Herbie May (The Lounge Society)

Herbie May plays HMV Edinburgh Princes Street on Friday 30 October, an instore afternoon set that runs from 2pm to 2.40pm. It's a free performance, so you can just turn up and listen without needing to book anything in advance.

May is a guitarist and songwriter who comes to this as a former member of The Lounge Society, a band known as a wild, barely contained live act. Their debut LP, Tired of Liberty, came out in 2022 when they were only 18 and was produced by Dan Carey, who has worked with Wet Leg and Fontaines DC. It earned them early championing from figures like Lauren Laverne, and May's time in the band puts him in a different light here: he's stepping out on his own, playing raw, emotionally switched-on solo songs that have drawn comparisons to Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile and Lou Reed.

Since going solo, he's put out two double-A-side singles, 'Bleeding/Shoelaces' and 'Uphill/Apple', both released via Red Licorice Records, and has supported Stereolab, The Primitives, House of All, The Subways, Martial Arts and Kelley Stoltz. Radio 6 Music's Chris Hawkins and Radio X's John Kennedy are among his fans, and this set will be his own songs, played solo. The afternoon performance is billed as a soul-cleansing way to begin the weekend.

It's a short one, running from 2pm to 2.40pm at HMV Edinburgh Princes Street, 84a Princes Street, Edinburgh Old Town EH2 2ER, and it's free to attend.