fletcher aka kiddie TV icon Mr Tumble brings the latest CBeebies live show to the Hydro, with a supporting cast including Aunt Polly, Grandad Tumble, Cat Sandion, Swashbuckle presenter Gem, Andy Day, Keith Fitt, Dina Lady, Gale Force, Arthur Sleep, Robert The Robot and Little Monster.
Caitlin Moran: How to Build a Girl, Pavilion Theatre, Mon Apr 13
The feminist commentator returns to the live stage to discuss her debut novel, ‘How to Build a Girl’.
Aye Write, Mitchell Library, Fri Apr 17- Sat Apr 25
Glasgow’s book festival returns to the Mitchell with a packed-to-bursting programme, featuring Irvine Welsh, Michel Faber, Karen Dunbar, George the Poet, Kirsty Wark, Ian Rankin and more.
Rally & Broad, Stereo, Sun Apr 26
The ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ edition of Jenny Lindsay and Rachel McCrum’s regular poetry cabaret night features performative bits and bobs from Jonnie Common, Kirstin Innes, Luke Wright, Katy Hastie and The Creative Martyrs. For a line-up that's consistently impressive, we're super-impressed (especially with yon Wright and Common on the bill).
Comedy
Alex Dubus, The Stand, Wed Apr 1
You may know this stand-up best (or at all) for his Gallic character creation Marcel Lucont – now he’s performing under his given name, talking about ‘Cars and Girls’.
Aisling Bea at Gilded Balloon Drygate, Drygate, Fri Apr 3
One of the fastest rising stars of the Irish comedy scene, the Queen Bea comes to the Gilded Balloon’s Drygate residency with a So You Think You're Funny award to her name.
Dara O’Briain, SECC, Fri Apr 10 & Sat Apr 11
If you’re only aware of Mr O’Briain from his residency on ‘Mock the Week’, prepare to be pleasantly surprised – he’s much funnier, smarter and skilled at handling an audience than the telly show allows him to be.
Film
While We’re Young, general release from Fri Apr 3
Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts play a middle-aged couple grappling with their lost youth in this touching dramedy from Noah Baumbach (‘The Squid and the Whale’).
Cobain: Montage of Heck, general release from Fri Apr 10
With daughter Frances Bean Cobain on board as a producer and loads of never-seen-before home movies and archive footage, this is the Kurt biopic Nirvana fans have been waiting for.
Sound & Vision, Glasgow Film Theatre, from Fri Apr 10
The aforementioned ‘Montage of Heck’ kicks off the GFT’s strand of film-and-music events, including live scores from Saint Etienne and Filed Music and screenings of ‘Empire Records’, Sarah Records doc ‘My Secret World’ and Elliott Smith biopic ‘Heaven Adores Me’.
Matchbox Cineclub, The Old Hairdressers, Thu Apr 16
The cult film club turns its attention to spirit animal John Waters and his crime comedy ‘Cecil B Demented’, about a crazy filmmaker (played by Stephen Dorff) and his plot to kidnap an A-list actress (Melanie Griffith). Notable for featuring supporting performances from Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and, er, Ricki Lake.
Avengers: Age of Ultron, general release from Fri Apr 24
We think you know all about this one already.
Theatre and Dance
The Absence of War, Citizens Theatre, until Sat Apr 4
With the general election looming, Headlong Theatre have made the canny choice to resurrect David Hare’s 1993 play about a hopeful Labour candidate on the eve of his shot at the big time. Pay attention, Ed.
Behaviour, The Arches, Wed Apr 8-Sun May 17
The Arches’ annual festival of live performance kicks off for another month-long celebration of dance, theatre and art – highlights for April include TEAM’s 2014 Fringe hit ‘Confirmation’, Gob Squad’s internet-age comedy ‘Western Society’ and ‘Dancer’, a deeply personal performance art piece co-created by Gary Gardiner, learning disabled artist Ian Johnson and the late Adrian Howells.
Whisky Galore, Oran Mor, Mon Apr 13-Sat Apr 18
National Theatre of Scotland present a Gaelic-language retelling of Compton Mackenzie’s whimsical comedy (with English surtitles, before you say anything), lending a more immersive linguistic context to the original tale of an island community attempting to salvage a scuppered whisky shipment in WWII.
The Woman in Black, Theatre Royal, Mon Apr 20-Fri Apr 25
Susan Hill's spook story, recently adapted for film with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role, tells the story of a lawyer obsessed with a curse he believes has befallen his family.
Dance International Glasgow, various venues, Fri Apr 24-Jun 6
Biennial festival of movement featuring world premieres from Scottish Ballet and Barrowland Ballet, a series of comedic performances from Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion and a handful of interactive art installations.
