Govanhill Street Music Festival 2026: What’s happening where
Live music, DJs, dance, performance and sound installations will take over streets, parks and our own Community Newsroom today [Sunday 16 August] for the Govanhill Street Music Festival. Here’s where to find it all.
The Buff and Sheen performance which will be taking place once again in The Community Newsorom window | Photo by Sadia Sikandar
The Govanhill International Festival and Carnival comes to a close today, Sunday 16 August, with its annual Govanhill Street Music Festival.
From 12pm until 8pm, parks, courtyards, cafés, shopfronts and community spaces across Govanhill will become stages for live music, DJs, dance, performance and sound art.
It’s all free to attend, and most of the locations are within easy walking distance of each other. Individual set times aren't published as timings may shift throughout the day, so the idea is to wander between venues and see what you find.
Here’s what’s happening where.
Victoria Road and around
Community Moves Room – The Community Newsroom
The Community Newsroom on Bowman Street is becoming the Community Moves Room for the day, with a programme focused on dance and outdoor performance.
The line-up includes Buff and Sheen, Vince Virr, Mark Bleakley, Rob Heaslip, El Rboukh and Low-Fi Beetroots Hip Hop Radio.
Where: The Community Newsroom, 82 Bowman Street
Love Music Hate Racism – next to South Seeds
Love Music Hate Racism returns to the festival with two stages, this year marking 50 years since Rock Against Racism.
Expect a mix of folk, funk, soul, rap and DJs, alongside family-friendly activities including badge and T-shirt making.
The line-up includes Vicky Paxton, Dana King, Absolute Riots, Jazz House Party, Fingertraps, Deltamanic, Ink Drinker, Obia, Pilgrims Society and Soul Level Collective.
Where: Next to South Seeds on Victoria Road
Absolutely Flawless – next to Transylvania Shop
Local legend Tami Pein brings the Absolutely Flawless Sound System to the Street Music Festival.
Rooted in the neighbourhood’s queer culture and celebrating Black and trans artists, Absolutely Flawless is a battery-powered mobile sound system built around sharing music and joy.
Where: Next to Transylvania Shop, Victoria Road
Queen’s Park
Requiem – Queen’s Park Terraces
At 3.30pm, Queen’s Park will host one of the festival’s biggest performances: Requiem, presented by Tramway Beyond Walls and created by Kaleider.
Described as a “contemporary requiem for life on this planet”, the large-scale outdoor work combines a kinetic installation with an original musical score. As the audience gathers, performers work together to construct a monumental structure, exploring what rituals we need to face the moment we’re living through – and what we might choose to build when we come together.
The performance runs from 3.30pm–4.40pm and is free and unticketed.
There will be both seated and standing areas, with wheelchair access and an accessible toilet on site. Assistance dogs are welcome, and as there is no spoken dialogue, the performance is suitable for Deaf and hard of hearing audiences.
Where: The Terraces in Queen’s Park, at the top of the stairs near the Victoria Road entrance. An accessible route will be signposted from the bottom of the stairs.
Sound Thought – Apple Orchard
Elsewhere in Queen’s Park, Sound Thought and friends are transforming the Apple Orchard into an open-air listening gallery.
The immersive audio installation explores the sounds of the park – from birds and bicycles to art, leisure and community action – and asks us to listen differently to a familiar shared space.
Where: The Apple Orchard, Queen’s Park
Westmoreland Street
Duende Soundsystem Bloc Party – Westmoreland Park
Over in Westmoreland Park, Duende is throwing a soundsystem bloc party celebrating Govanhill and the community around it.
The local line-up moves through Roma music, reggae, dub and sounds from across South America, with Marisa, Laundry Discs & Wends, Decades of Dub and Duende.
Duende will close out the final couple of hours with tropical sounds from across South America.
Where: Westmoreland Park, Westmoreland Street
The Cooperage
SNACK Magazine x Some Great Reward
SNACK Magazine and Some Great Reward are back at the Cooperage for a second year with their own festival-within-a-festival.
The courtyard will host a free programme spanning music, comedy, talks and visual art, with a focus on grassroots artists from the Southside and across Scotland.
Where: The Cooperage, Pollokshaws Road
Photos from the 2025 event taken by Laura Vroomen
A celebration of the neighbourhood
The Street Music Festival forms the finale of this year’s Govanhill International Festival and Carnival, which has been running from 1–16 August.
The wider festival was founded in response to racism in the area and remains explicitly anti-racist, bringing together different cultures, languages and generations through arts, music and community events.
The Street Music Festival runs 12pm–8pm today, Sunday 16 August, and is free to attend.
Most individual set times aren't being published in advance, as timings may shift throughout the day – so wander between the different locations and see what you find. Requiem is the exception, with a confirmed start time of 3.30pm in Queen’s Park. Check the Govanhill Baths website and festival social media for any updates on the day.