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The Edinburgh Festival does not officially refer to a particular single festival event. Rather, it is a group or series of simultaneous cultural and arts festivals that take place every month of August in Edinburgh, Scotland. The festivals included are organized by several formally unrelated clubs or associations.

The Edinburgh Festival is known to be the world’s largest arts and cultural festival, which started in the year 1947, the time when the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) was founded. That same year, other theatrical companies organized their own events and joined the festivities. Since then, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and many other festivals have been established in this particular Scottish capital city.

Some of the festivals held in Edinburgh every August of the year include the following:

a. The Edinburgh International Festival – It is a performing arts festival in Edinburgh City, Scotland, which starts around mid-August and lasts for more than three weeks.

The General Director of the EIF invites top class performers of theater, dance, opera, and music (especially classical type of music) from all over the world. Aside from the performances on the Festival itself, there is also a range of outreach and education workshops, seminars, and lectures that happen throughout the year.

Common venues for the Edinburgh International Festival are The Hub, the Royal Lyceum Theater, The Queen’s Hall, the Festival Theater, the Usher Hall, and The Edinburgh Playhouse, which can house 420 up to 2,900 people.

b. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe – It is renowned as the largest arts festival in the world, which also takes place for three weeks every month of August.

The Fringe includes mostly of performing arts events, especially drama and comedy. However, the music and dance performing arts have the greatest significance. It showcases a vast variety of theatrical events, ranging from the classic works of ancient Greece, Samuel Beckett, and Shakespeare up to the contemporary works of today’s artists.

Any type of event is actually possible in this festival, primarily because no committee is set up to review entries for approval/rejection. Oftentimes, the Fringe presents experimental works that other more formal festivals may not include.

c. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo – This event also takes place every year, in the month of August, as part of the famous Edinburgh Festival. The festival features Military tattoos given by the Commonwealth, British Army, and International military teams and bands annually.

Most people do not really realize what a huge impact that music from Memphis has had on the sounds that are heard on the radio today. Although many people have heard of Jay Z, Bruce Springsteen and various rhythm and blues artists, few know that without people like W.C. Handy, B.B. King and Memphis Minnie the modern music we know today would not be nearly the same. In fact, music from Memphis has arguably had more of an impact on popular music than any other genre.
This is because the soulful sounds that define music from Memphis were created by the founding fathers of the sound. Without W.C. Handy, it is possible that the syncopated rhythms that his music was comprised of would have never been created. Out of all of the music from Memphis that was created during the early to mid 20th century, W.C. Handy probably created the most important. This is probably why Bruce Springsteen mentioned him in the song Walking in Memphis, asking him to watch out over him as he walked along Beale Street. The fact that Springsteen wrote the song nearly 30 years after his music from Memphis giant died just goes to show how influential the artist really was.
Beale Street was where most of the music from Memphis was created. The musicians of the time used to sit along Beale Street, blowing into their jugs to make a sound similar to that of a bass guitar, strumming washboards to add a unique tone to the music from Memphis. People would walk by, sometimes throwing money into the open guitar cases (when the musicians could afford one).
It was not until Sun Records took notice of the music from Memphis that it really took off and became popular throughout the United States. Instead of being confined to Beale Street and the Memphis region, music from Memphis was being played at school dances and in the kitchens of housewives as they made dinner nationwide. Soon, everyone was familiar with music from Memphis and the musicians that made the music. Today, B.B. King is still alive and touring, just as popular as he has ever been. Pop artists fight to work with him in the studio; many want him as a mentor. New music from Memphis was highly sought after by the people at Sun Records, and many of the artists began to cut albums with Sun.

You’re a singer looking for great audience songs for women. Have you thought about a “House song” from a Musical?

A House song bridges the gap between the audience and the singer, when the character comes out of the story on stage and speaks directly to the viewers, know that he (and the drama) is being watched.

In Musical theater there are not many real House songs, but there are a number of songs you can alter to make your performance cross that invisible fourth wall between you and the audience.

In this article I suggest 60 songs for women from the Musical Theater repertoire that could be sung as a House song. They fall into three categories: the true House song, the audience number and the soliloquy.