Shrek the Musical, King’s Theatre, Wed Apr 29 & Thu Apr 30
The family-friendly West End hit comes to Scotland, theoretical home of its big green star (or his accent at least), with songs, jokes and satirical fairytales aplenty.
Art
Tim Etchells: Will Be & Fight Posters, The Arches, Wed Apr 8-Thu Apr 30
The performance of language and the absurdity of head-to-head marketing are the twin concepts at the heart of Etchell’s Behaviour festival installation; some of our favourites from the latter (which pitches contentious concepts against each other on lurid neon backdrops) include ‘Partially Sedated Housewives vs Generally Anaesthetized Tax Inspectors’ and ‘Transgender Rambo Impersonators vs Crossdressing Terminator Impersonations’.
Murder in Three Acts, Market Gallery, until Sun Apr 19
Asli Çavuşoğlu’s live performance art piece, originally staged at the Freize Art Festival 2012, applied the jargon and detail of a forensic police examination to explore the artistic process – now you can watch the filmed results. It’s ‘NCIS: Art’, basically.
Ripples on the Pond, Gallery of Modern Art, until Feb 28 2016
Following on from Glasgow Women’s Library’s '21 Revolutions' project, this exhibition of works on paper and moving images aims to provoke questions about gender and artistic media.
Liz Larner: Space is better than time, but time is ok, The Modern Institute, until Sat May 23
The LA-based sculptor explores aspects of geology and change with her cracked, imperfect but rich and colourful ceramic forms. With an excellent title.
The Ballet of the Palette, Gallery of Modern Art, until Sun Jan 24 2016
This selection of 20th century paintings was chosen by contemporary artists featured in the GoMA’s equivalent 2013 exhibition. We’re almost certain we know what’s going to happen with the exhibition after this one.
Arika15 Episode 7: We Can’t Live Without Our Lives, Tramway, Wed Apr 15-Sun Apr 19
Performance art organization Arika present the seventh in their series of thought-provoking weekend-long mini-festivals exploring concepts of identity, this time focusing on care and empathy. Don’t be put off by the long, academic titles – ‘Poethical Readings/Intuiting the Political’, for example, entertainingly puts the concepts of Tarot, astrology and philosophy alongside the invented methods of ‘fake’ and ‘political therapy’, while the TLRS Morning Show pitches itself as a series of ‘(cyber)feminist, non-essentialist transgender and queer daily radio shows’. If any concept needed an injection of identity politics, it's the moribund 'breakfast radio' genre.
Music & Nightlife
Beach Beach, Mono, Wed Apr 1
Suitably-named summery garage rock posse from Barcelona, making their Scottish debut at Mono.
Stanley Odd, Broadcast, Thu Apr 2
One of Scotland’s most promising hip hop groups is travelling the country's intimate gig spaces as part of their appropriately-named ‘Sweatbox Tour’ – if you can find a way to squeeze yourself into the sold out Broadcast on this night, we recommend you do it.
Courtney Barnett, The Art School, Thu Apr 2
Australian singer-songwriter whose deadpan slackerism follows in the footsteps of Kim Deal, Patti Smith and Kim Gordon (and who's found kindred spirits in Glasgow crunch-pop duo Honeyblood, with whom she toured last year).
Above & Beyond, O2 Acadeny, Thu Apr 2
Upgraded from the ABC (we can only assume due to massive popularity – they recently headlined New York’s Madison Square Gardens), the British DJ trio return with new album ‘We Are All We Need’.
Counterflows, various venues, Fri Apr 3-Sun Apr 5
The festival of contemporary and experimental music produced by AC Projects and OtoProjects returns. Spanning all from jazz to electronica, psychedelic pop, drone, systematic classical, folk and more, this year’s bill includes artists such as Richard Youngs, Daniel Carter, Hisato Higuchi, Sacred Paws and Florian Hecker. Events will take place at venues such as the CCA, The Art School, The Glad Cafe and Nice'n'Sleazy.
Easter clubs, Thu Apr 2-Sun Apr 5
We’d normally file any Easter-related activities under the generic Easter heading up there in 'Things to do', but a weekend that features both The Arches’ Love Action extravaganza and Pressure and Electric Frog’s Easter Weekender (not to mention Mr Scruff’s all-night slot at Melting Pot) deserves a shout-out of its own.
Robin Trower, The Arches, Sat Apr 4
The guitarist and founding member of Procol Harum plays a solo show of old favourites and more recent material.