In the first category, the true House song, the musical is written deliberately for the character to step out of the drama and speak to the viewers. Think of Diva’s Lament from Spamalot, or You Can Always Count On Me from City of Angels. When You’re Good To Mama from Chicago springs to mind immediately. Other true House songs include Big Spender from Sweet Charity (originally a chorus number but can be sung by one person), I’m Still Here from Follies, Broadway Baby from Follies, I Just Wanna Dance from Jerry Springer, Jonny One Note from Babes in Arms, and Nobody Does It Like Me – the Cy Coleman song from the musical SeeSaw. And Miss Byrd from Closer Than Ever shares her secret across the fourth wall.

Many of the songs from the Victorian Music Hall era work as house numbers including Waiting At the Church, If It Wasn’t For the ‘Ouses In Between, and even ballads such as The Boy I Love Is Up In The Gallery. Then there are the songs written in a Musical style such as Girl in 14G, and The Alto’s Lament.

In the second category, the character sings to an audience in her world as part of the plot. Good and Evil from Jekyll and Hyde is a great example as Lucy sings to the drinkers in the pub where she works. Then there’s Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (Evita), I Speak Six Languages from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Beat Out Dat Rhythm from Carmen Jones, Man Wanted from Copacabana, and Blow Gabriel Blow from Anything Goes. The Saga Of Jenny from Lady in the Dark is sung in a courtroom, and you might just get away with Life of the Party from Wild Party.

The unifocus song is the third type of House number – it’s usually a soliloquy in which the character is asking questions. One of the most well-known songs is I Cain’t Say No from Oklahoma. Then there’s I’m Shy from Once Upon A Mattress, Everybody Says Don’t, and There Won’t Be Trumpets, from Anyone Can Whistle, and I’m A Stranger Here Myself from One Touch of Venus. Check out Holding To The Ground from Falsettos, My Brother Lived In San Francisco from Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens, I Hate Men from Kiss Me Kate, and My Strongest Suit from Aida. For the more old-fashioned amongst you, there’s I Think I May Want To Remember Today from Starting Here, Starting Now, Tale of the Oyster (Fifty Million Frenchmen), and The Physician (Nymph Errant).

You can use a strong story song like Waiting For The Music To Begin (Witches of Eastwick) if you use it to tell the audience your story. Another perfect example comes from A Chorus Line, where Diana Morales sings Nothing to Zach who is seated in the (real) audience throughout the show. It’s therefore very easy to turn it into a house number and address the audience directly and individually. Other songs include Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie, I Know Things Now from Into the Woods, Defying Gravity from Wicked, and Always The Bridesmaid from I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

Back to Sondheim again for The Ladies Who Lunch from Company, The Story of Lucy and Jessie (from certain productions of Follies), and Can That Boy Foxtrot (a duet that can be sung as a solo) from Marry Me A Little, or cut from Follies, depending on who you read.

Then there’s Everybody’s Girl from Steel Pier, Old Fashioned Love Story from Wild Party, When You Got It, Flaunt It from The Producers, and How Did I End Up Here from Romance Romance. You might consider One Hundred Easy Ways from Wonderful Town, or My New Philosophy from You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, and experiment with a song like Cockeyed Optimist from South Pacific.

Another great source of House songs is the revue musical. Closer Than Ever by Maltby and Shire is a good example for songs like Back On Base, or The Bear, The Tiger, The Hamster and The Mole. Or you could consider Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown for I’m Not Afraid Of Anything. You can also do what the musicals are doing currently and raid the pop/disco/rock scene for suitable songs – Holding Out For A Hero started as a Bonnie Tyler song but is now in both Footloose and Shrek II

It is unusual for a slower song to work as a house number, but here are a few suggestions: Maybe I Like It This Way from Wild Party, That’s Him from One Touch Of Venus, Why Him from Carmelina, Bill (from Oh Lady! Lady! and versions of Showboat) and of course, Funny Girl from Funny Girl.

Remember that the point of a House song is to speak directly to the viewers, so make sure you look your audience in the eye while you perform.

Enjoy.