Rick Ross, O2 Academy, Sun Apr 5
A polar opposite to the Stanley Odd 'Sweatbox Tour' mentioned above, the blinged up Floridian rapper who shares a name with a drug dealer brings the game to Glasgow.
I Am Kloot, Oran Mor, Thu Apr 9
Long-serving Manchester indie trio consisting of vocalist/guitarist John Bramwell, bassist Peter Jobson and drummer Andy Hargreaves, whose latest album – their seventh in all – ‘From There To Here’ is a soundtrack to the BBC drama series of the same name.
Golden Teacher, The Old Hairdressers, Fri Apr 10
A rare but welcome headline set from Glasgow's energetic live dance music generators Golden Teacher, with support from Emotional and Sham Gate.
Paul Simon & Sting, SSE Hydro, Fri Apr 10
Two of pop music’s biggest stars join forces for this collaborative tour, playing songs they’ve penned together in addition to the best bits from their respective careers.
Errors, The Art School, Sat Apr 11
Glasgow “post-electro” ensemble signed to Mogwai’s label Rock Action Records close a UK tour in support of their superb forthcoming new album ‘Lease Of Life’ with a show back on native soil at The Art School.
Subculture, Sub Club, Fri Apr 11 & Fri Apr 18
Harri and Domenic’s Sub Club residency fills a seriously special set of guest slots this month, with Chicago house maestro Lil Louis (Fri Apr 11) and German deep house veteran Henrik Schwarz (Fri Apr 18) stopping by.
Nicki Minaj, SSE Hydro, Sun Apr 12
The larger-than-life hip hop performer comes to the suitably oversized Hydro arena with The Pinkprint Tour (a canny nod to both Jay Z’s 'Blueprint' series and her preferred fashion statement).
Rustie, Sub Club, Tue Apr 14
Every cloud has a silver lining – so it is with Rustie’s postponed Green Language homecoming date, moved from the totally acceptable Arches during gig hours to a far more intimate late set at the Sub Club.
Drenge, Classic Grand, Tue Apr 14
Punky blues rock from these guitar/drums toting brothers from the Peak District. They’ve toured with Deap Vally and The Cribs and are signed to Alt J’s label Infectious, but don’t sound especially like any of the above. They tour in support of their second album ‘Undertow’.
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Oran Mor, Thu Apr 16
Sibling horn posse from Chicago bringing their hot, hyped jazz-meets-hip hop sound to an ever-grateful Scottish audience.
CommonFest, QMU, Fri Apr 17
A music and comedy extravaganza put together by the folks at Scottish political organization The Common Weal, featuring Elaine C Smith, Kid Canaveral, Alan Bissett, Vladimir McTavish, Lady Alba, Loki, RM Hubbert, Suspire and more.
Colours 20: Roger Sanchez, The Arches, Sat Apr 18
The world-famous clubbing brand continues to celebrate two decades in the biz with a special set from house legend Roger Sanchez, returning to Scotland for the first time in six years.
Ela Orleans, Stereo, Fri Apr 17
One of the hottest underground acts on Glasgow’s thriving electronica scene, Orleans is taking to the Stereo stage to launch her new album ‘Upper Hell’, with support from Howie B and Sacred Paws.
5ive, O2 ABC, Sat Apr 18
Everybody get up, singin’ one, two, three, four… 5ive, having jumped on the reformation gravy train, assure us they still have the chops to make you get down. Even if there are only three of them left.
The Airborne Toxic Event, The Garage, Sat Apr 18
Orchestrally-tinged American indie rock troupe touring the release of not one but two new albums in 2015: the synthy ‘Dope Machines’ and acoustic anthology ‘Songs of God and Whiskey’.
Duke Special, Oran Mor, Sat Apr 18
AKA Peter Wilson from Belfast, who has won fans in the White Stripes and The Hives with his jaunty vaudevillian piano pop over the years. Flying somewhat under-the-radar these days, after being signed to V2 for a number of years, Wilson’s doing fan-funded releases on his own label – with another one titled ‘Look Out Machines’ on the way.
Seasick Steve, Barrowland, Sat Apr 18
One of the rare breed of musicians who lives the music entirely, bluesman and former professional hobo Seasick Steve is bringing his mix of stomping tunes and shaggy dog storytelling to Glasgow.
Godspeed You Black Emperor, O2 ABC, Sun Apr 19
The cult post-rock band bring their heavier-than-Heaven live show to the UK, complete with those atmospheric film projections.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, SECC, Tue Apr 21
Long-running American rockers famed for their their love of guitar solos and (less flippantly) the tragic plane crash in 1977 that claimed three of their members. Also one of the few gigs in existence where it's acceptable to shout 'Freebird' (though we'd still recommend you don't).
Therapy?, Oran Mor, Thu Apr 23
Irish power metal trio who – after 25 years, 29 singles, 14 albums and three drummers – have been at this game for a mighty long time now. They tour in support of their latest set of new material ‘Disquiet’.
George Clinton, O2 ABC, Thu Apr 23
Funk legend and Parliament chairman Clinton struts his stuff, coincidentally around the same time as his excellently titled autobiography ('Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard on You?') hits the shelves.
Paws, SWG3, Thu Apr 23
Noisy melodic grungey pop from Scottish trio PAWS, who had an infamous spat with Morrissey a while back during a US tour. They play a headline show in their hometown in support of their second album ‘Youth Culture Forever’.
Bigfoot’s Tea Party, Sub Club, Fri Apr 24
The techno night welcomes special guest The Black Madonna, resident and creative director at Chicago's legendary Smart Bar (alongside scene legends Derrick Carter and the late Frankie Knuckles).
Mull Historical Society, King Tut’s, Fri Apr 24
Despite having one of the all-time most boring names in pop, Colin MacIntyre’s Mull Historical Society had a pretty impressive innings in the early noughties, when his albums ‘Loss’ and ‘Us’ troubled the Top 40 and scooped strong reviews. He tours the latter – Q magazine’s best album of 2001, no less – in full with a band in its, um, 14th anniversary year. Look, they can't all be round numbers.
Ben Howard, The Hydro, Fri Apr 24
Thoughtful acoustic sounds from the Devon-born surfer-dude songsmith and guitar virtuoso. He tours his number one album ‘I Forget Where We Were’, which has taken Howard from beachfront fireside sing-alongs to filling arenas.
Dan Mangan & Blacksmith, Oran Mor, Sat Apr 25
Canadian alt.folk with an experimental edge as the newly renamed Dan Mangan and Blacksmith (upgraded from Mangan's name only, to emphasise the band’s involvement in songcraft) tour third album ‘Club Meds’.
Laura Marling, O2 Academy, Sat Apr 25
Following an intimate tour for fans earlier on this year, the girl Marling takes to stages more befitting of her reputation, providing glimpses of new material from forthcoming album ‘Short Movie’ – the 25-year-old’s fifth in an already seven-year recording career.
Outskirts, Platform, Sat Apr 25
Platform, Glasgow’s prominent outpost of cultural activity in the East End, launches the latest edition of its multi-genre mini-fest, featuring music from Easterhouse Conversation (aka RM Hubbert and Wounded Knee), an A/V tribute to Kraftwerk performed by Matthew Bourne Franck Vigroux and Antoine Schmitt, and several cross-platform installations and performances spanning sound, film, performance and interactivity.
Tyree Cooper, SWG3, Sat Apr 25
The highly influential house DJ and producer comes to Glasgow courtesy of Made in Chicago, with support from Bosco, Rob Mason and Boom Merchant.
Nick Cave, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sun Apr 26
A special stripped-down show from the gothic prince, accompanied by only a handful of his most trusted Bad Seeds.
Take That, The SSE Hydro, Mon Apr 27-Sat May 2
Where five once stood, three remain… not that Barlow, Donald and Owen don’t remain a pop songwriting force to be reckoned with. Gain yourself bonus points by shouting tax-related heckles during the quieter moments.
Wire, King Tut’s, Mon Apr 27
Envelope-pushing post-punk veterans, famed for their rich sound and Situationist politics. They tour their self-released and self-titled new album, their 14th overall to date.
And So I Watch You From Afar, King Tuts, Tue Apr 28
Less-than-punchily-titled four-piece from Belfast who make intense instrumental music borrowing from elements of post-rock and math-rock. They visit Glasgow in honour of their fourth album ‘Heirs’.
Flying Lotus, O2 ABC, Tue Apr 28
Genre criss-crossing experimental musician, producer and rapper Flying Lotus – AKA Steven Ellison – lands in Glasgow for a rare show. It follows the release last year of his hugely acclaimed fifth album ‘You’re Dead!’.
Villagers, Oran Mor, Tue Apr 28
Two-times Mercury Prize shortlisted indie band from Dublin, who make moody, complex music in a distinctly Radiohead-esque vein. They’ll introduce material from the new album ‘Darling Arithmetic’, the much-anticipated follow-up album to 2013’s ‘{Awayland}’.
Stornoway, Glasgow School of Art, Thu Apr 30
Charming, literate folk-pop care of this Oxford ensemble not to be confused with the black pudding-famed Hebridean town with which they share a name (though they have played a gig there). Their third album ‘Bonxie’ brings them north to Scotland once again, where they always receive a great reception.